WARNING: Learn now about Guardianships

Do you know an elderly person who is trying to live on his/her own? Do you know a family in which children of that person are battling over control of a parent's healthcare and/or assets? Are you a person who might find yourself needing a guardianship in the future? Or unwillingly ruled a Ward by some court?

Recently I learned of Americans Against Abusive Probate Guardianships, whose website is www.aaapg.net 

Now is the time to become familiar with some of the horror stories regarding guardianships and to begin steps to avoid them from affecting you in the future.

Too often I have told people that they might need a lawyer to protect them from their lawyer. I myself have been adversely affected by poor (even criminal) legal advice, but not so far as any guardianship. But I have a friend of 25 years whose life was turned upside-down by guardianship actions, brought on by her own sister, that affected their elderly mother and may have directly resulted in the mother's death. She is now suing the State of Wisconsin, a nursing home and a major national charity. And she is having to do it pro se.

Another friend, this one in a Chicago suburb, has watched her brothers and a friend of one of the brothers take control of their 95-year-old father. She became subject to an Emergency Order of Protection that forbids her to contact her father in any way. I encouraged her to get legal representation without delay and to discuss an immediate Motion to gain at least email communication with her dad. A judge granted that Motion, and then one brother had her charged with violating the Order. This resulted in her arrest and jailing! (And a second fee for legal services.)

She wasn't going to watch BROKEN but did, after I told her that her father is one court date away from a guardianship.

Watch this powerful video, titled BROKEN, about the abuse that occurs when people and authorities collude to take over an elderly person's life and assets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUzjkc8Y0QM&feature=youtu.be

Two videos will open your eyes. One is this trailer: www.vimeo.com/imagin8r/theguardians

Consider pre-ordering the documentary titled "The Guardians" at $12.99 in the next ten days through https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/the-guardians/id1442753626   Could be the best $12.99 you'll spend in 2018.

The producer/director writes that the film won eight major awards, played at 21 festivals worldwide, and is being aired in nine countries. But NOT in the United States. No network in the USA was willing to show it. Why not? My guess is the legal industry is too powerful.

How often have I told people, "You need a lawyer to protect you from your lawyer"? That was certainly true in McHenry County. Watch this videos and the documentary.

And take a hard look at donating to and supporting the AAAPG.

Is your CWP info confidential?

You probably think your application and file information for your concealed carry permit are private. Right? But how would you know if it is being released to nosy people? You wouldn't.

According to this blog in Wisconsin, http://racinecountycorruption.blogspot.com/, the sheriff of Racine County may be disclosing protected information. And doing so in violation of DOJ guidelines.

I can't explain why the author of that article mentions Appleton and Ashland, which are well outside Racine County, which is south of Milwaukee. But perhaps the good Sheriff of Racine County believes he can release any State of Wisconsin concealed-carry records, not just Racine County residents.

If you wonder whether your own records can be released, file a FOIA Request with your own sheriff's department. Have someone else request your records. A sheriff's department will be in a Catch-22 situation. If they are releasing the records but lie and say they aren't, that will bite them where it hurts, when the truth comes out. If they are releasing them and tell the truth, then it's time for law-abiding registrants to haul them into court.

Expect new Medicare card

If you are receiving Medicare benefits, expect to receive a new Medicare card between April 2018 and April 2019.

Your previous card is being replaced with a new card that will not have your Social Security Number on it. The new card will have a distinct number on it that will become your identifying number for Medicare purposes. (Wasn't your Social Security Number your number?)

If you have moved, check and update the address in your Social Security account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount or call 800/722-1213 (TTY 800/325-0778).

Whose Remains Were Found?

When the Illinois State Police announced the finding of burned remains on December 4, 2017 in Jefferson County (Ill.), the spotlight was once again on Beth Bentley, who vanished in May 2010.

Read a current article here. Radio station 95.3 operates out of Centralia, Ill.

Anyone who believes that Beth ever was near the Amtrak station in Centralia probably also believes in the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. I have no idea why the media continue to even mention that red herring.

It seemed strange to me that the State Police would mention Beth Bentley in the article about the found burned remains, unless they felt the possibility of a very strong connection between Beth and that site.

It is certainly premature to consider charging anyone, since the remains have not yet been identified.

Are all the "likely suspects" still in sight? A short list of people who probably know what happened to Beth might include ten familiar names. Who is keeping an eye on them? Has anyone left town or dropped out-of-sight?

How did the State Police "happen" to find the burned remains? Who told them where to look? I hope that person's Will is up-to-date. I would encourage that person to make a full video recording of everything known about Beth's life and disappearance "just in case". Then put it in a safe place, such as the office of an honest attorney who can be trusted to turn it over to police, should an "accident" occur.

Finding Beth Bentley - GPR?

Has anyone heard more about the State Police investigation of unidentified remains found near Mt. Vernon? Results could take a while, but ...

My FOIA Request for the location where the remains were found was denied by the Illinois State Police, as I expected it would be. I considered filing a Request for Review with the Public Access Counselor in the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, but I decided not to. There are plenty of people closer who could inquire, but I don't know of anyone else, outside of law enforcement, who is interested enough to invest some time.

A week or so ago I read a news article about a body that was found in the U.S. after 30-40 years, using Ground-Penetration Radar (GPR).

How helpful could it be, if it turns out that the remains found by the State Police are not Beth?

I can think of two places in Woodstock and two in McHenry that ought to be searched with GPR.

If you know anything about GPR, please get in touch.

A. Cooper vs. Loesch

Anderson Cooper tried to sandbag Dana Loesch over Trump's gun comments this past week. I don't understand why so-called "personalities" at CNN don't publish email addresses so that viewers can comment directly to them.

He asked, more than once, whether the NRA feels "betrayed" by Trump.

I didn't feel "betrayed" by Trump. He's a guy so far up the mountain and out of touch with real people that he can't even begin to understand what's happening here on the USA portion of the planet.

I don't mind if guns get taken away from mentally-ill people. I don't want them harming themselves, others or me. They can have their day-in court (Due Process) and, if they are deemed mentally stable enough to possess guns, a court can return them. Then we can be mad at the judge who returns the guns, if the owner later goes on a rampage with the gun(s).

I think the NRA understands Trump.

Dana Loesch is one smart cookie who isn't going to get cornered by Cooper.

Hawaii's False Missile Alert

The media are now reporting how the false alert of an incoming missile was sent out on Saturday in Hawaii.

I have written to EMA Director Miyagi and Gov. Ige, as follows:

"By now, you must be asking yourself who the idiot was who designed the steps in the alert system. 

First, the "Are you sure you want to do this?" prompt is insufficient. The worker probably saw that at the end of every shift for the system test and didn't bother to re-check what he was saying "Yes" to.

The wording should have read, "Are you sure that you want to send out an EMERGENCY ALERT?" and on a different color screen with emphatic, contrasting lettering.

Perhaps a second employee's verification should be required.

Secondly, for a real alert there there should be a second prompt, "Are you REALLY sure that you want to send an EMERGENCY ALERT?

A copy of this message is being sent to Gov. Ige."

What would you have done, had you been in Hawaii on Saturday morning? Would you have been concerned? Worried? Fatalistic?

Would you have gone out on the balcony to watch the arrival of a missile? Headed for the basement, interior stairway or closet? Or maybe just fried up a couple of extra slices of bacon for a good, even if last, breakfast?

Do you have any constructive criticism for Hawaii or, for that fact, Illinois or the city or town in which you live? Email information can be found at Hawaii.gov

This could be a good time to review the legal state of your personal and business affairs. Is your Will up-to-date? Is the beneficiary designation of each of your life insurance policies just the way you want it? Are your bank accounts correctly titled?

Don't be like one prominent Woodstock family who assured me that their lawyer had "taken care of everything." They had Wills and a Trust of many pages. All well done. What was the problem? The attorney never informed them that the bank named as Trustee had closed its trust department 15 years before. And no successor Trustee was named.

Instead of a $5,000 legal bill to wind up everything, the attorney's final bill was about $60,000. It started with a trip to the courthouse to get a new bank trustee appointed. The employee at the small bank was not experienced. Every time one of the many adult children/heirs called him with a question, he referred them to the attorney. Ka-ching, ka-ching. And it ended with the attorney's being late in filing the Federal Estate Tax Return. Ka-ching. Ka-ching.

After you stop at a stop sign...

I was reminded today by this photograph of a conversation I had a number of years ago with a police official in Woodstock.

I had been stopped one day for turning left from East Todd Ave. into Highway 47. I made my left turn and stopped in the two-way, left-turn lane because of heavy northbound traffic. The first car stopped and let me pull over into the northbound lane. Then the overhead flashing lights came on, and I pulled over into a church parking lot.

I knew that I had properly used the lane, and I knew that Woodstock PD had been writing many tickets for violations over the years. And many would have been violations, because drivers too often use the center two-way, left-turn lane as a driving lane, and not just for turns. But I suspected some tickets were not correct.

The officer accepted my explanation, after I showed him the Illinois Rules of the Road, where it stated expressly that a turn could be made into the two-way, left-turn lane. I recall his honest comment that he had been an officer for many years and hadn't known that. He issued a Warning, instead of a citation.

I asked the City of Woodstock for a legal opinion, and the first letter back from the outside law firm had about five paragraphs. The first four paragraghs said my turn was legal, and the fifth, concluding paragraph said, "Therefore, the turn was illegal" (or words to that effect). So I asked the then-City Manager to get another opinion from the City's outside law firm. The second letter confirmed that my turn had not been unlawful.

I felt the training at the Woodstock PD was in error and met with a police official.

We were discussing two-way left-turn lanes, and he insisted that it was illegal to make a left turn from a driveway or side street into a two-way, left-turn lane, such as on Highway 47 (N. Seminary) north of McHenry Avenue. He said that the arrows painted on the roadway surface and the signs on the side of the road only indicated turns out of the lane, not into it. I explained that the roadway marking and signs on the shoulder were "traffic control devices" and that you had to read the statute to learn what the law said.

Then I asked him if he would come across a Stop sign on his way home that night. He said he would. "Do you have a cell phone?" Yes, he said. "After you stop, you'll have to call your wife and tell her you won't be home for dinner, because nowhere on that Stop sign does it say 'Go'."

Just in case you are thinking that I have a smart answer for everything, I don't. The officer had to issue me a Warning, because he had stopped me - even though I had, in fact, not violated the law. That's why I complained higher up. The officer was polite, respectful, professional and courteous. No complaints there. And he was just following orders, even though the orders were wrong.

I later received an email from WPD that officers would no longer be writing tickets to drivers who made a left turn into a two-way, left-turn lane. The driver, of course, has to stop or safely and quickly move over into the traffic lane.