Part 1 For the naïve visitor to the inner workings of probate court, it might come as a surprise to know that there are a number of underhanded tricks employed by court insiders that give them an unfair advantage and almost always guarantee that the guardianship production mill continues to create lucrative cases in which massive legal and professional guardian fees can be collected.   The very beginning of the process presents the opportunity to buffalo the judge into believing that the allegedly incapacitated person is so demented and fragile that they cannot even make a court appearance.  In many states statutes demand that an allegedly incapacitated person has the right to appear at their own incapacity hearing.  The trick is then for the lawyer to claim that the allegedly incapacitated person waives their right to appear at their own hearing.  Of course, in reality, that narrative is far from the truth.  In many cases the allegedly incapacitated person is not even told there is a hearing.  In other cases the court insider arranges for the unfortunate soon-to-be wards to be overmedicated to the point where they are in a zombie like state and even if they were to show … Continue reading Probate Tricks of the Trade