I Feel Like I Climbed a Mountain ...

The Book Has Finally Dropped

Sept. 20, 2023

     Everywhere I go I try to work into the conversation that I have a new book coming out. Boorish, I suppose, but in this day and publishing age an author has to be their own marketing cheerleader to help spur sales. Fellow authors, you know what I mean.

     The fascinating thing to me is that when I mention the title of my book – We’re Here to Help – When Guardianship Goes Wrong—someone in the group invariably snaps to attention. “Guardianship!?” they say, “My (fill in the blank – mother, grandfather, brothers, cousin) got caught up in that and it was a nightmare! The guardian banned us from seeing (Aunt Lillie) and she died alone in a nursing home, her entire estate was wiped out.”

I’m always surprised that so many people have some sort of personal connection to guardianship, a state run system that is supposed to protect at-risk citizens but frequently winds up victimizing them. They may know a bit about it – but truly understanding how it works is quite different.

The new book, my fourth, hit stores yesterday. Pre Orders from Amazon dropped into reader’s mailboxes earlier. Now my email and text messages are full of comments from readers and those who cooperated with me during my 8 yearlong investigation into the secretive world of court-ordered adult guardianship. (Called conservatorship in some states, like California where Britney Spears was conserved for nearly 14 years.)

“I just got the book!” Suzanne Terranova Whelan wrote after reading the chapter about her kidnapped, guardianized and abused Aunt Susan who had an estate worth more than two million dollars when, at just 64, she began to have memory issues.  “It’s all so great & sadly true. Susan matters! I read the section (about her) & yes I cried.”

Susan Terranova was guardianized by her brother and involuntarily taken from Virginia to live in Alabama. Her $2 million estate was confiscated by the state.

What I want people to understand about this book is that it is not a dry, scholarly read about the mysterious legal system that drives guardianship. Yes, I explain how secretive closed door hearings, sealed court documents and gag orders keep the general public from realizing how insidious this system can be. I explain how incredibly easy it is for one person to file a Petition for Guardianship against another. How the targeted person can quickly become an “incapacitated ward-of-the-court” and be stripped of their civil rights. (Frankly, a convict on death row has more rights than a guardianized person. At least they can hire a lawyer to help them fight their situation!)  I also recount how guardianship judges often allow a ward’s Last Will and Testament, their power of attorney and irrevocable trusts to be ignored. In what world should THAT be allowed?!?  

But the heart of the book is a myriad of unforgettable personal stories from those who were forced to submit to powerful and predatory court-appointed guardians who were given permission to make all personal and financial decisions for them—even if they weren’t really incapacitated. The common denominator in all the cases I investigated over 8 long years was: MONEY. Every victim of an abusive guardianship had just enough money to attract the bad actors that populate this part of the justice system. Some targets were downright wealthy. I also explain how and when court appointees can decide it’s time to dip into a ward’s investment funds, sell their home and heirlooms or place them in a nursing home, and there is nothing the ward can do to stop it.

Firsthand accounts from family members reveal their painful journey through the system. Many relatives who sought to become their loved one’s guardian were rebuffed by the court, and in an astounding double-cross they saw a for-profit appointee installed instead—a total stranger who could charge up to $600 an hour for their services. When family members disagreed with a guardian’s actions they were often banned from seeing their loved one – sometimes permanently. I relate cases of emotional, physical and sexual abuse of wards and proof of their overmedication to insure compliance with the guardian’s orders. Murder has been suggested in some cases.

In short, these unforgettable stories of human tragedy reveal how easily you or someone you love could find themselves trapped in this often destructive system. Britney Spears was one of the rare lucky ones who escaped guardianship’s grip.

Look, we as a society need a system that takes care of our most vulnerable citizens—the elderly with memory or mobility problems; those living with severe disabilities; people with brain injuries, mental issues or other medical infirmities. On paper guardianship and conservatorship seem to fit the bill. And many situations work out well, especially if a trusted family member is named guardian. But it is the execution of the current system that has severely failed those who needed it most, and some who didn’t need protecting in the first place.  

My book includes ways to safeguard yourself and those you love from becoming a casualty of this long neglected part of the justice system. Please, help me spread the word about the dire need to reform this predatory court-supported system.

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