We’re back from a great time in Washington D.C. The rest of this week will be spent in catch-up mode with numerous articles to post and hopefully, time worked in for commentary as many interesting things are happening.
MSNBC.com investigative reporter Bill Dedman recently wrote a two-part piece on questionable activities regarding the estimated half-billion-dollar estate of Huguette Clark. (Part one of the investigative report, At 104, mysterious heiress is alone now and Part two, Who is watching Huguette’s millions?) Here at EstateofDenial.com, this case has the markings of what we call an Involuntary Redistribution of Assets (IRA) action in which probate venues and/or probate instruments (wills, trusts, guardianships or powers of attorney) are used to loot assets of the dead, disabled or incapacitated.
In an update piece, Dedman quotes an Adult Protective Services official’s description of people across the country saying “You’d better do something. This happened to my grandmother. Don’t let it happen to this woman.” Our efforts to educate Americans regarding the growing threat to their liberty and property through estate looting actions began with a 2008 column entitled ‘Grave’ Problems Ahead: Looting Assets of the Dead and Disabled revised from an earlier Texas-based piece. Traditional media outlets giving new attention to this growing problem is always welcomed. Public reaction will hopefully serve as an impetus for MSNBC.com’s continued reporting on this story.
The Clark estate case creates an opportunity to make a few points relevant to Americans of all economic levels about the prospect of probate abuse. First, as the APS quote indicates, cases of financial exploitation are routinely – though often quietly – happening across this country. Limited reporting should not be viewed as an indicator of the issue’s magnitude. People get excited upon hearing about these cases, but many more happen with few people knowing and even less caring. Too often people think it can’t happen to them.
Be aware that the brevity sought by today’s media provides great cover for grave robbers, property poachers and other asset looters, while an unsuspecting public remains relatively clueless of the “up for grabs” climate surrounding their assets. A word count of 700 or less rarely provides opportunity to accurately portray these cases. To his credit, Dedman’s piece is lengthy as is often needed to convey the intricacies of an estate abuse (proven or alleged) story.
One of the few maxims relating to estate abuse or other probate corruption is that while general patterns exist, superficial roles don’t automatically identify the “good” and “bad” players. With this, professional positions or a guise of social respectability can provide an effective platform for highly unscrupulous acts. Lawyers or accountants absolutely aren’t always the good guys nor are social service networks. Same goes for judges. Family members or wannabe heirs are equally unpredictable. APS involvement may be good in this case, but experienced EstateofDenial.com readers know that government intervention can just as easily result in new and different abuse. The bottom line: never in these cases assume anyone, especially due to their capacity, is automatically working on the side of good.
Per Dedman’s article, “the person’s income doesn’t matter” for APS intervention. Estate size also doesn’t much matter when it comes to looting actions. High-profile, high-dollar estates may attract attention, but as wealth is relative, estates of modest means ($500,000 to $1 million) have their own special appeal. Steal $250,000 from a bank, law enforcement reacts. Similar amounts stolen from an estate are usually ignored leaving the often-cost-prohibitive civil court system as the only avenue of recourse. Ignoring the criminality of looting modestly-valued estates heightens the risk, but we’ll continue emphasizing IRA perpetrators’ awareness of the relative unlikelihood of criminal charges as a means of forewarning the public to the real threats that exist.
The same Manhattan D.A.’s Office unit that prosecuted the Brooke Astor case is reportedly looking in to the Clark case. The EoD Commentary section contains our many pieces on the Astor case. A common theme throughout the investigation and trial was “it happened to Brooke, it could happen to you.” The mechanics of estate abuse are often similar – whether with an estate of $50,000, $500,000, $5 or $50 million or more.
Seems like Huguette Clark is likely to spark a revival of that theme.
Estate of Denial® provides news, analysis and commentary on abusive practices occurring in probate courts and via probate instruments (wills, trusts, guardianships, powers of attorney). We provide original perspective to educate the public regarding this growing threat to both individual freedoms and property rights.
