“Mr. Beaver, many years ago you wrote a touching article about a young CPA who was horribly injured in a bicycle accident. Why, I cannot tell you, but for some reason I remembered that story.

“Two months ago my nephew, Brian, was struck by a pick-up truck owned by a power company. The driver was on his cell phone, distracted and did not see Brian or any of the other cyclists with him. The parallels of Brian’s injuries to your article are stunning, as are the potential family issues.

“If you can find that story, and your editors will run it again, a great public service will be accomplished, in addition, I hope, a message sent to my nephew’s family.”

We found the article.

There can be times when a parent must take charge, no matter how old their child has become. This is the story of one parent who did not.

In 1989 Rudy was a successful 28 year-old CPA. Handsome, a great sense of humor, a lovely girlfriend, Becky, nice car, in short, he earned many of the rewards that come with hard work.

Saturday afternoons were a special time for Rudy and Becky, as both enjoyed cycling. She was little more than 20 feet from him when he was struck by a bus that made an illegal left hand turn. She remained with him as he was air evacuated to a neurological intensive care unit in Sacramento.

Becky held his hand and talked to Rudy softly – through tears – for the weeks that he remained in a coma.

Upon awakening, it was to a world in which he would learn to walk with a cane, gaze at a paralyzed right arm, and to a voice which made him sound intoxicated. Brain damage can erase that which gives us our humanity, taking away logic, reasoning and self-control. These things were taken from Rudy. But through it all, his charm and strong personality remained. It would prove to be his undoing.

The lawsuit against the bus company was settled for several million dollars, enough to easily provide a comfortable life. But in the space of five years, Rudy’s net worth fell to $150,000. But how could this happen?

“My son’s first lawyer in Los Angeles urged him to put the money into insurance annuities which would pay out so much a month for life, with money left for his heirs,” Rudy’s mother explained. “But he insisted on managing his own finances, finding an investment adviser who helped him sink $500,000 into a failing bowling alley, then $250,000 in a mini-mall that was never built, and finally, almost $500,000 into various high risk investments, all of which failed.”

Rudy also was receiving $10,000 each month in “spending money,” as his parents explained. Craving attention and friends, spend, he did. To his impaired-mind, it was a way to retrieve lost self-confidence. “While the money lasted, our son had so many friends,” his mother related, adding, “He just would not listen to me.”

This bailiff had no sense of humor

Rudy was referred to our office following his court appearance for a reckless driving ticket which turned into ‘assault on a peace officer.’ With his one good arm, suddenly he began swinging the cane above his head, shouting, ‘I’m just raising a little Cain!’

“I didn’t know that bailiffs have such a poor sense of humor,” Rudy told me, oblivious to how close he came to being shot.

The nightmare was avoidable with a conservatorship.

When the extent of their son’s brain damage was known, this nightmare could have been avoided with a court-ordered conservatorship being established, as our legal system seeks to protect people from the effects of their own disabilities.

Had a conservator (or guardians as it is known in some states) been appointed, only safe investments would have been permitted. Rudy would have most likely been declared incompetent to manage his own affairs, safeguarding him from entering into most contracts. His conservator would have been required to see to it that some sense of order was maintained in his life. The power of our legal system would have been used to protect Rudy from others and from himself had his mother or other family members acted, then.

It is in the nature of things for parents to gradually let go, to replace “Mommy” with “Mom,” “Daddy” with “Dad,” a handshake or hug instead of a kiss.

Yet, in the hearts of good parents, our children are still young and small. And in need of our protection.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

The post Adult son needs mommy appeared first on Dennis Beaver.

It was a beautiful day at Malibu, and Sara was having the time of her life, surfing.

Only she has no memory of being there after the auto accident, having sustained a TBI – a traumatic brain injury which put her into a coma.

Given the extent of her injuries, Sara made an amazing recovery. The structured settlement annuity her lawyer negotiated guaranteed a monthly income of $10,000 plus large periodic lump sum payments, all tax free, for life.

But the TBI played havoc with her reasoning and logical thinking. A conservator was appointed who saw to it that her money was spent correctly, not squandered or lent to family and friends.

But, just like many TBI victims, Sara wanted control of the money and retained an attorney to end the conservatorship. He cared more about his fee than what was best for Sara. It was a horrible mistake.

“I got into business deals, lent money, and thought that I was doing the right thing,” she told me in that unmistakable TBI voice. “This structured settlement has ruined my life, and I was contacted by a company who will cash it out for me. That’s what I want to do, I want it out of my life!”

Don’t Do It!

I calmly reasoned with her. “Please speak to my friend, Greg Honnegar before doing a thing. He is a licensed, professional fiduciary in Templeton, California and works with people just like you, who have lost the ability of making good financial judgments. Will you wait, please?”

Sara agreed and spoke with Greg who put her in touch with a counseling organization in her town. She now has a licensed, professional trustee who will help manage her money.

So, what can family and friends do when faced with a TBI victim headed for financial trouble? What are the signs? What explains their behavior? I put these questions to Greg and his associate, Bakersfield-based Jamie Urner.

How a TBI Impacts Them – What Family/Friends Need to Discover

Jamie: They have a hard time seeing the big picture and making the best decisions. They are often impulsive and will not listen to reason. They use their TBI as a crutch. Irrational and compulsive behavior is common. They do not have a filter of logic.

Greg: When the TBI victim suddenly wants to sell their structured settlement annuity, you need to discover why they want to cash it out. It can be drugs, a new ‘friend’ or romantic interest pressuring them. While always counseled not to, so often TBI victims tell so-called friends about the money they receive every month.

On one level they might realize the need for help in dealing with predators who show-up after learning about their ‘friend’s’ income. But their lack of insight and inability to reason logically makes them even more vulnerable to being ripped off.

Warning Signs – What to Do

I asked Greg and Jamie to set out the warning signs that a friend or family TBI victim is headed for trouble. They listed:

(1) Overspending on wants and not meeting their needs.

(2) Spending compulsively. Buying 14 pairs of sunglasses and yet has no money to afford groceries.

(3) Hygiene and appearance issues. They are suddenly not taking care of themselves.

Jamie: When you see any of these things happening, get them to a medical professional, such as a neurologist, or someone who works with brain injuries. You must address the underlying physical condition and opiates, or other pain medication. What is their medical, or psychological condition? Are they delusional?

Greg: If it is clear they have lost the ability to manage money, you’ve got to speak with an attorney who handles guardian or conservatorships. If you cannot afford to hire an attorney, every county has these services available as well.

Ideally, a spending plan will be developed based on their income and the person’s basic needs: food medical care, housing, etc. Attempt to do this with the person, so you can all agree if possible.

Family and friends need to have a dialog with them, to understand what they really want out of life, not what we want, what they want. It comes down to needs and wants and the reasonableness of both.

Jamie: As fiduciaries, we often recommend the True Link pre-paid Visa card for these people. It is a debit card allowing selection of a defined batch of necessities, vendors, dollar amount, type of merchandise, no over the phone purchases, no alcohol or tobacco. It prevents them from obtaining cash. Every time they use it the fiduciary or other designated people get a text on their phone.

Both Greg and Jamie cautioned, “Do not wait for things to improve by themselves.”

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

The post How family and friends can protect the TBI victims appeared first on Dennis Beaver.

If someone in your family has had a terrible accident or health issue causing them to make horrible financial decisions, then today’s story will be very helpful and begins in 2010.

It was late at night when 21-year-old Heather, who resides in Humboldt County, was driving home from a party with a friend, “Who we believe was highly intoxicated, and apparently grabbed the steering wheel, turning the car into a light pole,” her mother, Kelly, told You and the Law. (Not their real names.)

“Her injuries were life-threatening, including a fractured pelvis, broken back, neck, and an adult version of shaken-baby syndrome, leaving her in a coma for months and significant neurological impairment.

“During that time when we did not know if she would live, or come out of the coma, I was appointed her conservator and continued to handle her financial affairs until 2013 when she insisted that she could take care of herself and make her own decisions. I fought and fought, but in the end, gave up,” Kelly explained.

That decision haunts her to this day, as “Heather is her own worst enemy, impulsive and has trouble making sound decisions about money.”

On May 15th of 2015, two Kirby vacuum salesmen knocked on the apartment that Heather shares with her boyfriend, Roy, and demonstrated what “this amazing machine can do.”

Even though her only source of income is a monthly $986.10 Social Security Disability payment, she agreed to finance the purchase. She was right about one thing — the Kirby is “an amazing machine,” anyone who owns one will tell you as they last forever and have the best warranties in the industry.

We spoke with Heather and it was immediately obvious that she exhibits the typical characteristics of TBI (traumatic brain injury) speech, but how she appeared that day to the salesmen–and if they knew that their customer was severely impaired–is anyone’s guess. Also, as Kelly stated, “Roy would do anything for her, and also signed the contract,” would likely have removed any doubts the salesmen might have had about the sale being appropriate.

Within hours Heather realized that “I was impulsive and did something really stupid, so I phoned the Kirby distributor to come and pick up the vacuum cleaner,” she told us. However, the salesmen complied with California law, providing a required 3 Day Cooling Off notice which stated that “Cancellation must be in writing.” Her oral attempts failed.

One year later, after making a few payments, she finally came clean to her mom about what she had done. Kelly reads You and the Law in the Eureka Times-Standard and referred her to us. Heather phoned, and immediately the deep sadness of it all became clear.

But knowing the Kirby Company, there was no doubt the right thing would be done-even though they just manufacture the vacuum cleaner and had no responsibility in any way for the sale. Within minutes, I connected Halle Sminchak, Senior Director of Public Relations at the Kirby Company, in Cleveland, Ohio with Heather’s mom who tearfully described every parent’s worst nightmare.

Less than 48 hours later, Halle emailed, “The contract has been cancelled and all of Heather’s payments will be refunded. We are sending her a pre-paid shipping box so that the Kirby may be easily returned.”

“These are indeed very sad cases,” Hanford attorney Matt Amaro tells You and the Law. “Adults with cognitive impairments often believe they are fully competent to run their own financial lives, and strongly oppose conceding their financial independence, even to a well-meaning family member.

“Unfortunately, brain damage deprives them of insight into their own limitations, making life miserable for their family, as happened with your reader and her daughter.”

“A conservatorship or guardianship as it is known in some states, is a court proceeding in which a responsible person or organization is appointed to care for an adult found by the Court to be unable to make appropriate decisions concerning their personal and/or financial affairs.

“The conservatee is legally deemed to lack capacity to enter into contracts, and is only responsible for the value of things that are necessary for their, or their family’s support, such as food, clothing, medical care and lodging.

“Had Heather been protected by the conservatorship, this contract to buy the Kirby would have had no legal effect,” Amaro points out, adding some very pointed advice for mom:

“Kelly needs to retain an attorney and get back in court now, for her sake and that of her daughter. This time both were very lucky.”

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

The post Why have a conservatorship appeared first on Dennis Beaver.