Please don't let this happen to you, Protect yourself, your assets and know your state's laws

[MagickMuffin]

Today has been a very sad day for me.

Milly my neighbor has always been a asset to our neighborhood. She always kept her yard looking good, did all her own yard work, mowing, cutting branches, and watching after her "wildlife" friends. She had a special relationship with a squirrel, she told me about her feeding it pecans from her hands.

She has been the sweetest neighbor one could ever want. I tried looking out for her for her after her husband died a few years ago.

You see last year the State of Texas took away my neighbor. It seems as though she was a victim of scam artists. They took her for $80,000. She thought she was going to get millions of dollars, but needed to send these cretins money to receive her money. She took out a reverse mortgage on her home, so she could collect her "winnings", she thought she would use this money to help out other people.

She has only a few relatives left in this world. She never told me about her misfortune, or we would have instructed her not to believe this scam. The postman, hubby and I tried to watch out for her best interest. As I understand the situation, she informed a church member of what happened, and this member informed the Adult Protective Services.

She is a good woman, hence that is her only crime. But because of this, the APS got involved and decided to take her away. I went to her Court "hearing" and was ready to testify, but her court appointed attorney didn't call me to testify on her behalf. The original CPS caseworker lied under oath about talking to ALL Milly's neighbors to make sure she was being looked after, that NEVER happened. I went to ALL my neighbors to find out and confirm whether this story was true. No one was approached by APS. Milly got to "testify" in her defense and told the court she was being punished for her stupid mistake. She was definitely right about that. Nevertheless, the State of Texas became her "guardians" and took full control of her remaining assets. Milly has a niece who owns a nursing home 45 miles from me, and Milly now lives there after she got approved for medicare.


Today was the Estate sale. I woke up early to make sure that I would be able to purchase some of her belongings. I know Milly would have wanted me to have anything I wanted, as I was somewhat like a daughter to her. Hopefully the money I spent will actually get to her. That is what I have been told by the Estate sellers. The sale started at 10:00 and there were already people lining up the streets. I went and explained to them how much Milly and I cared for one another and that I would like the opportunity to get some of the items that meant something to me personally. That request went unanswered. Oh well, at least I tried.

It was sad going through her house. Seeing all her possessions being preyed upon by strangers. Some of the regular people who do this sort of thing as a living were really quite rude.

I managed to buy some costume jewelry that I will be able to wear and remember my dear friend Milly, along with a few other things. Tomorrow will be the last day to liquidate her possessions. I will go back tomorrow and see if they mark down some items, as I don't really have much money to spend, but I can buy a few items to remember the sweetest lady I have ever known.

I feel so bad that I didn't know about the scam artists and wasn't able to protect her. I suppose this was her life's lesson, and perhaps it will serve a purpose for those of us who may face this same situation some day.


So, my advice to anyone with little or no family is to protect your assets. Make sure you know your states laws regarding whether or not they can come and cart you away and take control of everything that has any value.

If you got this far, thanks for reading. I also hoped it makes sense.

[I Have A Dream]

1. So sorry that this happened, MagickMuffin.

:(

It's so very sad all around. Thank you for being there for her when you could.

:hug:

[MagickMuffin]

6. Thank you IHAD, I just wish I could have done more for her

My heart aches about the whole situation :cry:

It helps that you are here from me :hug:

[I Have A Dream]

10. Sometimes things just get out of hand, and there's absolutely nothing we can do.

:(

Do you plan to visit her? I suspect that having you still in her life would help her immensely.

:hug:

[MagickMuffin]

13. Her having to move so far away kind of limits my ability to visit her

Although I can always call her and talk with her. I usually get so busy it's hard to find time to do the things I need to get done.

I will definitely call her tomorrow. I don't think I could bring myself to tell her about the estate sale. I'm sure that would only cause her to become depressed. She surely doesn't deserve to be anymore depressed about her former life.

:hug:

[I Have A Dream]

14. I'm sure that however you are able to reach out will be appreciated by her, MagickMuffin.

I agree about telling her. There's nothing that can be done about it, and it would surely cause her pain. :(

You're a sweet soul, my friend. :hug:

[Kind of Blue]

2. It makes sense to me, MM.

We went through the same thing with my Dad, he's 82. And it was the same thing, except it didn't go that far - just caused a tremendous amount of work with the bank and credit agencies. I know how you feel. :hug: :hug: :hug: He was doing it for us, he said, to leave something behind when he's gone. He just will never accept that money is not everything and not all people have good intentions. It was really, really sad pinning his hopes on this horrible "lottery."

I wonder if Milly would have stopped if the first time wasn't so devastating. We Have to monitor my father. He thinks the next one will be okay. During the worst time, I read of other people's accounts who advised to monitor. I couldn't believe when he tried to do it again, but at least he called asking me to fully investigate. Good Lord, I wanted to pull my hair out! But mom calls when he's being secretive and we're all over him. Maybe it has something to do with growing up during the Depression, living in poverty, and the economic crisis now. Like Milly, my dad has his wits, but this is such a lure for some.

I'm so sorry for Milly. I'm so sorry her niece couldn't/didn't/wouldn't do more to help until now. Sending to Milly's niece to be fully present to care for her with every means possible. :hug:

[MagickMuffin]

7. I'm so sorry that you have a more personal experience

Yep, I think the Depression era people are more prone to falling for these tactics. Shame on the vampires who prey on the elderly. I suppose it is a good thing she never had email. She would have really been in trouble. If I fell for the email scams I would be a billionaire.

Thank you for being here for me :hug:

[SheilaT]

3. These sorts of stories are sadly all too common.

About a decade or so back something similar started to happen to someone I knew who was not yet 40. My friend's husband was being bamboozled by some promise of a vacation, and was being lured to send more money. I told my friend to get her husband to stop right there, don't send any more money, and to just write it off as a lesson learned. I think in that case only a couple of hundred dollars had been sent out.

[MagickMuffin]

8. Yes, the stories are all too common :={

I don't understand how anyone could fall for such tactics. But they do, and it just makes the perpetrators more lustful in their approach to stealing. And apparently the authorities don't really have a desire to do anything about it.

[southerncrone]

4. Sadly, the elderly are the easiest victims of this type of scam.

They come from a different time when you could trust others. They don't have the suspicion that we do to protect themselves.
I personally feel those who scam old people are some of the worst scum on the planet. May their karma be swift & exacting. The APS attorney also falls in that category. :grr:
I can't help but wonder if the APS people aren't in cahoots w/the people who buy up estate items/antiques for resale. It almost sounds like a scam in itself!

Wonder what the church member who turned it over to APS feels like about now?

I'm so sorry this had to happen & hope Milly will be well looked after by her niece.

Here's hoping your new neighbor is just as sweet. :hug:

---

One of my personal rules of protection is: Stay out of Texas.

[MagickMuffin]

9. The worst scum on Earth about sums them up

I think the State and APS are more in cahoots than the estate companies. The estate workers seem to be very nice people. I told them the truth about the whole ordeal. They seemed to genuinely upset by what happened. Usually they don't have a clue of the circumstances surrounding the sale of someone's estate.

I've often wondered about the church member. Especially after visiting Milly at the first nursing home. That place was a horrid place. I had a hard time going to visit her there, as it made me sick to walk through the door, and had a hard time shaking it off after leaving. So, sad :cry:

Texas isn't so bad. It's just unfortunate we have to many ill informed people who vote against their best interests. I first found out about this law back in 2006 at the Texas Democratic Convention. A guy explained this happened to his grandfather and the State refused to let the relatives have control of his estate. I realized back then a government approved scam was afoot.


Thanks for being here for me :hug:

[get the red out]

5. Unbelievable!

The laws must be much stricter here because my sister and I were looking into getting guardianship of our mother due to her dementia, (which has been documented by physicians along with the fact that she cannot live alone safely) in the event that our Mom refused to enter assisted living. Fortunately she came to realize that she had to go into an arrangement where she could be better looked after willingly because it would have been a huge undertaking for us to have, quite legitimately, gained guardianship through the courts. We would have had to have gotten a lawyer and assembled an panel of professionals who would have testified in court that she could not live alone and make her own decisions besides having her doctors testify. She was in the hospital at the time and the doctor would not have even released her without her going straight into assisted living due to the incredible risk of her being alone (she could have easily forgotten something on the stove, taken multiple doses of her medicines or none at all, gotten into her car and forgotten where she was, left the door open in a high crime part of the state, etc..), and still the hoops were numerous if we had pursued guardianship.

I can't believe they could just take over your neighbor's life like that due to a lousy financial decision, that is an abuse of the intent of the law, I believe, which exists to help people who really are in physical danger if left alone.

[I Have A Dream]

11. You're absolutely right, gtro.

It is definitely an abuse of the intent of the law. x(

[MagickMuffin]

12. Abuse of the intent of the Law, I totally agree

I think Milly could have continued to live at her house. She is still alert and isn't delusional at all. She is so upset with herself for losing her life the way she did. Not only did the scam artists get away with grand theft larceny, but the State of Texas has done the same exact thing.

APS does hire people to care for the elderly in their homes, but ultimately they get to make the decision when someone should be removed from their homes and the State gets to take possession of their homes.


I'm glad that your Mother realized that she could no longer care for herself, and that you didn't have to go through the stress of having to deal with any of the legalities of court proceedings. My MIL is experiencing the same fate. Dementia is a cruel thing to happen to anyone.


Thank you for taking the time to respond :hug:

[elleng]

17. Sounds to me like APS is anything BUT Protective.

I'd like to kick their 'a*****,' that's legal-speak for sue them all the way to hell. Really sounds like some malpractice went on there.

:mad:

[WolverineDG]

15. I'm sorry this happened to your neighbor

I know you've been racking your brains out in frustration trying to get her some help. Sorry that I couldn't do more to help. :( :cry:

I fucking hate CPS & APS.

dg

[Proud_Lefty]

16. I'm so sorry, MM, about your neighbor

This is just plain tragic. Another example of why we're on the wrong track and desperately need to change our ways and those around us.


:hug: