Ok. To pursue the case against my brother the lawyer is asking for a $12,500 retainer. We, as you know, just bought a house — and rented out our other house rather than selling it, which seemed the better investment — and as a result are cash poor right now. So unless the attorney is willing to work with us on a payment plan, guess the old cancer-ridden gal who was dumped penniless into an assisted care facility, where she shares a room with two other sadsacks, is well and truly fucked, and “Goldie” gets to keep his booty.
Yes, I know: Life isn’t fair, wear a helmet, etc. But here’s a new one to mull over: when you try to teach your own children that crime doesn’t pay, make sure they don’t have a bloated, moronic sociopath for an uncle who, despite his numerous imbecilic maneuvers and the visible paper trail he’s left documenting his malfeasance, has in fact made it pay, and quite handsomely so — retired on a Florida beach at 44, owning a condo and a new car outright, plus squatting on the rest of the proceeds from the sale of the house, my father’s life insurance, bonds, pension, and an IRA — or else the lesson may seem rather forced and not terribly believable. To the more astute child.
Never having to make a rent payment or a mortgage payment in your life, and sponging up money off the mother you got to treat like a dog while she paid for your drug habit? That sounds like pretty sweet gig, if you can get past the whole morality thing.
In other news, congrats to Colt McCoy. Quite a gamer, that little dude is.
Now, back to my increasingly heavy and worrisome drinking. End of vent. And apologies to you lawyers out there, most of whom I am sure are good people. The market is what the market is. I understand that. I’m just feeling ground down.
When I sober back up, I’ll try to make this work somehow. Because what other choice do I have? At the very least, maybe the little bastard will have to do some jail time.
Sadly, I feel much better about my piece of shit brother now. Here’s hoping yours OD’s.
ok, maybe I’m being daft, but hasn’t your indecent cretin “brother” committed several criminal acts?
While a private attorney is good to oversee things, put a few screws to the criminal system to Get.On.With.It somewhere the court can issue a restitution order…
WTF?
I would gladly buy a “fuck you goldie” t-shirt if it were available in XXXL. I could glide like a flying squirrel in it and fight crime.
I feel your pain Jeff. I have family members just like that.
Early Mockup/Prototype:
http://i62.tinypic.com/161nm0h.jpg
Raise the money through donations and sell your stuff (not that stuff) like maybe a tome of poetry. Here’s your opening:
There once was a ninja from Nantucket
Got dissed
Got pissed
And forgot about to think about Fuckit
Your welcome. Now nail the bastard.
>What is Exploitation?
Exploitation means any action which involves the misuse of a vulnerable adult’s funds, property, or person. This is mostly thought of as financial exploitation and encompasses a broad range of conduct. Financial exploitation may involve unusual banking activity, suspicious signatures on checks, changes to legal documents, missing assets or funds, excessive fees for rent or caregiver services, and person-to-person, mail, or telephone fraud scams. Exploitation covers situations where an elder is coerced into giving consent or is unable to give consent due to a state of mental or physical incapacity.
Is vulnerable adult abuse a crime?
Yes. In Maryland, it is a crime to abuse, neglect, or exploit a vulnerable adult.
What can you do if you suspect abuse?
Any concerned person who has reason to believe that an alleged vulnerable adult has been subjected to abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or exploitation may contact the Baltimore County Department of Social Services, Adult Protective Services, at 410-853-3000. The report can be oral or written and should be made as soon as there is reasonable cause to believe that an adult is in danger of harm or in an emergency situation. The names of persons who make reports are required by law to be kept confidential. Any person who makes or participates in making a report of suspected abuse, or who participates in an investigation or judicial proceeding, is immune from civil liability. Concerned citizens may also contact the Police Department to initiate an investigation of the suspected abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a vulnerable adult.<
link
You know you’ll never get a dime back. Tell him to sell his car and condo.
Jeffie!
Lawyers are simply overpaid secretaries. You should know that by now! Don’t fall for the ruse.
1. You do not require a lawyer to file a change of your Mom’s power of attorney – this is a simple civil matter. It amounts to simply registering your Mother’s new instructions (in the form of an affidavit of intent) with the county. And it’s risk-free: If your brother chooses to contest this action, he exposes himself to charges of being adversarial, and makes service of his summons in step 2, below, extremely easy for you.
2. You do not require a lawyer to file a criminal complaint – (a) craft an affidavit for your mother to sign that states the crimes committed by your brother (there are many templates for affidavits online available for free, simply customize one to fit your case), (b) append your investigators’ affidavit and any sheriff’s or policeman’s affidavits, evidence like bank statements and the like to Mom’s word, (c) pay the court filing fee and (d) notify the plaintiff using service by publication, process server and/or sheriff’s server, (e) wait for the required time (Colorado’s published criminal and civil procedures will detail the time spans for this), then (f) ask the court to schedule a hearing and (g) go!
My bet is you’ll win your case by default – the indigent relative simply won’t show up to contest the complaint, and, if you’ve served him properly, he’ll lose by default.
My Dad always said that, the minute you hire an attorney, you’ve already lost the case! There is a lot of self-help lawyer-ing online, and you’ll be surprised at how simple the practice of law is for the person with a gram of diligence, an ounce of literacy, and a pound of documentation skills.
If you lack these (and it is clear that you don’t) then you’re stuck in the mire with about 80% of the citizenry, overpaying for basic research and letter writing so your attorney can send his daughter to Andover.
Oops! In my #2 above I goofed: “Plaintiff” should be “defendant.”
When you file your own cases, be sure to proof read every thing you craft two or three times. You don’t want to load your case file up with corrected affidavits and other mental lint!
Good luck!
For crimes and torts committed in Maryland and Florida?
As I noted in an earlier post, I’ve already handled the change in power of attorney, actually calling a notary in Maryland, having him drive to the hospital my mother was staying in, and switching that power over to relatives who live close to my Mother; I’ve been in contact with a Detective who has started the subpoena process of bank accounts, and will start looking into the sale of the house. I’ve had my mother sign a paper / attestation before a notary detailing the fact that my brother, while power of attorney, failed to perform the implied fiduciary responsibilities that came with his conservatorship. Likely I’ll have a court reporter film my mother reading that statement to make it dispositive. I’ve had my mother change her will. I’ve contacted my late father’s former employer to find out for how many years my father’s pension has been diverted to a dual account my brother opened in his and my mother’s name — then had her sign away her rights to access the account (at about the time of the sale of the home), likely by just shoving papers in front of her and telling her to sign them. I’ve contacted the realtor and title company to find out how, after a July 25th sale, the deed to the house still seems to be in my Mother’s name. I contacted an attorney in Maryland — detailed in this post — but now I’m going to look for some other legal and civil remedy through a MD agency assigned the responsibility of protecting the indigent from this type of fraud: I have already spoken to DHHS in Maryland, through which I found the Detective who deals with these type cases. Now I need to find a Maryland lawyer to handle any kind of legal filings necessary in that state.
I’ve been badgering the title company to find information on the sale of the house; I’ve tried to have someone go over to the old house and speak to the new tenants to find out what arrangement was made — if in fact the house was ever really sold. No luck yet with that, though. Tough to to from Colorado.
Today, I’m contacting a trust / estate attorney in St Petersburg to try to get a constructive trust put in place and alert my brother to the coming litigation; because of Florida’s homestead laws it is necessary I get this done quickly.
Oh. And I also have a family of my own to take care of. So I’ve done what I can, and I’ll continue to do more, but it’s tough trying to coordinate everything from Colorado, particularly with my mother in and out of doctors’ offices for the various tests and procedures.
Once I have the police reports, I’ll work with the Maryland Detective to try to have the case taken up by St Peter police and Pinellas county prosecutors. In the meantime, I’ll try to keep my mother in good spirits despite what have been a series of lousy medical confirmations of her condition.
I’ve been on this for a bit over a week now. I’m stressed, tired, sad, and disgusted. But don’t think I haven’t been doing anything a non-lawyer and non-professional investigator can possibly do to drive this process forward as quickly as possible. After I’ll, I had to trick my brother into giving up info just so we can find an address on him; the MD police wouldn’t file a complaint for actual death threats (no poetic musings about bringing the tree, etc — actual death threats leveled against my aunt, cousin, and sister) without an address on my brother, so I found it through a property records based on a few details he let slip.
Today I’ll be contacting several agencies as we wait for the latest medical results.
I appreciate all the advice and support; but trust me, I already know what can and can’t be done with and without actual legal representation. The fact that there are 3 states and a terminally-ill patient involved complicates matters, particularly when you have a 2-year-old vying for your attention.
Gee McGhee, it seems the state where the victim lives ought to provide the venue for justice. Boy am I dumb about interstate crime!
So, turns out I’ll need to find an attorney in Nigeria if I want to get my money back from that Nigerian Prince. I’ll never trust Royalty again.
In all seriousness, though, the statutes governing this sort of thing can be found online or at your local court library. And, although you may still choose to hire counsel afterwards, it pays to read the state of Colorado’s laws governing interstate restitution procedures and civil codes for serving notices, if only to provide you the basis for diligently critiquing your attorney’s actions while under hire.
(You’ll find that most states’ procedures and codes are verbatim copies of each others’, BTW, thus making your Colorado research applicable to your MD and FL situations.)
Just ‘cuz they’re listed in the Yellow Pages under “A” for attorneys, it doesn’t mean they don’t need watchin.’ Friggin’ crooks, most attorneys are!
So, is $12.5k the goimg rate in Maryland, or do you need to shop around?
Anyways, it’s a damn shame you can’t just beat the mother fucker (figurative sense, as well as pejorative) to a bloody pulp.
The victim, or one of them, lives in Maryland.
The law is easy (comparatively). It’s the facts of the case that can really trip people up.
I’ve no idea if your righteous prosecutions will bring you to Florida, but if they do you’ve got a place to crash (assuming I’m anywhere near where you’d need to be). All I’d expect for payment is a decent discussion about language, politics and such.
I usta know a guy. I’ll ask around. See if he still does that kinda work. You know. In case this other shit don’t work out. Kinda a plan “B”. Ya know what I’m sayin.
Maryland Legal Aid, Boston Office
Even if for some reason your Mom wouldn’t qualify, I’ll bet the referrals they give you would be priceless.
Umm, Baltimore is not Boston. Accents are slightly different.. )
Since we’re across multiple states here, I wonder if there’s any way to bring the feds in on your side?