Guardianship News:

Articles by Kelley Smoot Garrett

Opinion: It’s all about the money in probate

March 31, 2017

Who makes money when a judge orders a person – usually an older woman – into professional guardianship? Who makes money when the judge makes the discretionary, and radical, decision to revoke and not honor a ward’s perfectly executed existing legal documents including powers of attorney, trusts, property ownership that were written and signed while the ward still had mental capacity? According to research conducted by Americans Against Abusive Probate Guardianship, 95 percent of the time [- more...]

Texas: Titus County guardian dons a White Hat, maybe

September 9, 2015

Titus County, Texas has been the scene of of several controversial guardianships, including Dr. Mike Reichert’s guardianship where Dr. Reichert’s auto-mechanic filed for guardianship over Dr. Reichert because of a dispute over unpaid auto repair bills! Now emerging from Titus County is guardian James Taylor of Family and Court Services.  Mr Taylor is set to retire and seems to want to go out on a high note, wearing a white hat: From Sept 8, 2015 edition of Mount Pleasant, [- more...]

Texas: Commentary on Guardianship opinion piece in Austin American-Statesman

July 23, 2015

Thomas Suehs, former executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and member of the Guardianship Reform and Supported Decision-Making Workgroup recently published an opinion piece in the Austin American-Statesman, extolling the benefits of unnamed legislative bills, passed during Texas’ just-completed 84th biennium legislative session, which purport to support Wards during legal Guardianship, which once enacted, typically lasts the duration of the Ward’s [- more...]

Another case of elder abuse by attorneys? The Suspicious Story Behind Harper Lee’s ‘Go Set a Watchman’

July 16, 2015

Alerted by a poster to Philip Marshall’s FaceBook page, everyone should check out this story of how Harper Lee came to publish her sequel to To Kill A Mockingbird, despite being ferociously media-shy and avoiding all publicity or even thought of publishing a 2nd novel for over 50 years.  Sure does seem like the attorneys are manipulating an elderly person, when you read the reports by The New Republic. Anyone who’s experienced Guardianship Abuse will tell you, it is all too common [- more...]

Texas: Analysis of the guardianship of Dr. Mike Reichert and proposed HB 1438

May 19, 2015

Read the complete coverage of the latest shocking Guardianship Abuse case – once again committed by a sitting judge and his court-appointees – concerning how Titus County Judge Brian Lee was able to declare Dr. Mike Reichert mentally incompetent without the Texas State Constitution’s guaranteed protections of Due Process, including the right to trial by jury and the right to appeal a determination of mental incapacity. Perhaps more shocking, is that the currently convened [- more...]