It is certainly a side gig for me. At the time I got into this there was a need for professional guardians in my area. Typically my referrals come either from attorneys or occasionally Department of Children and Families.
When I’m assigned a client who needs help my first priority is to put that client in a safe environment so they come to no harm healthwise. My second priority is to secure their funds to stop any exploitation. Following that, the pieces start to be picked up.
Some good work has been done. In one case a frail woman in her 80s was kept in the closet of her home with a 5 gallon bucket for a toilet. Her grandson and his girlfriend supported their heroin addiction through her state retirement pension and Social Security. They also refinanced her home, having her sign documents which she had no clue what they were. Home subsequently went into foreclosure. DCF became aware from concerned neighbors and I was subsequently appointed the guardian. I got her out of that mess, stopped the exploitation although in some ways the well had already run dry, and got her into an assisted living facility that treats her well.
in another case a man with advanced dementia was transported to the hospital after neighbors found him on the ground outside of his home. Through an heir search I found two daughters and put them back in touch with their father. For the past 45 years they had thought that her father had died due to stories that their mother had told them. The reunion was a tearjerker.
I had one case where a stripper and her boyfriend took advantage of a gentleman who suffered a head injury. His subsequent diminished capacity allowed her to manipulate him so that she drained him of every dime. By the time his family got the court to intervene, she was hiding a Mercedes E-class he bought her on Indian property so it would be difficult to repossess despite the court order giving me authority to take possession. I secured a bench warrant for her arrest, she was finally found, she was held in contempt for over a week brought before the judge every morning. She finally relented and gave up the location of the car.
I’ve been threatened. I’ve had dogs turned loose on me. I’ve had guns pointed at me. All over me cutting off the purse strings of those exploiting the incapacitated.
The financial advisor who was brought in to handle the accounts of many of these people was recommended to me by an attorney who refered to me the greatest amount of clients. Not knowing any better, I thought it was a good recommendation. The 55+ page Envision plans he works up on the clients often cause my eyes to glaze over. I do have contacts with a couple other financial advisors who were taking care of client’s money before I was involved. In those cases, due to the personal relationships they had with the clients and their obvious genuine concern, I kept them in place for those respective clients. I plan to reach out to them and ask for their opinion on the work product of this peer/competitor of theirs .
