Most people do not know that being old in America exposes them to
ruinously expensive and patently unnecessary conservatorships and
guardianships. In the hands of disgruntled or angry adult children,
step-children, nieces and nephews or even by total strangers in the social
welfare community, these secretive state laws can strip the elderly of
their personal and financial independence for the rest of their lives. Sad
but true, statutes that were developed to help elderly friends and
relatives who are unable to look after their own personal or financial
needs are now being used by calculating heirs to direct the transfer of
family assets to themselves--with the courts' blessings.
I learned of these easily abused state codes and how they can be
used to control the elderly only when four of my six brothers and sisters
tried to have a conservatorship established over my 72-year-old mother.
Even though she was fully competent and well-supported by legal and
financial advisors, my mother had to fight an 18-month, $1,000,000 battle
in Los Angeles Superior Court to keep her personal and financial freedoms.
The legal battle split our family in two. I wrote THE RETIREMENT NIGHTMARE
to help others protect themselves and protect those they love from the
litigation nightmare that befell my mother during her so-called "golden
years."
