AAAPG Guardianship Event in Tampa

Teresa Kay-Aba Kennedy speaking at AAAPG Guardianship event in Tampa, FL - February 20, 2019

On February 20, 2019, Elder Dignity Co-Founder Teresa Kay-Aba Kennedy was a featured speaker at the Americans Against Abusive Probate Guardianship (AAAPG) event in Tampa, Florida. An internationally-recognized transformational coach and yoga teacher, she was asked specifically to share expertise from her Power Living work. Many families and victims of legal abuse experience extreme stress and PTSD--particularly if a loved one has been victimized or abducted. After speaking a little about her aunt's case, she led a presentation, including active techniques, on Dealing with Unbearable Stress.

The event brought together experts and victims from across the country. Some of the other presentations included:

  • Sam J. Sugar, M.D., FACP and founder of AAAPG, presented on AAP's In The Elderly: Choking An Older Brain, Killing A Body. He cited that nursing home and memory care residents are particularly vulnerable to abuse and deadly handler drugs, antipsychotics like risperidone, quetiapine and haloperidol, are sometimes used to quiet down unhappy residents who may not even need to be there. The side effects of these drugs can cause stupor, malnutrition, aspiration, fractures from soft bones and sudden death.

  • Rick Black, Executive Director of the Center for Estate Administration Reform (CEAR), talked about Fraudulent Guardianships: How To Engage Government Authorities. He emphasized that ageism is real and that it permeates society, our courts and those charged with protecting seniors and the disabled. He explained how the legal community is actively pursuing estates for their benefit and that accusation alone often prevails over evidence in administrative courts. Having had some success in Nevada, he broke down what it took to define a pattern and practice which led to convictions.

  • Terrie Williams, from Citizen 4 Justice, laid out how the guardianship system has developed into a new kind of mafia--a secret criminal society. Using Nevada as the example, she provided compelling evidence of this new "probate mafia."

  • Eileen Leslie, CPA, CFE, with Investigative CPA, LLC, spoke about Preparing A Credible Case: KNOW Credibility vs. NO Credibility. She emphasized that the Justice System is Just-A-System and credibility matters.

In the evening, there was a free screening of "The Guardians" by Billie Mintz. The film describes the experience of victimized families of fraudulent guardianships in Las Vegas, Nevada from 2010-2017. They ultimately found a degree of justice by banding together and exposing the pattern and practice of rewarding guardianships in denial of estate documents, state and federal law, and familial objections.