https://www.aol.com/news/she-90-wants-live-home-162836772.html

She’s 90 and wants to live at home. A guardian put her house up for sale. What’s next?

DOUGLAS HANKS

Updated May 22, 2023 at 9:33 AM

Ela Avila, a 90-year-old retired uniform maker on food stamps, is in the second year of her fight against a court-appointed guardian who controls Avila’s money, housing decisions and medical care.

It’s a battle over small decisions — like when Avila says she can’t get enough cash to visit a hair stylist. And big ones — like when the guardian, Zaidis Alvarez, listed Avila’s Little Havana home for sale last year against her wishes.

“I don’t want her,” Avila said in Spanish during a recent interview with the Miami Herald in her home of 35 years. “I get sick every time she comes here.”

While Avila doesn’t want a guardian, she may end up paying for one. In March, Alvarez asked for court permission to use the divorced grandmother’s assets to pay a $21,000 legal bill from Alex Cuello, a lawyer charging $525 an hour to work for Alvarez in the guardianship case.

Probate lawyers and advocates for elders’ rights say Avila’s case is an example of the high-stakes consequences that can be lurking for an elderly person facing allegations of losing cognitive abilities even while they’re living at home, attending to everyday tasks and remaining well aware of their circumstances.

“One of the things I preach is guardianship avoidance,” said Collett Small, an elder-law attorney in the Pembroke Pines office of the Slater and Small law firm. “It can be a very scary process. Imagine someone knocks on your door and says, ‘I am here to evaluate you.’”

The case started in 2021 when Avila’s daughter, Rosa Hernandez, asked a court to name her guardian of her mother’s assets. A judge briefly approved that arrangement, then shifted to the appointment of an independent, professional guardian in 2022 after Avila’s son, Rogelio Hernandez, objected to his sister filling the role.

Alvarez is registered with the state Elder Affairs Department to serve as a court-appointed guardian for people deemed mentally incapacitated and unable to make decisions on their own. To become guardians, applicants must pass criminal history and credit checks and a state exam after completing a 40-hour course.

Alvarez and Cuello have not responded to requests for comment.

READ MORE: A look at one elderly person who fell victim to a scam

Under guardianship, Avila, a Cuban immigrant, has lost her right to vote, travel, accept medical treatment, make decisions on where she lives or sign contracts, according to an April 7, 2022 court order obtained by the Miami Herald.

The judge in the Miami-Dade Circuit Court case, Bertila Soto, appointed Alvarez on March 8, 2022, and instructed her to take charge of Avila’s money. Alvarez must submit budgets to Soto and get court approval for any big changes in Avila’s affairs.

Once fighting each other in court, both of Avila’s children now are united in asking Soto to restore their mother’s independence. Last month, they filed a joint motion asking Soto to end a guardianship they say is sapping the family’s cash.

“My mom used to have a lawyer. When the turmoil started getting bad, he wanted more money. We couldn’t pay him,” Rosa Hernandez said. “My brother and I are trying to do our best.”

A court fight for independence

While lacking a lawyer of her own, Avila is being asked to pay for the one behind the guardianship that has her an involuntary “ward” in the Miami-Dade case. On March 13, Alvarez filed a notice with the court saying she approved Cuello’s $21,054 legal bill for services he provided for the prior 12 months. The bill is to be paid “from the Ward’s assets,” according to the form, if a judge agrees to the fees.

The court records don’t show an order related to the fees, suggesting they remain unpaid. The Cuello bill shows a string of tasks the lawyer preformed for Alvarez, including attending hearings, reviewing court filings and communicating with lenders on a possible reverse mortgage.

Florida law requires three professionals, including at least one doctor, examine a person for mental capacity before a judge can declare them incapacitated and needing a guardian’s authority. Florida law dictates many guardianship documents remain off-limits to the public. Court clerks haven’t publicly released most filings in the Avila case, including the basis for her guardianship and medical reports. Avila and her family say they don’t have those reports.

Though Avila is described as an “incapacitated person” in court papers, at least two medical professionals weighed in positively on her mental state.

In December, a nurse practitioner filled out a court form saying Avila had the “full capacity to live independently.”

Last year, a nurse working in the elder-abuse unit for Miami-Dade prosecutors went to Avila’s house after she and her son called asking for help, according to a summary provided by the State Attorney’s Office. The nurse, Carmen Duran, “did a quick assessment on Ms. Avila requesting her to answer basic orientation questions. Ms. Avila responded to all questions correctly and clearly,” according to the summary of the May 17, 2022, meeting.

Alvarez and Cuello also attended the meeting. Duran said she asked about Avila’s mental examinations and “was informed that Ms. Avila had not been diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s.”

In a prior conversation with Avila, Duran said it was clear Avila felt the court was ignoring her ability to live independently and that Avila wanted nothing to do with an assisted living facility or any other option forcing her to move.

“Ms. Avila also expressed frustration that she maintained a standard of self-care and grooming and yet was being denied her own money to maintain her hairdresser appointments and social schedule,” the summary said.

Rosa Hernandez said her mother initially agreed to have her become guardian as a way to stabilize a rocky financial situation amid trouble with tenants who were then living in the flat attached to Avila’s house and paying enough rent to cover the mortgage. The $1,500 rent payments stopped altogether in the summer of 2021, according to court records from an eviction proceeding, leading to a financial slide that now has Avila facing foreclosure because she’s behind on mortgage payments.

Avila signed documents saying she wants to put a reverse mortgage on the house, a financial arrangement that can let an older person remain in their home indefinitely but often leaves no equity for heirs as unpaid interest compounds and eats away at the value of the house. Rogelio Hernandez said he’s been pushing Alvarez to help secure a reverse mortgage, but the guardian won’t cooperate.

“Look at her. She’s fine. She’s well,” Rogelio said in an interview at the kitchen table. He lives in the house with his mother and a caretaker he says he pays $400 a week after Alvarez raised concerns about Avila being left alone while he works overnight shifts as a forklift operator at Miami International Airport. “I don’t want her to live in a home.”

Tidy bedroom, Cuban coffee in kitchen

Born in Cuba, Avila came to the United States in the 1960s, married, had two children and worked for a Miami uniform maker that clothed local police officers and firefighters.

In a tour of her home as Spanish-language morning news played in the background, Avila brought out a wind chime with a porcelain officer, gun and police dog she said was given to her as a retirement gift. When a charcoal portrait of a woman in pearls and a blouse caught a visitor’s attention, Avila explained a cousin drew that of her mother.

Then she walked into her bedroom, pointing out another portrait by the cousin: a framed rendering of Jesus hanging over the tidy bed that Avila said she makes each morning.

“And I wash the dishes,” she said.

She still has two sewing machines in her kitchen, where she offers to make Cuban coffee for visitors on a recent weekday. “Amargo o dulce?” she asked in Spanish as she set up the pot on the electric stove’s burner.

Guardianship laws are designed to give court protection and supervision to people who lose the mental capacity to make decisions for themselves.

Probate lawyers call it a legal last resort and often the result of a person waiting too long to make arrangements for how they want their affairs managed if they lose mental capacity during a medical crisis or due to old age.

Typically in probate, if the attorneys can get away with excessive billing they do.

The record on appeal is published in the last post so you can see for yourself.

F&M was appointed Guardian of the Estate. But were they billing the Estate as a normal Guardian would at $20 or $25 per hour. Heck no, that would be far too honest for them.

Instead look at the below image. They billed these Estate as “guardian” for 20 hours at $250 per hour in attorneys fees!

While most banks just bill their “trust” fee which is typically just a small percentage per year, this bank goes for attorneys fees at $250 per hour for a “Tom McIntire” and “Lori Hedden”.

If they wanted to bill attorneys fees, they had to file an appearance with the Estate as attorneys for the Guardian of the Estate and put in a fee petition. But neither attorney ever did that. Instead they ask for $250 per hour under the guise of Guardian of the Estate and not the attorney filing the appearance for the estate.

The Illinois states attorneys for Knox County should be investigating these two individuals for their excessive billing, but they are too busy pretending to the be attorneys for the guardian with an appearance on file and not acting as the guardian for $30 per hour or a small estate percentage.

We all know how vindictive probate and guardianship court can be and we know how horrid the attorneys and judges can be, but this is beyone the pale.

Here is the link to the Record on Appeal for Case No. 22 PR 12, the decedent’s estate plus some sort of arrest receipt.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SNuem-uKiOU62O27IeNtVnkHGAWE39Wp?usp=share_link

Fred Stegall was a 90 year old former veteran, and and Tonny and Penny knew him as a dear family friend for years and years since they were young girls. Over the years they kept in touch.

Until one day when some persons in town drug him to a lawyer and insisted he leave all his property to the Catholic Church and Galesburg Rifle Club. While the reasons for this are unknown, often charities are used to hide the theft of smaller amount of money that can be taken more easily and surreptitiously.

In this case, Fred had acres of timberland on his farm that could easily and secretly be logged for hundreds of thousands of dollars and no one would know and the lumber would just be gone one day. But that’s not what Fred wanted with his land. He loved his wooded areas and felt they should be preserved for the environment.

In addition, the Galesburg Rifle Club had been squatting on his land for years and years and never paid Fred one dime of rent, although the Club made thousands of dollars for holding hunting events and setting up for hunters. At one time they put Fred on the Board of Directors so he was part of what was going on, but in the last few years, they removed him and he was very angry about that.

In January 2022 a probate proceeding was opened up because Tonny and Penny were worried about their friend Fred. They had been threatened that someone got Fred a protective order and so they could not longer go near him; but when they went to see him in January 2021, not only did they find out that was false, but Fred was living in a severe state of self neglect with no good food to eat, everything was filthy and rotted and he was dirty and had not bathed in weeks. Immediately Penny and Tonny bought Fred the good food, got him fed, washed and cleaned the home and did so up until his death in January of 2022.

Over that year, they spent $115,000 on caring for Fred and they filed for reimbursement with the Probate Court. During 2021 the probate court and Fred’s “guardian of the estate” F&M Bank did not get him a dime of his own $500k cash estate to life off of. The Williamsons spent their own funds on Fred to make sure he had his necessities–food, clothing, supplies and utilities.

Now, Tonny and Penny have been charged with “Elder Financial Abuse”–despite the fact for over a year they were the only ones doing the cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping and laundry and paying for everything–on their own accord!

Who does this? Who are these evil prosecutors? I am told it is Jeremy Karlin and Ashley Worby. Call them and tell them what you think.

And now here is the proof we have all been waiting for–you can see from the Record on Appeal in the 22 PR 12 Estate case that the charges are false and the Williamson Sisters have done nothing wrong. They cared for Fred when no one else did. And for their loving and kind care, they suffered a false $600,000 punitive damages judgement in 21 MR 21–a case cocked up and manipulated by Paul Mangieri and John Robertson and with alleged “oversight” by judge Curtis L Lane. All 3 of the cases involving Fred Stegall and the Williamson Sisters were a sham by Knox County–21 MR 21, the guardianship 21 PR 10 and the Decedent’s Estate 22 PR 12.

State’s Attorney – Knox County,Illinois

knox.il.ushttps://co.knox.il.us › states-attorney

State’s Attorney: Jeremy Karlin Phone #: (309) 345-3880. Fax Number: (309) 345-0126. Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8:30AM-4:30PM. 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1SNuem-uKiOU62O27IeNtVnkHGAWE39Wp?usp=share_link

I will fax the states attorneys and invite them to leave any comments for this sordid situation and if they reply they will be promptly published in the comments section.

But as far as I am concerned, it’s time to remove Judge Curtis L Lane and get rid of prosecutors Jeremy Karlin and Ashley Worby. Instead of arresting Penny and Tonny Williamson, they should be investigating and arresting all of Paul Mangieri, John Robertson and Judge Curtis L Lane for their outrageous disgusting behavior toward teh Williamson Sisters.

We know that Mangeri, without any court authorization took $346,000 out of the estate and other attorneys were paid from the estate without a court order.

Both the Decedent’s Estate case 22 PR 12 (Decedent’s estate $346k missing without court order courtesy of Paul Mangieri) and the 21 MR 21 case (false judgment of $600k) are up on appeal.

Please pray for the Williamson sisters, that justice be done for them, finally!

The states attorneys need to investigate all of Judge Curtis L Lane, Jeremy Karlin and Ashley Worby, Paul Mangieri, John Robertson and Jacque Dare and John Hessler. Those are the real elder abusers in all of this.

This post will be about some issues when you appear pro se and how to avoid those issues.

1. If you are sick, you still have to appear on your court date. Court will still continue and this is always a great time to DWP (dismiss for want of prosecution) your case, or even worse, enter some horrible order against you. Under Supreme Court Rule 45 you can appear by phone and on zoom. Let the court know as soon as possible.
2. Always have a court reporter if you can possibly afford one and get your transcripts promptly. Sorry to say, I am still hearing complaints that transcripts come back materially altered in Illinois and these complaints are recent, not a part of the past. As what happened at my ARDC trial, the court reporter promised she would not change the transcripts but she did just that and the ARDC still has not reinstated me nor apologized for there perfidy.
3. If you file something in court, you have to have a Motion and Notice of Motion. Generally the court will set a briefing schedule. Replies are not required and not even encouraged unless you have something truly new to say about the cases, facts or the law. Otherwise, avoid them. Your Motion will explain exactly what you want and why you want it. It is best to cite the law and at least one case, but several cases would be better.
4. If you do not have transcripts, your chances of winning on appeal are slim to none. Always get a court reporter. Write the Chief Judge and tell him you want the right to record and use Google Translate Speech to Text because you are indigent and cannot afford a court reporter
5. Always appear in court if humanely possible and take notes, even if you have an attorney. If the attorney tells you you don’t have to appear or you should not appear, get a new attorney. Almost never should the attorney say that and they better have a very good reason (outstanding warrant or possible jail) but 99% of the time you should be coming to supervise your attorney to make sure they are doing their job.
6. Sometimes your judge might not be present due to illness, an emergency or training. It is okay for a substitute judge to appear and issue valid orders. Your regular judge may still be involved by phone or otherwise on that day and that is okay. Judges can work together, in general.
7. If you are not there and the judge issues an order you do not like or you think it is wrong, you have 30 days to vacate it for “good cause.” After that it is very difficult to vacate the order, even though the statute says up to 2 years. You would have to show diligence, new case law or evidence that could not possibly be obtained before that date, and when they say that standard, think of the word “impossible”. Probably 98% of motions to vacate filed after 30 days are denied. Judges do not like to do that. There are very few cases.
8. Try your best to get an attorney to help you. Check out all the law clinics at every law school and look around for lists of legal clinics and pro bono legal services for the indigent.
9. Even if you think your order is void or voidable, never delay in seeking to vacate it. The sooner you file a motion to vacate the better your chances of success in vacating it. Judges hate to vacate any order older than 30 days and they will come up with any excuse not to do that for you.

https://abc7chicago.com/wealshire-group-lincolnshire-warren-barr-il-news/13209452/

Anger abounds, questions unanswered after Lincolnshire, IL nursing home left unstaffed

Lincolnshire police now conducting nursing home investigation

ByChristian Piekos 

Wednesday, May 3, 2023 5:53PM

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Those who had loved ones in a Lincolnshire nursing home when it was left unstaffed are angry and have unanswered questions.

LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. (WLS) — Anger abounds and questions remain unanswered after people reported no medical staff were on duty Monday at a Lincolnshire nursing home.

A family member of a relative inside the former Warren Barr nursing home said it was like walking into a disaster zone on Monday when he said there were no medical staff on-site to care for patients.

As the state health department investigates any possible wrong-doing, families said they just want transparency from the new owners about what’s going to happen to their loved ones.

“It’s indescribable and inconceivable that there was nobody here,” said David Blair, whose mother moved from the nursing home. “I raced in here, and walked into what was an apocalyptic scene of people. I mean, it was eerie. There was nobody inside the building.”

“Where does that leave my dad? Should he stay, should he go?” said Sean Hobbs, whose father is still in the nursing home.

After the Wealshire Center of Excellence took control of the nursing home on Monday, family members of those inside said their loved ones went without medical care for hours.

Now, frustrated relatives like Hobbs, want to know if his 78-year-old father with dementia is going to get the around-the-clock care he needs.

“I hope these questions get answered sometime soon,” he said.

RELATED: Staffing shortages at Illinois long-term care facilities, data investigation reveals

Illinois Health Department officials released a statement, which reads in part, “We are in ongoing discussions with the new owner, who is in control of the facility, to ensure they have a plan in place for the safe operation of the home.”

Wealshire President Arnie Goldberg did not respond to a request for comment.

In a letter to residents, Goldberg said he plans to turn the facility into a kidney and cardiac rehabilitation center, adding further confusion for families.

“We need transparency about what is going to happen next,” Hobbs said.

David Blair moved his 93-year-old mother from the nursing home to a different facility after the chaos, and is demanding clarity from the new owners.

“You have a responsibility, licensed by the state, to provide care, and you didn’t do it,” Blair said. “I feel a lot better that at least I know she is being cared for and nothing like that would ever happen in another facility. It’s unconscionable.”

The Lincolnshire Police Department said it’s working with the Lake County State’s Attorney to determine if charges will be filed.