Guardianship Appeal Refused

The Supreme Court of Ohio has ruled that a person seeking to appeal the decision of a probate court in a guardianship proceeding must have been a party to those proceedings to have standing to appeal the court’s decision.

This case involved a dispute between two sisters, Victoria Wellington of Granville, Ohio, and Jennie Hull of Arizona over which of them should serve as guardian of their 97-year-old mother, Bessie Santrucek. In April 2006 Wellington arranged for Santrucek to move to Ohio from her longtime residence in Michigan. A few weeks later, Wellington filed an action in the Licking County Probate Court to have herself appointed guardian over her mother’s affairs. Hull hired an attorney to oppose the guardianship proceedings, alleging among other claims that her mother had been moved from Michigan to Ohio against her wishes, and that an Ohio probate court therefore did not have jurisdiction to appoint a guardian.

The trial court heard but denied Hull’s motions, accepted jurisdiction in the case and issued an order appointing Wellington as guardian. Hull attempted to appeal the probate court’s order. On review, the Fifth District Court of Appeals dismissed Hull’s appeal for lack of legal standing, holding that under Ohio case law, a relative of a ward who did not file a competing request to be named guardian of the ward does not have standing to appeal a probate court order appointing another relative as guardian.

Full Article and Source:
Ohio Supremes Refuse Guardianship Appeal

See also:
Out-of-State Relative Who Opposed Ohio Guardianship Order Had No Standing to Appeal

Court of Appeals - In re Guardianship of Santrucek, 2007-Ohio-3427 (pdf)

Attorney Contests Removal

A part-owner of a guardianship and conservator company is fighting his removal from some cases in Macomb County Probate Court.

Alan Polack is one of three owners of ADDMS Guardianship Services, under investigation for possible questionable financial issues in about three to four dozen cases to which it was named in Macomb Probate Court.

Polack has resigned from various positions (conservator, guardian, personal representative, trustee or public administrator) in some cases but is contesting his removal in a handful of other cases.

The Michigan Supreme Court commissioned an audit and The Whall Group, an forensic auditing firm, found "multiple problems in accounts for assets and income" in cases where ADDMS was assigned as the conservator or guardian.

Kenneth Sanborn was named acting chief judge, replacing Judge Kathryn George as chief. George was cited in the audit for "demonstrating poor oversight" in appointing a large number of cases to ADDMS.

Although ADDMS has been removed from or resigned from its cases, Polack's attorney said: "It voluntarily resigned without any finding or acknowledgement of wrongdoing."

George has also denied wrongdoing and claimed that the random court assignment process was overridden for more than a year, resulting in a large number of ADDMS cases assigned to her.

Full Article and Source:
Probate attorney contests removal from some cases

See also:
Judicial Investigation

Mother Arrested

A woman was arrested for kidnapping after taking her son home.

The mother does not have custody of her 6 year old son, but was allowed to spend the night and visit with him at the home of his grandmother, who has guardianship of the boy.

The boy and his mother were reportedly still sleeping when the grandmother left the house but gone when she returned. The grandmother called the County Sheriff's Department, and deputies located mother and child at her home.

The mother was arrested and booked for kidnapping. The boy was returned to the custody of his grandmother.

Source:
Non-custodial mother arrested for kidnapping

Judge Annulls Marriage

An elderly couple who fell in love and eloped while living in a nursing home had their marriage annulled yesterday despite their pleas to remain wed. A Vista Superior Court commissioner ruled that the two-year-old marriage was invalid, agreeing with the man's sons that he wasn't mentally competent to consent to marriage.

Herbert Woodward II, 88, and Wani Bielinski, 86, wanted to stay married. Woodward's family filed the case to annul the marriage, saying he wasn't acting in his best interest, and that the family trust needed to be protected.

Bielinski and Woodward were not in the courtroom and were told of the ruling by family members. Bielinski said she and Woodward are shocked and angered by the decision.

Woodward's family, which has legal guardianship and conservatorship over him, instructed the nursing home not to allow him to speak to the media.

Full Article and Source:
Court sides with law over love - Elderly couple's marriage annulled

Nursing Home Neglect

Inspector General's Report Finds 92 Percent of Nursing Homes Cited for Deficiencies

A government report found extensive problems in America's nursing homes. According to the study, nearly one in five of the nearly 15,000 nursing homes examined were cited for violations that put patients in immediate harm in 2007. A total of 92 percent were cited for some type of deficiencies during each of the last three years.

From treating bed sores to preventing urinary tract infections, the quality of care in nursing homes was usually the focus of those deficiencies, the report found. Experts also found that on a typical day, far too many residents waited too long to get the help they needed.

Despite the report's findings, critics said just issuing "deficiency citations" won't change anything.

Wes Bledsoe, founder of A Perfect Cause, a non-profit group that advocates for the reform in long-term care said: "Very few of these deficiencies ever result in a financial penalty, And if they do, they are not collected. The system has no teeth."

The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Inspector General issued new voluntary guidelines to help nursing homes improve the quality of their care. According to HHS, the guidelines will address staffing issues, the management of medications and resident safety, among several other concerns.

Full Article and Source:
Are Nursing Homes Neglecting Mom and Dad?

Truancy Issues in Probate

Waterbury officials are expanding a program that requires the parents of chronically truant public school students to appear before a probate judge.

A pilot program at two elementary schools during the last school year cut unexcused absences dramatically, said Probate Court Judge Thomas Brunnock.

Brunnock saw the parents of 87 students from the Walsh and Chase elementary schools. Under the program, he had the power to order a variety of remedies for the truancy, including extra tutoring, parenting classes, counseling, and drug rehabilitation. Parents who do not comply with his orders can have their guardianship challenged in court.

Source:
Schools cut truancy by taking parents to court

See also:
Waterbury takes parents to court over truants

Keeping Kids In School

Better late than never: Truancy rates prompt bold stand vs. parents

In response to the Sept. 16 editorial "Keeping Kids In School":

Waterbury is trying to find a remedy to the problem of truancy. The city and The Courant seem to believe the answer is to send parents before a probate judge. The judge in these cases has been ordering parents to go to parenting classes, among other orders. This seems, of course, to be in the best interest of the child. However, it does not seem to be in the interest of civil rights and liberties.

In the absence of a crime, I do not see how any judge can deprive a citizen of his personal liberty. Ordering a person to go to classes is such a deprivation.

I ask Probate Judge Thomas Brunnock how he can deprive people of their liberties? Has Mr. Brunnock perused the Constitution's Bill of Rights. If so, he must not have read the Civil War Amendments.

Source:
Truancy Solution Unconstitutional

Register of Probate Indictment

District Attorney Gerry Leone has announced that the former Middlesex County Register of Probate has been indicted in connection with his alleged theft of public monies.

John R. Buonomo was indicted by a Middlesex County Grand Jury on charges of breaking and entering into a depository with intent to commit a larceny (12 counts), theft of public property by a city/town/county officer (eight counts), and larceny under $250 (eight counts). An arraignment date has not yet been set.

Previously, Buonomo was arrested by State Police assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s PACT Unit. It is alleged that Buonomo, a then county-wide elected official, engaged in a repeated pattern of stealing cash and coins from copy and money machines at the Office of the Register of Deeds over a period of weeks.

Video surveillance cameras installed by the PACT Unit captured the defendant engaged in these acts numerous times during the months of June, July, and August.

Full Article and Source:
Former Register of Probate indicted

See also:
Probate Farce

Guardianship Law Similar to Slavery-Law

Illinois Guardianship Law Similar to Slavery-Law Should Be Stricken as Vague, Prohibiting Too Much Speech and Too Discriminatory by James Timothy Struck

Abstract:
All persons are potentially enslaved by guardianship law. Illinois residents have no federal rights in federal court under guardianship. Probate law In Illinois should be stricken as vague, indeterminate, and too discriminatory for those who see it that way. Possible case law examples regarding Judith Resnick and Michael Jordan are given. Rights violations severe under guardianship. Probate and guardianship law meets US v Williams standards to be stricken as vague. Residents of Illinois under guardianship do not have rights to avoid smoke in nursing homes, phone family, visit family, consent to treatment, see medical records, avoid death threats from facilities, have family go to church, be able to come home, be able to go to zoos or museums, not be threatened with jail when determining location of family, get caregiving bills reimbursed for care of elderly or disabled person. Government employees taxing corporations involved in harmful things, such as alcohol, tobacco, missiles, guns and weapons associated with deaths, could also be enslaved by this process as well.