Illinois has a reputation for dishonesty and misconduct when it comes to public officials and public policy.  We recently posted a series of articles about guardianships in Illinois.  The stories are similar to what we hear across the country, but, due to an overwhelming culture of corruption, any reforms in this state will likely be far harder to come by.

This series also highlights a regularly espoused EstateofDenial.com theme that one does not have to possess a high-dollar estate to become the target of Involuntary Redistribution of Assets (IRA) perpetrators who utilize wills, trusts, guardianships or powers of attorney to loot assets of the dead and disabled/incapacitated.  With that, this issue puts far greater numbers of people at risk of being subjected to asset looters, property poachers, walker stalkers or similar ilk.  As this point is too often lost on the general public, many educational opportunities exist  - an effort in which EstateofDenial.com is actively involved.

Ironically, while writing this post, an e-mail came in from a Mary Waddell, a woman whose husband was put under the temporary guardianship of Sharon Mehrtens, a professional guardian discussed in this series.  Bill Waddell died within days of this development.  Click here to read the Wadells’ story.

And as some days seem to lead in a certain direction, our criticism of the state of Illinois will continue with another mention of Drew Peterson.  Here’s an excerpt from a posting on the day we first realized that this case has an estate element:

And one last thing.  Speaking of creepy people.  We came across this story about Drew Peterson, the death of Kathleen Savio and her estate.  It sounds as though Peterson was rightfully fearful that he could lose much as a result of their divorce.  Shortly after Savio’s death, Peterson produced a handwritten will signed by him and Savio specifying that in death all assets would go to the surviving spouse and it named his uncle, James Carroll, the Savio estate’s executor.  Per reports, the uncle turned over most of Savio’s assets to Peterson.  Important point that evidently was ignored:  upon her death, as Savio was already divorced from Peterson - she didn’t have a surviving spouse.

At an arraignment this morning, a not guilty plea was entered on Peterson’s behalf.  Peterson’s defense team is also trying to have his bail reduced so that he won’t have to stay in jail while awaiting his upcoming trial, but the prosecution is asking for the judge to be replaced so everything is pending a hearing on Thursday.  Here’s a follow-up story, though, about how Savio’s estate is responding to this bail reduction effort.

We’re still searching for details on the will attributed to Drew Peterson and Kathleen Savio, but our initial impression is one of awe if an individual truly was awarded estate assets as a surviving spouse when the individual was undisputedly divorced from the decedent (and had been for five months).  Again, we’re not lawyers, but does common sense have to be banished from every estate dispute?  Some days it seems as such.

In fact, some members of the EoD audience were traveling from out-of-state to attend a proceeding in an Illinois courtroom.  This family’s prior experiences mirror the corruption described above.  We hope things perhaps went well and that they have a safe trip home.

Week four of the Anthony Marshall/Francis X. Morrissey trial has started.  We’ll likely hear more of how Brooke Astor was not believed to be competent upon signing documents that diverted millions of dollars away from her favorite charities in lieu of benefitting her only son, Anthony Marshall, and his wife, Charlene, whom Brooke was known to dislike.  Graydon Carter, editor of Vanity Fair, should soon be coming up on the witness roster.

And from “down under,” the son and daughter of Sir Edmund Hillary are battling the Auckland Museum over papers which Sir Ed left to the museum with the provision that his children have control of their use for the first 20 years after his death.  Talk about the tail wagging the dog!  Some people should never be put in positions of authority.  Are these people such lackluster life performers that the slightest bit of control over an entity or project creates some pathetically manic dictatorial reaction or are they graceless and unappreciative humans dismissive of the generosity put forth by their benefactor?  After significant reaction, the museum says it will not speak further about the Hillary dispute until it can do so “without getting screamed at by the public.”

Perhaps that should also be a lesson for American asset looters and property poachers:  the exposure of bad acts can complicate the maintenance of a stress-free, enjoyable life.  With that, EstateofDenial.com will certainly continue our mission of “shining light on the dark side of estate management.”

Back in 2007, we used the phrase “forewarned is forearmed” as a post sign-off.  As time has passed, that phrase repeatedly comes back as an appropriate closing in sounding the alarm about the battle facing Americans with regard to their individual and property rights.

So, stay aware and you know the rest….