Santa Clara -Last week or so I mentioned that article in the San Jose Metro News re the Santa Clara Juvenile Justice system wherein a young african-american teenager looks to have been railroaded. The article also accused the Judge of POSSIBLY making a racially motivated - well, off-color, joke. But, as the article reads, the District Attorney/Prosecutor in the case has decided to take the fall for making that comment. Nonetheless, stay tuned in the short future as this is going to the Appellate Court, our local District Attorney's Office and then some. This case will have far-reaching effects in changing our treatment of people of color here in Santa Clara if in fact our elected and public officials are serious about making the needed changes. There is going to be a follow up story in the press once this comes to a conclusion. A lot of people are watching this case.
Northern California - I also had mentioned, I think, that a few weeks back, I was contacted by someone requesting help in busting a grandfather of molesting his grand-daughter. Apparently, this type of molestation has been ongoing for years with other members of the family and NO one has been doing anything about it. I alerted the authorities about a month ago but since I hadn't heard back yet I called to find out what was happening. The Detective, who was very nice enough, said that a search of the files would have to be done, so I volunteered to resend it since it would be easier. The Detective gave me an email address instead to make it even easier. So, I was both disappointed and glad at the same time.
Santa Clara County - That reminds me of another case where a 'gentleman' decided to come partly out of the closet and profess his sexual orientation AND his affection for younger boys. He did this over the internet for some reason. I was contacted to help address this matter as his profession involved, you guessed it, young boys and teenagers, in a somewhat physical contact intensive activity. I alerted the authorities who called me several weeks later to inform me that they could not do anything as there was no evidence of illegal activity, which was fine with me as I did not want to destroy someone's reputation and livelihood. Yet, that same day, I found out that guy was 'let go for no reason at all'. So, someone apparently outed him to his place of employment. My guess is that the authorities did, as the detective who called me back sounded a bit too nervous to me. Undoubtedly, this would be a good subject for an ethics and moral debate in these times we live in.
Santa Clara - A couple of days ago, I posted the news about the US Court of Appeals handing down a decision stating that Social Workers do not have complete immunity (This was on a case from Santa Clara County, I believe). I asked a local Judicial Officer what impact it would have in a practical sense. The response I got was that it wouldn't be right for a comment to be made on it since it is still in the court system, but that the case had been being followed by everyone and undoubtedly have quite an impact on the child welfare court system. So, I'll keep following how this ruling plays out.
Los Angeles - God help Britney Spears who was held over in the Psych Hospital for another 14 days as a danger to herself or others and her affairs were handed over to her father as the Conservator of her estate, etc. A side note here, there is a group that is fighting the corruption in the Probate/Conservatorship arena (god, the stories one can tell from this arena) were planning to picket in front of the courthouse that Spears' case is being heard in order to raise awareness of how this part of the system can get corrupted. I guess if you are interested in it, you can always google "probate or conservatorship abuse" and dive into it. I have a couple of cases, one in Gilroy that is just jaw-dropping horrendous. Big money to be made here. If you are a Baby Boomer, you'd better have all your papers in good order and know who to trust.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
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4 comments:
Britney Spears is definitely moving into a new arena -- one in which people seriously play "for keeps."
An industry exists in which lawyers, accountants and other unethical participants, sometimes with complicity from probate courts, can separate any of us from our property when certain (not that unusual) circumstances occur. These circumstances can be orchestrated and lead to an Involuntary Redistribution of Assets (IRA). This often occurs with wills, trusts, guardianships or other probate-related situations.
To think that property and assets are your own and that you have control over their ultimate distribution is a mistake. Situations such as are described at www.estateofdenial.com occur more often than most people would ever believe. A close study of this issue leads one to recognize that going to court is not a path that necessarily provides reasonable resolution. This course too easily leads to lawyers or administrators becoming the functional beneficiaries while the intended beneficiaries are left with reduced or no assets as well as potentially significant legal expenses.
With the transfer of wealth that is getting ready to occur in the next 20 or so years, the Involuntary Redistribution of Assets will likely skyrocket. People think proper estate planning will protect them – wrong! People think they don’t have enough assets to be a target – wrong!! There is no inoculation from the threat of IRA. Forewarned, however, is forearmed.
oggxxkWhat steps can people take to stop the redistribution of their assets?
What steps can a person to protect themselves?
What can you do to protect yourself? That's the scariest part of this entire issue -- at this point in time, not a whole hell of a lot!
I was recently contacted by a guy in Louisiana who tells a tragic tale of how his father's life and assets were taken over by a stepson. The account of what happened is at http://bellsouthpwp.net/b/a/baxterericweb/lear. It appears that the IRA target (the father) did all the responsible things. Despite the best of efforts, when individuals motivated by greed and unconstrained by decency and decorum assert themselves into the delicate situations that often arise as age and infirmity set in, one simple move like granting a power of attorney or guardianship can start a chain of events that lead to a reversal of a person's intentions with regard to the use/distribution of their assets.
We just had a case in my hometown in which the executor of an estate took funds intended for two charities and instead retained them for himself and family members (http://www.temple-telegram.com/story/2008/01/31/46766). The decedent did everything correctly. It was dishonesty on the part of her executor that doomed her estate plan. And ironically, this case would never have come to light were one of the charities not the largest hospital in our area. Still, the 71-year-old executor got probation and will likely never repay much of the money. He has to make minimum restitution of $1,000 per month. At that rate, the $389,000+ that he has to repay will be completed in a little more than 32 years! Think that's going to happen? This man would likely have gotten away with this crime except for one of the charities being a high-profile community entity. Another interesting side note: the judge who handed down this paltry sentence is also brother to the legal counsel of the hospital. I would have preferred a harsher sentence that might have hinted of favoritism instead of this "slap on the wrist" sentence that portrays Bell County, TX as an area in which the law doesn't appear to too seriously respect an individual's general property rights, and specifically, their final wishes! In an election year with an uncontested race -- why risk going out on a limb?
Sorry for the digression -- I wish I had the answer as to how to protect yourself from Involuntary Redistribution of Assets. At www.EstateofDenial.com we hope that closer study of the issue might help identify potential reform measures. Meanwhile, my best advice is tread cautiously in choosing who might one day control your assets and make decisions on your behalf. If anyone under consideration has any financial shortcomings or economic hardships, I'd look elsewhere. The person who exercises bad judgement in their own life is not likely to bring good judgement into yours!
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