Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Connecticut Probate Injustice

The outrageous story of Daniel Gross - the elderly New York man who was held against his will in a Waterbury nursing home in 2006 by order of the probate court, merely because he happened to get sick in Connecticut. He was freed when a Superior Court judge intervened, calling the Gross case "a terrible miscarriage of justice."

Gross has become a symbol for families across the country who believe the rights of the elderly and infirm are being violated by overzealous courts eager to appoint conservators and lawyers who earn fat paychecks "representing" the unfortunate.

Now, Gross' former court-appointed conservator, Kathleen Donovan, has returned to Waterbury Probate Court — the place Superior Court Judge Gormley said had no jurisdiction and no business inserting itself into this old man's life. She is seeking $39,195 from Gross' estate for her work keeping this elderly gentleman locked up in a local nursing home. That consists of 261.3 hours of work at $150 per hour.

This filing popped up on the probate court docket again, years later, without warning.

On July 13, 2006, Judge Gormley said about jurisdiction:

"The statute is absolutely clear that you can't appoint a conservator of someone's person unless that person is domiciled in the state of Connecticut or resides in the state of Connecticut."

"This gentleman ... has never lived in the state of Connecticut, has lived and raised his three children in New York, his only assets were in New York, his house and his bank account, his driver's license is in New York, his registration is New York, his mail goes to New York. There is to me not a scintilla of evidence supporting residency."

"You can't appoint a conservator of the person for someone who lives out of state ... the man lives somewhere else."

Full Article and Source:
Probate Injustice Returns

Read and Post Comments:
Topix - Probate Injustice Returns

Rick Green's column appears on Tuesdays and Fridays. He can be reached at rgreen@courant.com

See also:
How Can This Happen

Judicial Immunity

Connecticut Conservatorship

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interstate kidnapping - that's what it is - not for "ransom" but for UNJUST ENRICHMENT, for the GREEDY nappers!

Anonymous said...

Thanks to Rick Green for his ongoing courage for exposing probate corruption.

It appears these guardians have no pride and operate under the veil of elder protection and advocacy. This type of flagrant abuse is multiplied across our nation.

This is akin to being imprisoned and forced to pay for an ineffective security system at $150/hr.

Dan's "guardian" should be in prison.

Anonymous said...

Daniel Gross and his estate should finally be left alone!!

In all the guardianship cases in the whole US. The family is the ones who are accused by the courts, but in reality it is the court and the appointed to "care for the person and estate" that are doing the abuseing.

Tell me if this is not abuse:
You are locked up against your will.
You are drugged.
You are kept from your family and loved ones.
Your money goes to pay the people who are doing this to you.
Your honme and other assests sold only so that the guradians can pay themselves and their attorneys.
Your family is only called in to see you at the end of life,when you can't respond and tell them of the hell that you have been put through!!!!

The theives that locked up Mr. Gross, and took time away from his life and family, are evil, money hungry greedy theives, and should leave his famiy and the rest of his estate alone.

I sat in my father-in-laws hospital room all night last night, and will do the same today, because he is now at the end of his life. We have not seem him in the last 3 years, but 3 times until now. All I can think of is the fact that were are the guardians and their attorneys now? Why were they not taking care of him and seeing to it that he was moved around so that his body wasn't getting so stiff as it is now? Why did they let him just sit in one building and ignore the cries that he made to be home and with his family?

I will tell you, these theives have to take over someones life and play God, and talk during the hearings like they are better at caring for someone over their family. They do not go daily and see and talk to the people they are "in charge" of careing about and for. NO THESE PEOPLE ARE PAID TO PRETEND TO CARE, THAT IS WHY SO MANY DIE ALONE, OR GET STIFF FROM LACK OF MOVEMENT. If these people cared then they would allow the family access, and a say in care.

Now with this said, Mr. Gross's so called guardian did nothing to earn on penny of his estate. She is not qualified to care for anyone, and since it was proven that she held him prisioner, she should not get a dime. If she insists on getting paid, and can not leave this case alone, then she sould be thrown under the nearest jail for abuse of Mr. Gross.

Anonymous said...

Unbelievable!
Dan Gross has passed and the abuse continues.
Shame on them!

Anonymous said...

Thank you Rick Green for all that you do in helping to expose the corrupt conservatorship racket.

This story is an outrage!

Anonymous said...

Where are the FEDS? When is the FEDERAL INVESTIGATION going to begin?

When will this guardian be charged and prosecuted?

Shame? Pride? These greedy, cruel "freaks of nature" are not capable of shame and have no pride.

It's all about the $$$, power, vanity and their over inflated egos.

They will stand up before a sympathetic judge with their hands out to get the last dollar from the living and the dead.

The Guardianship laws are intentionally written in language to enable the lawyers and guardians (and others in the loop)not only to profit bit loopholes in the laws to find numerous ways to profit from their, victim, the Ward of the State.

A few thoughts to ponder:

1) Who contributes campaign $$$ to the state legislators, who write the laws?

2) Who pays/funds the lobbyists who lobby (bribe) the law makers to write the laws in their favor?

3) How are the $$$ contributors (lawyers etc) rewarded for investing their $$$ to their political campaign coffers?

We need to throw out ALL guardianship / conservatorship laws and start from Point #1 under new Federal Guardianship Laws.

Anonymous said...

Probate courts are part of a well-designed and promoted system to allow plunder.

Anonymous said...

Still going strong--the probate actors have no shame for their actions and their
greed knows no bounds!!
The probate court appointed conservator, Kathleen Donovan, although told by a Superior Court judge there was no jurisdiction and the therefore no conservatorship, still attempts to sue the estate of Mr. Gross in NY--