After a “well-meaning” relative attempted, but failed, to help Debra Driscoll sort out her finances following a large inheritance, she needed assistance. Because her family was unable to help, she turned to a fiduciary.
Mrs. Driscoll was living a comfortable life on her social security, late husband’s pension and was independent until she asked the fiduciary to help get her finances in order after a family member had created more confusion.
Now, two years later she is forced out of her home by Arizona Probate Court, nearly broke, and her assets being sold to cover the cost of this “help.” Despite never being adjudicated as incompetent and requesting to return to her home, she is being kept in a private facility and her home is being sold.
In a hearing last week, serious questions were raised as the guardian asked the court for permission to sell the Driscoll home. Questions around appropriate pricing, actual condition of the home and other issues with a potential buyer that could indicate less than an arm’s length transaction were brought up in the hearing, according to the 5-14 Protecting Liberty group. Yet, permission to sell this woman’s home, against her will, was given by the court – the very court that has yet to declare her incompetent and unable to make her own decisions.
For two years, no less than four people have been billing Mrs. Driscoll for the management of her care plus the actual cost of her placement in a private facility. No medical need has ever been established, no finding of inability to manage her own finances has ever been given, in fact her case has never been adjudicated. She fell into the hands of a fiduciary and the tangled web ensnarled her in a trap from which she cannot escape with her 14th Amendment right to due process violated.
This year, the Arizona Legislature passed SB1038 and SB1291, two bills which provide reforms of the probate system. The bills, sponsored by Sen. John Kavanagh, are supported by Sherry Lund, a nationwide advocate for probate reform.
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Lund, founder of 5-14 Protecting Liberty said in a press release, “The passage of SB1038 and SB1291 are a start but do not become law until 90 days after the legislature is adjourned. By then, Debra Driscoll will have lost everything she ever owned while her guardian and others continue to bill her for the favor of destroying her life. This cannot be allowed to happen in America.”