This article is part one in a series. For the full series, go here.
Some readers may find aspects of this article distressing.
Across Australia, tens of thousands of people — most elderly, some living with disabilities — have aspects of their lives controlled by the state.
Public guardians are appointed when people are deemed unable to make decisions for themselves, and can decide where these people live, who can visit them and what medical care they receive. In some states, guardianship orders define what specific decisions a public guardian can make, while in other states orders are broader. These orders are time-limited and are periodically reviewed. Nearly 14,000 Australians are currently under a guardianship order.
Then there are public trustees. They decide where these people’s money should be invested and what personal items should be sold — and charge astronomical fees for doing so. State public trustees manage nearly $15 billion in assets and consistently make a profit for their services, representing more than 47,000 Australians.
Push for change to elder abuse laws to prevent false claims
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- Category: Guardianship
- Created: Monday, 01 February 2021 21:09
- Written by Alecomm2
Disgruntled relatives can win inheritance battles under ‘abuse’ pretence.
Laws that aim to protect elderly Australians from financial abuse often end up helping disgruntled relatives in their court battles to increase their inheritance, a new analysis finds.
Dr Ben Chen from Sydney Law School analysed litigation about elder financial abuse across Australia and the United States. He found that the litigation often takes place after the elderly person has passed away, and is often a baseless claim, asserted by an aggrieved relative.
For example, in one study of 85 cases decided by US appellate courts between 1963-2018, he found that more than half of mental incapacity claims against contracts and lifetime gifts were brought by aggrieved relatives.
Michigan Miracle: Detroit grandmother freed from guardianship after TV-7 Investigation
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- Category: US public guardian corruption
- Created: Thursday, 19 November 2020 19:51
- Written by Alecomm2
Bessie Owens can now make her medical, legal and financial decisions.
And not only did the judge terminate this guardianship and conservatorship – he also put Adult Protective Services on notice that things need to change with how they’re petitioning the court to put seniors under guardianship.
Cheers and applause filled the halls of Wayne County Probate Court Thursday where supporters gathered to watch Chief Judge Freddie Burton Jr. terminate Bessie’s guardianship and conservatorship cases.
Seven Elderly and Disableds die in Lousiana nursing homes found in warehouse after Hurricane Ida
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- Category: US public guardian corruption
- Created: Thursday, 09 September 2021 19:40
- Written by Alecomm2
Seven dead, found in horrible conditions after they were moved to a warehouse after Hurricane Ida.
Why weren’t they moved to a hospital?
They were found in their own excrement and in mattresses on the floor.
Will anyone be charged for their deaths.
The license of the nursing homes were revoked, but why did it take seven deaths before this occurred?
Source : https://www.npr.org/2021/09/07/1034974229/after-ida-deaths-louisiana-revokes-nursing-home-licenses
Financial Rape: Business as Usual in LA County Probate Court
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- Category: Guardianship
- Created: Monday, 09 March 2020 05:49
- Written by Richard Lee Abrams - NASGA (Stop Guardian Abuse).
Some might opine that it is economic slavery, but under slavery, the wage theft is limited to 100%, but Judge Lippitt wants 150%. Here’s the mechanics of the theft. After uncontradicted testimony that the Widow M does not need a conservator, Judge Lippitt appoints a conservator who will then rake off about 150% of the Widow M’s rental income. The conservator’s duties are simple: drive the Widow M into economic ruin by destroying her short-term rental business while sucking out as much of her cash as possible through conservator and attorney fees.
Rotten Borough - The Antidote to local authority websites
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- Category: UK public guardian corruption
- Created: Sunday, 06 November 2016 23:41
- Written by Alecomm2
"Elections are decided by the votes of the uneducated many for the corrupt few." George Bernard Shaw.
How to silence complainants - Advice to councils from the Local Government Ombudsman.
In memory of Bill Knightly, murdered by illegal palliative / hospice care - He will not be forgotten
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- Category: Guardianship
- Created: Thursday, 26 March 2020 01:00
- Written by Dorothy Knightly - loving wife of murdered husband Bill Knightly