Tuesday, May 5, 2009

More From the Land of Gimme and I-Want-Mores!

Involuntary Redistribution of Assets (IRA) cases which use probate venues and/or probate instruments (wills, trusts, guardianships and powers of attorney) to loot assets of the dead and disable/incapacitated can manifest themselves in a number of ways. The Marshall/Morrissey trial currently underway in Manhattan has the defendants facing criminal charges of defrauding the estate of Marshall’s mother, NY social doyenne and philanthropist Brooke Astor, of nearly $200 million. Click here for the latest. The looting itself is common. It being treated as a criminal case is what’s unusual. Most IRA cases are relegated to civil courts which immediately disadvantages rightful heirs.

People’s entitlement mentality is astonishing. The level of comfort in taking the property or accumulated wealth of others is mind-boggling. What ever happened to pride in being self-sufficient? This expectation of being provided for and that “I’m deserving” is an unflattering and truly dangerous trend.

Welcome to the Land of the Gimme-Gimmes and the Home of the I-Want-Mores! Hold on to your wallet as productive people in this land are in for a rough ride!!

Read more at Estate of Denial.Com

2 comments:

belicoso said...

Terrible thought but you might not even be able to trust your own family to not rob you. Of course you'd have apprehension about an outsider coming in to run your family fortune dry (see: Smith, Ann Nicole) but to have to take precautions so as to not be swindled by your own family, that is unpleasant to think about let alone have to go through it!

Anonymous said...

One of the most troubling things about guardianship law is this so-called protection of confidentiality. It is the only area of the law, besides a few exceptions (ie: juvenile cases, mental health cases), where the files are not public record. You can not see how much a lawyer charged the guardianship on a motion or court hearing but you can see the most intimate details of an ugly divorce. We must have greater transparency and accountability in guardianship cases. Thousands, even millions, of dollars are oftentimes being unjustly drained from the ward and his heirs.