The Arizona Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling that Bill Chalmers was illegally charged tens of thousands of dollars by his court appointed attorneys Brian Theut, Ryan Sharber, John McKindles and court appointed fiduciary East Valley Fiduciary Services.
The court, in its published opinion of September 21, 2023, cited SB1499, signed into law in 2011 following the Arizona probate abuse horror stories that swept the nation. The ruling made clear – the law was passed for a reason, and no one is above the law.
Supporters of probate reform say that the Appeals Court, by its ruling, affirmed that the rights of people cannot be overlooked for the monetary gain of court appointed attorneys and fiduciaries.
Sherry Lund, who was a major force behind the passage of SB1499 in 2011, and SB1038 and SB1291 in 2023, said, “Hopefully, this signals the end of the probate courts, and the court appointed attorneys, fiduciaries, guardians, and GALs, blatantly ignoring the law and violating the rights of citizens. It’s also time for the Arizona Supreme Court to put an end to the corruption that is being enabled by the Arizona Fiduciary Board, the State Bar, the Commission on Judicial Performance, the judges, and commissioners. No one should have immunity when they knowingly break the laws and violate the rights of the people for financial gain.”
Chalmers filed his complaint after fighting to remove himself from the probate court ordered actions that led to the misuse of his personal funds. Court Commissioner Carolyn Passamonte originally ordered the actions that deprived him of all autonomy and all his rights, including basic decisions on what he could do, the right to vote, the right to drive, who he could see, and to whom he could talk.
Once emancipated, Chalmers found himself bankrupt from the financial decisions of the court-appointed actors who had billed against his life savings and retirement.
“The court’s ruling should be applauded by every citizen. Not many people can imagine how quickly their life can be completely changed. One day I was a retired executive of a high-profile corporation, with a very comfortable life and substantial savings for my future and within 13 months I had been stripped of the benefits and assets of a lifetime of work,” said Chalmers. “I was isolated from friends and family and bankrupted by the actions of the Maricopa County Probate Court. It was absolutely something nightmares are made of, only you wake up to find out you are actually living it.”
The issue of probate abuse has been widely reported with the Arizona State Legislature passing two laws during the past session intended to stop the current pattern and practice of abuse in Arizona.
SB 1031 and SB 1291 are scheduled to take effect October 30, 2023, to further protect citizens from Arizona.