The Estate of Mary Sykes

The Estate of Mary Sykes - Cook County Probate  Court

Please click on the links below to view the dramatic letter from attorney Ken Ditkowski to the ARDC and the almost unbelievable  court transcript of the last hearing. 
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15658009/Transcript_8-13-2010.pdf

 http://dl.dropbox.com/u/15658009/Ltr_to_ARDC_11-23-10-4.doc

This Mary Sykes Estate is a poster board case of Elder Abuse as it has all the elements, to wit:

1) Mary's elder daughter took her to a lawyer. This lawyer drafted a will, trust and power of attorney. The trust made the elder daughter the prime beneficiary of Mary's estate and the power of attorney provided her with complete control of Mary's finances. These documents were kept secret from Mary. Elder Financial Exploitation.

2) Mary discovered the perfidy when she checked her bank account and found $4000 missing. She made inquiry of her older daughter and was informed that the elder daughter had "invested" the money for Mary - she opened an IRA account! Mary was 90 years old. Mary asked to see the documents she signed. The elder daughter refused!

3) Mary sought an order of protection - she filed a sworn affidavit. The elder daughter countered with a Petition to declare Mary a disabled person.

4) After months of attempting to obtain from Mary's treating doctor a certificate of incompetency, the elder daughter informed the Court of this point (August 31, 2009). The Judge counseled the 'abuser' to find doctor who was willing to sign the certificate. She did and the Court readily appointed the elder daughter as plenary guardian.

5) The Court also appointed two guardian ad litem. Why there are two guardian ad litem is a mystery! This is not a complicated case. It appears that the function of these two GALs is to defame, intimidate, and prosecute anyone who might make inquiry as to what is occurring in this case. If there is no law to punish nosy citizens who might object to violations of civil rights, fraud and corruption the GAL will just make it up and the Judge is ready to rubber stamp it. (Judge Connors is no longer hearing this case and Judge Fleming ****)

6) The plenary guardian was not idle. AS attorney in fact (POA) she emptied Mary's safety deposit box of a valuable property that included a bag of gold coins. As you are aware gold is now $1400 and double eagles are worth @$2800 each. Thus it is estimated that about $500,000 is un-inventoried. The plenary guardian has not denied the allegation even though we have been screaming about the lack of accounting and the un-inventoried property for about a year. Reports to the GAL have been ignored! Even reports directly to the Judge are ignored.

All of the foregoing are financial exploitation, Real live elder abuse is also present. Mary has been separated from her friends, family, neighbors, and activities. One neighbor went out to find Mary. He did! she was in a day care center staring at four walls surrounded by individuals who had long 'lost it!' The Naperville Police Department reports that after the neighbor's report Mary is at the Naperville Senior Center where they read 'stories to her!'

The isolation of a citizen is reasonably calculated to create depression in the senior. This depression can significantly reduce the senior's will to live and death follows. There are no cases that I could find that have specifically held that this is a homicide, but any action reasonably calculated to end a human life is a homicide. This is more subtle form of manslaughter than holding a pillow over the head of a senior or overdosing him/her, but it is *****. It is important that law enforcement act while the senior is alive to protect the elderly rather than after they die prosecute the abusers.

The GAO report alerts the public to the fact that elder abuse and financial exploitation are serious problems that in the future will only get worse. Mary Sykes case is thus important as the transcripts that have become the Appellate Court record in Ms. Gloria Sykes appeal reveal highly suspect and unusual actions in the name of the justice system. The statement of the judge on August 31, 2009 in my opinion is clear elder abuse. The statement of August 13, 2010 (page 19) is as close to an admission of impropriety as it is possible to obtain. placing this statement in context, in October 2008 in a declaratory judgment action, Lumberman's insurance settled an insurance claim of Gloria Sykes. The distribution of funds was by Court order. This order was a final order and was unchallenged at all times relevant.

In the summer of 2010 the plenary guardian and the GALs brought before the Court the fact that Gloria Sykes was after months of intimidation was still objecting to the isolation of her mother and had not been cowed! Thus, in an effort to gain control over the funds of Gloria they sought a probate citation.

The probate act and the injunction act are replete with concerns for due process. These statutory pronouncements provide for prior notice of any court action (an effort to obtain jurisdiction of the person over the respondent), verified petitions by someone with knowledge, hearing (and in the case of the citation a jury), and proof. The record (in my opinion) indicates that these due process concerns were avoided in reference to Gloria Sykes. The transcript reveals that Attorney Joel Brodsky argued for his client but was totally ignored. He argued that a judgment entered by a Circuit court judge with jurisdiction over the subject matter was after entry final. After term time (30 days) the judgment could not longer be appealed or challenged, except by compliance with 735 ILCS 5/2 1401. The criterion of 1401 is merit and due diligence. Collateral attacks on the judgment are not allowed! Any attack on the judgment has to be made before the judge who entered the judgment. This judge is given great discretion and equitable powers.

The judge in the Mary Sykes case point out that she was going to safe the judicial system money (judicial economy) She reasons on page 19 of the August 13 transcript that if she followed the usual procedure she would call Judge M. Judge M would immediately allow her to consolidate the case in which the final inconvenient order was entered and she would vacate the order. Ergo, she would just ignore the finality of the order and take control over Gloria's property. (I thought this unique concept to post judgment proceedings to be a bit nefarious and therefore I wrote to the ARDC and the Judicial Inquiry of my concern - I expect that they will be bit concerned also).

The reason Supreme Court of the United States case of Jerman suggests that lawyers - such as the two guardian ad litem and the attorney for the plenary guardian are knowledgeable as to the law and therefore if they do something like seek and obtain a illegal or wrongful injunction, freeze property of a person who property is not before the Court etc they are culpable. It is my opinion that each of the guardian ad litem and the attorney for the plenary guardian knew at all times relevant that the funds that are the subject matter of the discussion of August 13 2010 were awarded to Gloria Sykes by a valid court order and that their attempts to obtain control of these funds in the probate proceeding was inappropriate and miscreant. The fact that a judge of the probate court was willing to be a party to this conduct is a real concern. The fact that it is obvious that the reason for this conduct was to intimidate and punish Ms. Sykes for objecting to the financial exploitation and elder abuse of her mother is outrageous.

That said, Ms. Sykes has a remedy. 735 ILCS 110/5 et seq. (SLAPP). She has filed a pro se motion before Judge Fleming. It is reported that Mr. Brodsky has served a motion to withdraw as Ms. Sykes attorney. She certainly could use your help! Her motion is set for 2:00 P.M on the 29th of November. (Guardian ad litem Stern's motion to sanction me for exercising my First Amendment right of association and speech is set for 2:00 on the 30th of November. I had the temerity to make inquiry of Mary's treating doctor! I also have a SLAPP motion.

In summary the Mary Sykes case is a poster board case of elder abuse and financial exploitation.

Ken Ditkowsky
http://www.ditkowskylawoffice.com/

ADDENDUM

The events in the Sykes case are like a soap opera. Unfortunately the opera is going to continue for a long time. The one chapter that will be played out that the Financial exploiter does not count on is tax consequences. Carolyn the minute she became Mary's attorney in fact became a fiduciary. Therefore when she took the $4000.00 she created a taxable event. When she removed the bag of gold coins she created a taxable event. When she removed the cash from the mattress she created a taxable event. Each taxable event required her to report the funds expropriated as ordinary income on her tax return in the year she took the item of value. If the plenary guardian's 2009 United States Federal Income Tax return does not include the value of the gold coins she is 'tax evader.'


The United States of America does not take kindly to not reporting income. The neglect in reporting the income results in a possible 50% fraud penalty. This penalty is in addition to the tax due and interest. In summary the plenary guardian who would have inherited 50% of the Estate tax free will be paying taxes on a gross income of $500,000.00. Had the plenary guardian not been greedy she would have received her 1/2 tax free! A Probate Court judge will not be doing the audit of the plenary guardian's United States Income taxes - it will be rosy cheeked young person fresh out of IRS training school who believes the plenary guardian, you, me, and the man in moon are tax cheats and it is his/her sworn duty to make honest men and women out of us! (I remember my youth as a young lawyer fresh out of law school).

I believe that you should read 735 ILCS 110/5 - it is policy statement of the State of Illinois. the application to the Sykes case is striking!

Ken Ditkowsky
http://www.ditkowskylawoffice.com/

GUARDIANSHIP OR SLAVERY
YOU BE THE JUDGE- VIDEO
MURRAY FEINGOLD SAGA

http://www.trustlawyers.org/elder-abuse-law/elder-abuse-or-slavery