Something is Rotten in Texas

[RoadKingLarry]

This doesn't quite pass the smell test to me.

Elderly Couple Forced into State Custody
http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/investigative/Elderly_Couple_Forced_into_St

Elderly Couple Forced
into State Custody

Published : Tuesday, 25 Aug 2009, 10:22 PM CDT

    * Becky Oliver

DALLAS - They’re not criminals. They’ve broken no laws. But they’re being held against their will by the State of Texas. Why? It’s a tragic story about what can happen when you are alone in the world and lose control of your rights, your money, and your ability to complain.

Jean and Michael Kidd never imagined their retirement would play out like this. “I feel like I am not in America,” said Michael Kidd. “I can’t believe I have been hi-jacked off the street, virtually from the hospital, and imprisoned,” Kidd told FOX 4.

Michael Kidd and his wife Jean have been living out of a tiny room for months. They have lost control of their money, their home, even their car. They say they’ve been robbed of their dignity and their voice. And who do they say is responsible? The State of Texas.

“It is a shock to our system,” says Kidd. “We are still kind of in a state of shock,” Kidd told Reporter Becky Oliver.

Michael Kidd worked as an engineer at KDFW for 23 years. He retired in 2001 with a pension, retirement account, and social security. Last month, he called the station for help. The Kidds have no children or relatives nearby. In November Michael fell and broke his hip. He was taken to a Plano hospital and into surgery. After a few days, the hospital called the state Adult Protective Services to report Jean had been in the waiting room for days and wasn’t eating. What happened next is a complicated, legal tale told in hundreds of pages of documents filed with the Collin County Probate Court...

This part really sets off alarm bells for me.

The state appointed a financial guardian in Greenville to manage the Kidds money and pay their bills. When they asked for an accounting, the state refused. Representatives for the state stated the Kidds did not have the mental capacity to even ask for their own financial or medical records. Yet, much of their personal information is public record. The state tried to get a temporary restraining order to stop FOX 4 from reporting the Kidds’ story, saying the couple does not have the authority to consent to an interview and that our report will cause them irreparable harm. Judge Weldon Copeland ruled against the state. He said he would welcome a neighbor or family member to serve as a guardian but no one has come forward. The state is the last resort.

Wow

[taurusowner]

Care to state what this is all about?

[RoadKingLarry]

Well, from what I can see watching the video and reading the story it sounds to me like the State agency has way over stepped themselves and confined to people to a nursing home against their will with out due cause.

[MillCreek]

Several times a year, I call our state's Adult Protective Services to report elderly persons suffering from abuse or neglect.  The case workers investigate and in some cases, have placed at-risk persons in a long term care facility if they are unable to care for themselves.  This usually only happens if there are no relatives or friends available to take them in or to serve as guardians. 

Although I know nothing about this case, I suspect something similar has happened.  This does not strike me as particularly unusual.  Every state has an elderly protection division that performs a similar function.

[zxcvbob]

Looks like Fox News got a state senator involved, and just in time.  (the guardian was on the verge of auctioning off the couple's home for considerably less than its appraised value.)  The auction has been postponed and the guardianship is being reviewed.  http://www.examiner.com/x-15646-Bell-County-Legal-News-Examiner~y2009m9d1-North-Texas-couple-avoids-home-sale-while-questionable-guardianship-is-reviewed

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

i know nothing of this case but a few years back my boss wanted to buy a commercial lot. we found out that the property was handled by a local lawyer for  an older couple that lived about 75 miles away. we made an offer  never heard a thing.  we got suspicious and i looked up the old folks.  the land shark never presented our offer.  strangly enough he was also involved in an investment group that was developing the lots across the street. when they heard our offer they took it against their lawyers advice.  son of a gun if the lawyer didn't buy that lot from us as part of the larger development of the intersection.  old folks can get taken for a ride if they don't have kin who are honest to help em

[MicroBalrog]

old folks can get taken for a ride if they don't have kin who are honest to help em

That is true. I have seen that happen way too often.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

its a darn shame too.  i worked for a guy who made a ton by finding old folks like that and making em a cash offer they couldn't refuse.  when the kin smelled the cash they slithered from under every rock. we made a point of doing our deals at their bank so there were witnesses and it kept everyone safe