Often described as 'civil death,' guardianships strip an adult of their fundamental rights.
Eyewitness News requested Oppenheimer's certificate of completion of her guardianship training, but she would not provide it to us.
Lichtblau and Gile said they grew concerned that LaMar, who had an estate worth more than $8 million, was not living the way he could have afforded to. They worried he wasn't eating nutritious food and had concerns about the condition of his apartment - that it was dark and dingy. Lichtblau and Gile wrote to Oppenheimer with their concerns. She responded to each one expressing she had dealt with the concerns of the tenants and that LaMar's apartment was clean and he was being cared for appropriately.
Judge Michael Pesce denied the request, saying the fees were excessive and the highest ever brought before his bench. In 2017, Oppenheimer moved to sell LaMar's multi-million dollar townhouse located at 138 Pacific Street in Cobble Hill.The petition to sell the home contains several factual errors, including the wrong ZIP codes for LaMar's residence and the wrong ZIP code for the townhouse.
Alchemy Properties told Eyewitness News in a text message that one of their employees, Samuel Kooris, would not comment on the sale of LaMar's townhouse in Cobble Hill.In December 2021, the neighbors wrote to Judge Ottley because they said Oppenheimer was not allowing them to visit or communicate with LaMar.
"I was not happy with what I saw in that room," Gile said. "If hospice had been an option that could have been more comfortable."Oppenheimer said she was unable to visit LaMar throughout his entire week-long stay at the rehab center due to a Covid concern. Eyewitness News also contacted attorney Ariella Gasner, who was appointed as the attorney for LaMar's case, and is named in many of the public documents.
After LaMar died, Lichtblau and Gile wrote a letter to Milton Yu, New York State's Managing Inspector General for Fiduciary Appointments, and the only person in charge of hearing complaints related to the state's more than 49,000 court-appointed guardianships. The process of removing a guardian can be lengthy and involves the filing of many court documents and motions. Most people have to hire a lawyer, while the guardian can use the money from the ward's estate to fight the removal proceedings.
Eyewitness News asked Chalfen how the court can be sure Benjamin did not go over the $100,000 threshold if the court is not keeping track of his commissions. We also asked if the court is concerned other people with guardianship-related appointments may be going over the $100,000 threshold.In 2021, the New York Court system received a $1 million grant to upgrade its online guardianship case management system.
"In many states, you can appoint a guardian for somebody who does not, in fact, need that guardian," Kohn said. "I walked into the facility and there were a stack of documents next to her bed," Oxman-Fister recounted. "I said, what is this? It was an unsigned order to show cause for a guardianship proceeding brought against her in Manhattan Supreme Court. It was brought by my brother. He's not even from New York. How does he bring this against you in Manhattan Supreme Court?" Oxman-Fister recounted asking her mother. "She got upset. I got upset.
Mederos informed Oxman-Fister by email that her mother had died. The email is dated two days after Fister's death. Jean Callahan, the head of the New York WINGS chapter, said the chapter used to be funded, but currently does not receive any funding. She said she hosts calls every other month with an informal group of guardianship professionals..
In 2018, the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging conducted an investigation into the guardianship system in the country.
The panelists offered a variety of solutions, including getting healthcare companies involved, increasing public education about guardianship alternatives and earmarking more money to adequately compensate guardians for their work. For example, he said, "Somebody who has control of a bank account of an incapacitated person can do terrible things to that person without us knowing about it, until, often times, several years later," he said.
Eyewitness News found guardianship filings have gone up every year in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.In Connecticut, an adult guardianship is referred to as a conservatorship., at the end of fiscal year 2021, the Connecticut Probate Court was providing oversight to 22,466 conserved individuals, a 9% increase over the end of fiscal year 2019.
Kohn, who was part of the re-drafting of the UGCOPAA, said, under the act, for example, guardians are required to tell family members and loved ones of their ward when the ward is moved to a different location or if the ward has a major change in their health. Maine and Washington are the only states that have fully adopted the UGCOPAA. The American Association of Retired Persons has been urging states to adopt the UGCOPAA.
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