Guardianship FAQs

-by- Angela V. Woodhull, Ph.D. © 2011, AV Woodhull

At least every couple of weeks, I receive a frantic call from a predatory guardianship victim—hoping, somehow, that I will have an answer for him or her.

Each time I receive one of these calls, I am torn up for hours afterwards.

I literally cry.

I have no answers for you. I am simply 100 yards down the road watching you walk the same path I/We have already walked.

Today was one such day. I spoke to the grandson of an 89-year-old woman who is being held hostage in a dungeon they call a nursing home.

She was removed from her grandson’s lovely home--based upon a false allegation. And even though he was cleared of all the allegations, a guardianship was commenced and continues.

That’s it. An allegation. I have stated before that these allegations need not be true.

The grandson wants only the best for his grandmother.

“Can I at least get the guardian to put her in a nicer nursing home?”

My answer to him: Probably not.

“Why not?”

Because the Guardianship Mafia is not about taking care of your grandmother. It’s about converting her money into attorneys’ fees.

“But I have a power of attorney! I’m the designated pre-need guardian! There’s Florida case law on this! I’m the one who’s supposed to be the guardian!! When will I be appointed the guardian so that my grandmother can come back home?”

My answer to him: When all of your grandmother’s money has been spent.

“But she has more than $400,000.00! They can’t spend all that!”

My answer to him: Yes, most of that $400,000.00 will be converted to
attorney’s fees—in less time than you can imagine.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! This can’t be real!!!”


My answer to him: [No answer. He is adjusting (or not adjusting) to the reality of the situation—something all guardianship victims have to go through.]

“What about the FBI! I’m going to call the FBI!!!”

My answer to him: Yes, we’ve all called the FBI.

“And what did they do?! This is so wrong! This is outrageous!”

Have you ever watched an accident in progress?

Seven years ago, I was part of an accident in progress. I came upon
black ice on the interstate and my brakes would not engage. As my vehicle
approached the accident scene, there was no way to stop the inevitable.

I was about to crash into Car Number Six and I was about to break my right leg in eight places.

There was no way to stop this reality.

The next time I receive a call from a victim, I will continue, as usual, to listen patiently.

I will empathize with you.

However, I cannot solve your situation.

I already know your questions, so here are the answers:

Q: Can you recommend a “good” attorney who will make this unnecessary guardianship stop?

A: No. There is no such thing as a “good attorney” who wants to end the nightmare that has been created for you and your loved one. All attorneys are paid out of the “ward’s” assets. This is like asking an oil company to stop drilling for oil. The only way an oil corporation will stop drilling for oil (in a particular area) is when they are certain that all the oil in that area has been depleted. Likewise, attorneys will stop the proceedings when all of your loved one’s money has been converted to attorneys’ fees.

Q. What government agency can I contact to make this unnecessary guardianship stop? It is so wrong!

A. There is no government agency who will listen to you. Your predecessors (i.e., fellow guardianship victims) have already called every government agency imaginable. Here’s a partial list of (government as well as non-government) agencies that have been already contacted on multiple occasions by a plethora of guardianship victims while your loved one is being held hostage in a marginal nursing home, overmedicated, and all of his or her money is being spent on attorneys’ fees:

--State Guardianship Offices
--National Guardianship Association
--Federal Bureau of Investigation
--State legislators
--Local Police
--Elder Abuse Hotline
--Agency for Health Care Administration
--Local Sheriffs Departments
--State Police
--Government Accountability Office
--State senators
--AARP
--ACTEC
--State attorneys offices
--Governors’ offices
--County attorneys offices
--Department of Children and Families
--Medicare/Medicaid Fraud Hotline
--Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation
--President Obama
--Government Accountability Office
--Judicial Qualification Commissions
--American Bar Association
--Local Bar Associations
--The Media (i.e., 20/20, 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, local news channels, local news papers, national news papers, Oprah, Dr. Phil, etc., etc., etc.)
--Your congressman

(I, personally, can put a check mark next to each and all of the above. Most of us who are outspoken guardianship reform advocates have done the same—or even more.)

Q)But they accused me of things that are absolutely NOT TRUE!

A)Yes, I know that.

Q)When I prove that the allegations of financial exploitation are untrue, they’ll have to stop the guardianship, right?

A)No. They will continue asserting the false allegations and use it to continue the guardianship—even after you have proved your innocence. They will continue to say it is true—even if it’s not true.

Q)Well, I just don’t believe you. This is too preposterous to believe. I’m going to count on my attorney getting something done!

A)Okay. That’s fine. I’m sure I’ll be hearing back from you sometime in the near future—and thousands of dollars later.

Q)Then what should I do?

A)Join fellow/sister guardianship victims. Stop wasting your money on attorneys who are fighting the fight with local judges and courts of appeal. This is a NO WIN situation. The local judges and courts of appeal will gain you nothing except an empty bank account. There are three things we, as a group, are doing: (1) fighting for legislative reform, (2) speaking up and out—the more people you educate, the less likely the guardian and her attorneys will be able to do this, (the creation of websites are a good thing—expose the guardian, the judge, and the attorneys involved on the internet) (3) save what little money you have left and join us in a class action federal RICO lawsuit.

Q)But I really am innocent!

A)Yes, I know, and there’s a law enforcer who gives seminars to fellow police officers on “signs to look for” of people who are guilty of financial exploitation of the elderly. One of the “signs” is someone who says they are innocent. So, the more you say you are innocent to law enforcement, they will see this as a “red flag” of guilt. They are also taught in the seminar that elder exploiters always say, “But my relative REALLY IS mentally competent!” By saying this, you are “proving” you are guilty!

Q)But my relative REALLY IS mentally competent!

A)Yes! I believe you!!! But by the time the guardian and her attorneys are done with your loved one, he or she REALLY WILL BE “mentally incapacitated.” There are drugs that mimic dementia.

Q)But I was given a Power of Attorney!

A)Ah! More evidence of guilt! Anyone with a “power of attorney” is viewed as a manipulator and exploiter of the elderly!

Q)That makes no sense at all! What was my loved one supposed to do to protect herself and her assets if she didn’t give me such authority? She was trying to protect herself from the Bad Relatives!

A) Yes, I know that. But in the Guardianship Game, the Predatory Relatives become the Good Guys who team up with the Predatory Guardian and her attorneys, and, typically, the people who have been doing the most, (sacrificing their time and their life) are portrayed as the “Evil Ones.”

Q)So, when will this nightmare end??

A)I already answered that: When all the money has been spent/converted into
attorneys’ fees.*

*Exact quote of Attorney “Reverend” Anthony Nardella (attorney for “professional” “guardian” Rebecca “Fierle”) when we were leaving the courthouse after my mother was declared “100% mentally incompetent”—even though the video tapes we showed the judge showed just the opposite and the judge even stated, “I almost said the opposite” when asked if Louise A. Falvo is mentally incompetent.

As I passed “Reverend” Attorney Nardella, I said to him, “You are disgusting.”

He chuckled and replied, “We’re not finished with you yet.”

Angela Woodhull can be reached at :chachaangelina@yahoo.com