Monday, April 8, 2013

March 2013 Legal Update

I got this in my inbox from a law firm:

DO-IT-YOURSELF WILL LEADS TO UNWANTED RESULT

 If you choose to write your own will, you run the risk of not having your estate distributed [http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs010/1102793168627/img/177.jpg] the way you want, as a
recent case illustrates.

George Z. wanted his estate to go to two of his five children. Instead of seeking out an elder law attorney to advise him on drawing up an estate plan, he decided to write his own will. The will gave his pickup truck to his daughter Diane and his summer property to his son Wayne. Mr. Z. also wrote in the will that he was intentionally leaving out his other three children. 

 The problem with the will was that Mr. Z. did not specify what to do with the remainder of his estate (called a "residuary clause"). While Mr. Z. probably intended that the rest of his estate would go to his favorite children, he didn't state that in the will. Because the will had no residuary clause, the remainder of Mr. Z.'s estate passed under the state law that specifies who inherits when there is no will. A court battle between the adult children began and was resolved, but only after the children had spent much more in attorney fees than their father would have paid to have his will done properly. While you may save some money drafting your own will, you are in danger of making mistakes that can cause unneeded conflict and don't get the result you want.

In regard to my Mr. Z, his attorney didn't forget to designate his automobile - it was the rest of his assets that she liquidated.  She hired herself to force him into guardianship, hired her friends to be guardians then made further money suing me for defamation after I published the crime she committed.  I can't prove how much she made off this Mr. Z but I can prove how much it will cost you to hire this law firm to handle your affairs (based on actual clients) and how much Mr. Z's heirs will inherit after this law firm is done financially exploiting him.

The questions are these:

Do you have 30-60K to hire an attorney to set up your affairs?  

Do you have 100K-1M to hire their friends as your guardian?  

Do you want your attorney to inherit your estate or your family?  George Z may have only wanted 2 of his 5 children to inherit but at least there was money left to inherit and it went to the rightful heirs, not an interloper.

Every time I read about this attorney, she's always putting herself in the middle of the elderly and their loved ones.  It's not surprising that she would write about a family fight.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Fed Issues Order Against Devon Bancorp in Illinois


MAR 19, 2013 1:57pm ET

The Federal Reserve Board has taken action against a Midwest banking company.

The Fed said Tuesday that it has reached a written agreement with Devon Bancorp in Chicago. The company agreed to refrain from paying dividends, distributing capital or redeeming stock without regulatory approval. It will also provide written details about its sources and uses of cash.

The parent of the $240 million-asset Devon Bank also agreed to serve as a source of strength for the bank and to provide the Fed with quarterly progress reports.

Separately, the Fed terminated a written agreement with Bank VI in Salina, Kan., that obligated the bank to provide a written plan for maintaining sufficient capital and strengthening board oversight of its operations.

The July 2010 agreement also required the $65 million-asset bank to strengthen its credit risk management practices, to reduce concentrations of credit, to improve management of its funds and to hire an outsider to review its loan portfolio.

Bank VI also agreed to refrain from lending to any borrower that had loans flagged by examiners during a January 2010 examination. The bank was also required to improve its position in connection with past-due loans in excess of $250,000 and to eliminate losses that it had not already charged off.

The Fed took both actions on March 13 and announced them on Tuesday.

Link to Federal Reserve Action.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Suze Orman Will & Trust Kit

This is a much SAFER alternative to going to an attorney to set up your financial affairs.  If you do go to an attorney, make sure they're NOT probate lawyers.  Trust Attorneys and Estate planning are good - Probate or Elder Law should be avoided.  Attorneys are expensive and there are some who prey off the elderly and disabled and if you're a regular reader, I'm sure you know whom I'm talking about.


This is an easy-to-use and fast way for you and other members of your household to create your own advance directive, also known as a living will, durable power of attorney for health care, living revocable trust, and all the other must-have documents you need to protect you and your family. It’s as easy as 1-2-3—simply personalize, print, and protect.
Suze Orman and her own estate trust attorney have created the most state-of-the-art documents found anywhere. There are more than $2,500 worth of estate documents in this kit. Why pay thousands of dollars when you can get the same documents in this kit!
This kit includes:
• More than 50 state-of-the-art documents • Free automatic on-line updates • Verbal and written instructions taking you step by step through the four must-have documents • Password protection securing multiple users’ information • A tutorial that shows you everything you need to know • 10 electronic books
PC and Macintosh Compatible . . . and good in all 50 states!

You don't need an attorney with this kit.  You do need a Notary Public to witness signatures (most banks or currency exchanges have one).  It's also a good idea to have many copies of the legal documents and if anyone has an idea of what to do with the original?  I wouldn't put it in a safety deposit box at a bank.  In regard to Devon Bank taking over your assets, they just drill it open and take the contents.  Your family is then at the mercy of the trustees regardless of what the document states.  First thing banks do is liquidate assets or family jewelry, heirlooms, stocks, cars, land, property, etc., then invest that money in small state banks (friends of theirs) that yield little or no interest.  It's not uncommon for the bank to try to make money off you and the sentimental value you placed means nothing to them.

It's a good idea to keep everything "within the family" and that includes hiring caregivers (no agencies).  Don't invite strangers into your loving family unit.










Monday, March 4, 2013

Devon Bank Texas Ratio 2012

I don't know anything about the acquisition of this bank.  I found the Texas Ratio for the fourth quarter of 2012 here.

You can read what the FDIC published last year here.  Search Devon Bank.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Chief Judge Timothy Evans - Cook County Probate Court

Back in 2011, wonderful things started happening down at the courthouse after I mailed my report on Devon Bank and what I consider to be legalized abuse and financial exploitation.  The probate court judiciary is amazing, I can't emphasize that enough.  (The Honorable Lynne Kawamoto is my personal favorite for restoring my faith in justice.  I also helped a woman win custody last March and Judge Kawamoto was the judge who ruled on the case.  She ruled fairly.)  The entire 18th floor changed more than a year ago and "it's my personal opinion" that the people suing me for defamation truly believe the judges were reading my blog.  They weren't.  Judges don't read blogs, they don't care what anyone writes online (until recently, it's causing quite a stir now that I'm being sued for it) and you never hear any politician creating new legislation or making any major changes because they "googled it."  If you want your world to change, blogging isn't going to cut it.  You've got to get up.

About a year ago, I heard that Judge Evans didn't like the financial exploitation occurring in probate court and was going to tackle the problem.  I haven't heard anything else about this other than he kept his word.  He did, indeed, tackle the problem.  The elder law attorney's are upset because they have to actually do some work in order to get paid now.  (What a pity.)  Needless to say, they are NOT thrilled with Judge Evans (which has me loving the man).  I'm also Chicago born and bred and very competitive.  I'm in a race with other states in getting this crime to stop and as far as I'm concerned, I'm winning but I give all credit to Devon Bank and Janna Dutton.  (You can also read my post on How to Win Guardianship.)

This is Chief Judge Evans Order:

General Order No. 26 - Petition for Fees and Costs for Court Appointed Attorney's

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:

1.  In cases pending any Department or Division of this court on or after the effective date of this order, all attorney fee petitions for court appointed attorneys including petitions to pay costs of expert witnesses, court reporters and other service providers, must be filed by the earlier of 60 (SIXTY) days after entry of the final order disposing of the case or 6 (SIX) months after the attorney performed the service or incurred the cost.

2.  In cases pending in this court on or before the effective date of this order, all fee petitions for services rendered and costs incurred more than 6 (SIX) months before the effective date of this order shall be filed and set for hearing November 30,2012.

This order supersedes all provisions governing the procedures for payments of the fees and costs of court appointed attorneys in previous orders of this Court, including orders of any Department or Division of this Court.

Dated 6th day of July, 2012.  This order shall be spread upon the records of this Court and published.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Defamation Hearing in Probate Court


Everyone is asking me about my defamation case and I don’t have time to respond to you all individually.  I’m not sure what happened?  I am going to stay on top of it this time but here’s the gist:

My attorney responded with a motion to dismiss and wants a trial date for the Citizen’s Participation Act.  Janna Dutton hired a law firm to represent her or them.  The law firm responded with their own personal spin (on my life story) and we waited for the trial date to be set.

Throughout the summer and fall my case was in Chancery Court waiting for Judge Preston to assign it a date - it was up for case management three times before he sent it back to Probate Court.  Around Christmas, Dutton’s attorney petitioned the court again (and I forgot why but I’ll read my file to fill in these blanks) but no one seems to understand why Judge Preston would send it to Cesario?  It’s a big mystery.

Yesterday, we all went to court.  I went because I have a copy of a letter that Janna Dutton faxed my attorney stating that Judge Cesario will order my websites to come down, that she’ll protect her ward against me.  (I will find the letter and put the exact language that Dutton used later.)  So, I went because I would like to meet her.

Needless to say, Judge Cesario is absolutely lovely.  She explained that Ludwig’s file went missing a few weeks ago and was holding up a hot pink paper that ordered the case to be moved to Chancery Court.  She was pointing to Judge Coghlan’s signature.  She wanted to know where Janna Dutton was?  That’s when her attorney spoke up (who is a very nice young man) and told her that he was retained.  My attorney told Judge Cesario that he filed a motion to dismiss, that he didn't attend the case management hearings because he was waiting for a trial date to be assigned and some other things.  Then Judge Cesario asked Dutton’s attorney what he said to Judge Preston?  She wanted to know why it was on her desk?  He told her that he asked Preston for a trial date which is why (I suppose) she got it back?  She apologized to us for the mix up, explained to Dutton’s attorney that he needs to fill out another hot pink form moving the case to Chancery then explained to me and my attorney that it’s going to be a lengthy process because it has to go through the hands of many head judges for reassignment.

So, I’m thinking I should have a new court date in about three-four weeks.  I gather from yesterdays hearing that Dutton’s attorney asked Judge Preston three times to go to trial and after the third time, he sent it to Probate?  Like I said, it's a big mystery.

Changed my game plan on this one so......

Sunday, November 18, 2012

The New Cash Cows : Elderly With Assets

ElderAbusehelp.Org

If Adult Protective Services (Elder Protective Services here in IL) was actually focused on protecting vulnerable adults, they have only to look to our streets that are littered with homeless, hungry and many times disoriented adults of all ages who desperately need help and protection. But…. these people have no money, and no estates to loot. APS steps over these individuals in order to get to those who have assets.


In every state organized crime rings are operating involving the same judges, predatory guardians, attorneys, Adult Protective Services personnel, medical personnel, and participating facilities who will violate the rights of an elderly or disabled victim in exchange for payment or personal profit.

“This system of theft will continue until the entire estate has been stolen leaving the victim penniless. At this point, Medicare and Medicaid are used as the cash cow to cover medical expenses and the inflated charges of nursing, the doctors’ visits and vast amounts of medications are charged off to these services costing these services millions each year in padded billing. ”

If predatory guardians were actually concerned about the health and welfare of their victims, there would be no need to physically kidnap, isolate and forcibly medicate these people and then to proceed on to steal their life’s savings.

Of wills, trusts and other legal instruments

Overseeing the looting of an estate is a probate judge who is well aware that what is happening has nothing to do with the health, wellbeing, or welfare of the victim, but who can be depended upon to facilitate the predators. It is all about the estate, how much it is worth and who will gain access to it.

Advance planning instruments for retirement dictate the victims plans for their property such as wills, trusts, insurance benefits, savings accounts, investments, land titles and other assets. These instruments are routinely discarded by the probate judge and declared void even though the judge has no actual lawful authority to do so.

This is done after the victim has been forcibly medicated with drugs such as Zyprexa or Seroquel in doses so high that the victim is unable to function even minimally. It is in the state, and known to the judge to be drug induced dysfunction, that the victim is declared [incompetent]. [Even if the victim was in actuality at that moment in time, incompetent, the judge has no authority to void or discard previously created legal instruments. This would assume, without any factual basis, without hearing or relevant testimony and evidence that the victim was always incompetent and unable to judiciously construct their own estate; a determination clearly not possible.]

Several techniques are used to coerce the victim and to blackmail the family members or friends into silence. Emotional blackmail, consisting of isolating the victim and then accusing family and friends of being a danger to, or having abused the victim is most common.
  Multiple abuse charges are levied against family members or friends of the victim who might attempt to rescue them from their kidnapers. In many instances which have been documented, the predators have no knowledge of any abuse, of any kind, by anyone. Still, the charges are made and the cooperating probate judge for some reason needs no evidence to be supplied by the predators to support these allegations. In most cases, the predator is a stranger not only to the family and friends, but to the victim themselves.

In these same situations when actual investigations into the charges determines the charges are unfounded, these stay on the probate court record as if they were in fact, true. They are then repeated as if they were fact at every opportunity causing further defamation and personal injury to the family members.

[In one particular county in Florida, one predatory guardian has made the same ver batum charges against 18 various family’s and friends of 18 guardiansized victims from whom millions in estate assets have been looted. At no time has the predator produced anything other than their own personal testimony to support the charges levied].

None of this benefits the “ward”

Adult Protective Services (APS) operates on either a quota system or on a commission system, just as Child Protective Services does. This means X number of bodies must be processed in order to garner federal grant monies, and reimbursements as well as state funding. Projected annual budgets for operating APS include a projected number of victims, rising with each year of projection. Job protection and security are necessarily factored into these projections.

APS must adhere to various performance indicators that will meet the minimum return needed to qualify for funding. Failing to do so will result in the withholding of payments and could eventually find them in non-compliance and out of funding altogether.

An APS goal is to insure that all older Americans have the opportunity to live independently, with dignity, in their homes and communities for as long as they are able and choose to do so. This is the goal possibly, but the reality is that this will most likely not happen if these same older Americans have amassed any sizeable estate. Once identified as having assets they are targeted by the predators. Various offices of APS in several states and communities, have been implicated repeatedly in the flagging of potentially wealthy individuals whose estates could be exploited.

Preying on the elderly who committed the crime of aging/with assets, has become a lucrative and government sanctioned vocation. Across the country, in every state and community are rings of professional predators who make their living targeting elderly individuals whose estates can be looted under the guise of guardianship or conservatorship. Akin to a flock of vultures picking the bones of a dead carcass, professional predatory fiduciary’s, unethical lawyers and a host of government agencies and personnel begin chipping away at the estate, each of them billing the victim’s estate for supposed services rendered.

Any and all assets of the victim [now a so-called ward of the state], are immediately transferred to the victims new owner…..the guardian. Titles to homes are transferred to the guardian and quickly sold for pennies on the dollar to friends and co-predators or they might be sold at market value. Either way, the proceeds go directly into the predators private accounts supposedly to benefit the ward, of course.(sarc) Stocks, bonds, investments, savings, personal items are now all in the possession of the predator to dispose of and profit from.

In the meantime?

The victim is held in a participating facility that is willing to isolate, medicate and violate the rights of the victim in exchange for payment. This forced imprisonment of elderly victims amounts to torture.

Who ya gonna call?

You might as well call “Ghostbusters” on this one. There is not a federal or state representative or senator who will address this issue. Most will not even admit to having any knowledge that these criminal rackets are operating right under their noses.

The Department of Justice has been made aware, along with the FBI, states attorney’s general, governors, and all levels of local law enforcement. Not one of these agencies will act to protect the victims from these criminal rings.

“Law enforcement agents, social workers, and judges have all been trained to maintain a watchful eye over exploitative family members. Yet no one seems to be guarding the guardians. Family members have complained to local law enforcement, the state attorneys’ office, and even the F.B.I.”

Judicial oversight boards have been notified, and have been sent court documents clearly exposing the civil rights violations, judicial indiscretion and abuse, and the ongoing harassment and intimidation perpetrated by probate judges on behalf of and to protect the predatory guardian against family’s and friends of the victim. In several instances, family members are threatened with jail, told they cannot file any charges, cannot call the police, cannot report the abuse by the predators. Predatory guardians have been given immunity from prosecution for failing to report accurately and timely, for falsifying court documents and reports, for emotionally and physically abusing the victim and for violating state and federal regulations and statutes regarding the rights of the victim.

In every instance of the submission of evidence showing the blatant corruption of the probate court and the collusion of the judge, predatory guardians, attorney’s and others, the boards have upheld the corruption.

In my opinion, what is happening to the elderly in this country is government sanctioned human trafficking. Our elderly are being treated as commodities and are referred to as “units” or “human property”. This is nothing less than organized criminal racketeering operating within government agencies and offices and with the full knowledge and cooperation of every level of government.

I'm publishing this because Janna Dutton, Josh Mitzen, Rick Block and Devon Bank's response in their defamation lawsuit against me, they wrote something about the "Elder Protection Services Scam" like that's shocking.  It's happening all over the country and even though I had the best elder abuse investigators, doesn't mean that they're not hooking them up with clients instead of calling family members.  What's more shocking is the fact they're pretending they don't know about it.  I know Janna Dutton is well aware of the problem by her online video.