A court-appointed guardian allegedly stole over one million dollars from an elderly Arizona woman, causing her to go onto Medicaid.  The woman, with declining health, had no children to take care of her – to manage her finances for medical care.  Because of this situation, the court appointed a guardianship agency to take care of her and her finances.  The woman’s sisters say their only interest was to enrich themselves; she is now worth “Zero”.

It was reported that the guardian agency ran up all sorts of bills for her care and other miscellaneous expenses – many unnecessary, and once the money was gone, dropped her as a client.
Senator Kohl, chairman of the Committee on Aging believes this kind of “care” is a national problem.  His investigations have discovered that millions of dollars are allegedly stolen by court-appointed guardians.  He believes new laws are needed to protect the elderly from their own guardians.  He also said that since this woman is the widow of a veteran, she could have gotten a guardian for $75 a month.  It is strange that no one told her this.

If you suspect a guardian is stealing from you or one or your relatives, I urge you to contact an experienced Arizona Elder Abuse attorney who will fight for you or your relative.  No one should be taken advantage of.