Elder Law

Solo Lawyer & Office Manager Wife Accused of Stealing $2M From Guardianship Clients

A 71-year-old solo practitioner in Texas and his 70-year-old office manager and wife are facing a 26-count federal indictment for allegedly stealing more than $2 million from the accounts of disabled military veterans for whom he served as a guardian. Joe Phillips, who practices in Houston, and his wife, Dorothy,…

Jun 30, 2010 9:00 PM CDT

Queens Prosecutors Don’t Require ‘Hate’ Showing in New Use of Hate Crimes Law

Some New York prosecutors are using the state’s hate-crimes law to prosecute people who prey on the elderly. Prosecutors in Queens have obtained tougher sentences under this approach, and it’s attracting interest among prosecutors statewide, the New York Times reports. Theft of less than $1 million usually does not require…

Jun 22, 2010 3:42 PM CDT

Minn. Supreme Court Disbars Lawyer Who Stole $60K from Elderly Dad

The Minnesota Supreme Court wants to deter elder exploitation by lawyers, including a lawyer who pleaded guilty to financial exploitation of her Alzheimer’s-afflicted father. On Thursday, the court disbarred Minnesota lawyer Lisa Jane Mayne for stealing $60,000 from her father after he gave her power of attorney in 2005, the…

Jun 11, 2010 1:35 PM CDT

Hot Topics

Senior lawyers try to get kids to care about government programs

Jun 1, 2010 5:50 AM CDT

Ethics May Require Challenges to Alzheimer’s-Impaired Lawyers

Alzheimer’s disease is not an ailment that announces its presence. It sneaks up, dropping hints of its existence that only become obvious when it is already wreaking havoc in the lives of its victims and their loved ones. The wife of a solo practitioner in Oklahoma knows that pattern all…

May 2, 2010 2:00 PM CDT

Rising Tide

Ethics may require challenges to Alzheimer’s-impaired lawyers

May 1, 2010 7:10 AM CDT

A Different View of the Case of the Destitute Millionaire

An Arizona Republic columnist has chronicled the case of Marie Long, who was worth $1.3 million when she suffered a stroke and came under protection of a Maricopa County, Ariz., probate court in 2005. Today the 88-year-old woman is destitute, and columnist Laurie Roberts has pointed the finger of blame…

Apr 22, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Elderly Millionaire Is Destitute After Payment of Fees for Lawyers and Care

Marie Long was worth $1.3 million when she suffered a stroke and came under protection of a Maricopa County, Ariz., probate court in 2005. Today the 88-year-old woman, Marie Long, is destitute after a judge approved $786,000 in attorney, guardianship and companion-care fees for the woman, columnist Laurie Roberts writes…

Apr 13, 2010 10:59 AM CDT

Accused of Stealing from Clients, Attorney Never Returned, and His Fate Is Still Unlearned

After 40 years of marriage, the wife of attorney Allen Schwartz thought she knew her husband. So she was stunned when he came home one summer day in 2001 and told her he was in trouble and would be leaving her permanently. Over 70 at that time, the Ohio practitioner…

Mar 22, 2010 11:29 PM CDT

Allegations Against Attorney Guardian Spur Ohio Judge’s Proposed Rules

An Ohio judge is developing local rules for attorney guardians after hearing the case of a retired city worker who alleged his guardian’s actions cost his estate more than $400,000 in assets. Judge Eric Brown of Franklin County Probate Court in Columbus is proposing standards that bar attorney guardians from…

Mar 8, 2010 11:30 AM CST

Woman, 79, Finishes Law School, Lands 1st Job in Practice

At a time in life when many attorneys have either retired or are putting the brakes on their careers, Alice Thomas is revving hers up. Now 79, she completed her course work at McGeorge School of Law in December and has already lined up a job working with elder law…

Feb 23, 2010 7:41 PM CST

Convicted in Trial Over Claimed Siphoning of $60M from Astor Estate, Lawyer Is Disbarred

Convicted in a high-profile criminal estate-fraud case last year, New York lawyer Francis Morrissey Jr. was disbarred today. Rejecting his lawyer’s request to wait to see what happens with Morrissey’s appeal of his conviction for forgery and scheming to defraud heiress Brooke Astor of some $60 million allegedly siphoned from…

Feb 18, 2010 8:44 PM CST

Judge, 68, Abruptly Retires; Former Court Reporter May Have Helped with Cases

When veteran court reporter Don Rymer was indicted (and eventually agreed to a plea bargain) over a missing trial transcript, it wasn’t just his own career that was adversely affected. A 68-year-old Texas judge who abruptly resigned this week after, observers say, experiencing problems with dementia, may have relied on…

Feb 4, 2010 9:59 PM CST

‘Invisible’ Woman, 78, Jailed 2 Weeks By ‘System of So-Called Justice’

Arrested for driving on a suspended license following a misunderstanding about whether she had to appear at a court hearing after receiving a letter reinstating her driving privileges, a 78-year-old Florida woman qualified to be released on her own recognizance. But no one pointed that out to the judge in…

Jan 12, 2010 10:34 PM CST

Legal Aid Advocate McCalpin Dies

A former chairman of the Legal Services Corp. who was a vocal advocate for its mission has died. F. William McCalpin died Dec. 9 at his St. Louis home from complications from a fall, the New York Times reports. He was 88. McCalpin chaired the LSC from 1979 to 1981…

Dec 17, 2009 12:44 PM CST