Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), OBRA Accounts, and Outrageous Real Estate Transactions

Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), OBRA Accounts, and Outrageous Real Estate Transactions




In the Adult Guardianship Division of the OPiG, the Cook County Public Guardian, Robert F. Harris (who was appointed by Chief Judge Evans), serves as the court-appointed guardian for individuals adjudicated disabled by a judge in the Probate Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. The Public Guardian's authorities and responsibilities are bound by the Probate Act of 1975 and other relevant statutes. As guardian of the person, the Public Guardian is responsible for the personal well-being of the disabled person. As guardian of the estate, the Public Guardian is responsible for the disabled person's finances, legal matters, and personal and real property. Many private attorneys work for the OPG.

Currently, the Public Guardian serves as guardian for approximately 800 individuals with disabilities. Approximately 70% of the disabled adults served by the Public Guardian's Office are over the age of 65.



That all said, one would think that the wards of the OPG would have their cases handled expediently and in the best interest of the ward, under the oversight of the judges in the Cook County Probate Court who are appointed to protect the elderly disabled whom they serve. However, the disturbing results of our audit results show that is not the case.



Most of the estates of the wards of the OPG are depleted with attorney's and guardian's fees.



OBRA Specials Needs Pooled Trust are utilized frequently for the wards of the Cook County Probate Courts. You can read more about OBRA accounts in our ProbateSharks article entitled: "OBRA Trusts: Medicaid Planning or Medicaid Fraud and Abuse" (see our index to the right). Once a ward's estate is placed into an OBRA Trust, the ward is moved to public aid housing. The OBRA Trust may not be utilized for private pay housing; however, it may be used for "administrative fees" (i.e., legal and guardian fees).



In a random review of 60 cases of the OPG, 39 cases resulted in OBRA Trusts. This correlates to 65% of the cases resulting in a move to public aid housing for the ward. All of these cases also show apparent churning of the estate with many, many legal fees being approved by the judge, both prior to, and after the OBRA Trust was created. The cases that have not led to OBRA Trusts are being depleted with legal fees as well, and some estates are closed very quickly with excessive legal fees, accounting for many of the remainder of cases that we audited.



Of these 39 OBRA Trust cases, many involved the sale of the wards' real estate just prior to the creation of the OBRA trust. Real estate assets are then quickly deposited into the OBRA Trusts. Quite disturbing is the fact that the average length of time that the property was on the market (based on the date that the judge ordered it was okay to list the real estate, and the date the judge approved the sale of that real estate) was less than 7 weeks! Either the OPG has a really good real estate agent, or these properties are being sold at less than rock-bottom prices.



We have been told of cases where the OBRA Trusts are being created with hundreds of thousands of dollars of the ward's money, "allowing" the ward to be eligible for Medicaid, and "allowing" a transfer into public aid housing, while the estate is utilized for "administrative fees."



This leads to many questions:

Who is benefitting from these OBRA Trusts?

Who owns the public aid nursing homes where the vast majority of the wards of the court are being transferred?

How much below the assessed value are these homes being sold for?

Who is purchasing the ward's real estate at rock-bottom prices?

How much money is being spent by the taxpayers of Illinois to house the wards of the court in public aid housing (when the wards' estates could have supported them in much nicer private pay facilities)?

What kind of burden is this putting on our Medicaid system in Illinois?

What percentage of the ward's estate is being utilized to better their lives, and what percentage of the ward's estate is being utilized to better the lives of the attorney and guardians?

Investigators are invited to review the court records to see the frequency in which OBRA Trusts are utilized by the OPG, and to see how quickly the ward's homes are listed for sale and then sold. Click on the link below, and search by name of the guardian by clicking on the "Claimant, Minor or Representative" box and typing in the name of the Public Guardian, Robert F. Harris.



http://www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org/?section=CASEINFOPage&CASEINFOPage=4210



As you look over the cases, notice which judges' cases lead to "Special Needs Pooled Trusts", or "OBRA Trusts", or "Disabled Pooled Trusts". Also notice how very rapidly the house is approved to be listed on the market and then approved for sale. Also notice the MANY orders for legal fees throughout the case.



Further review of the cases can be performed on the 12th floor of the Daley Center; these court records are public, and may be easily viewed (see our article entitled "How to Obtain Court Records". These records hold the answers to the questions above.



The answers to all of the questions above need to be answered. The elderly disabled are being exploited by the Corrupt Cook County Probate Courts. Their lives are being ruined by transfers to public aid nursing homes.



And some other people are getting very rich off of the estates of the wards. Very rich.



As always, we welcome our State of Illinois Representatives, law enforcement, media, the Senate Judiciary Committee, Congressman, and Senators to join us in this investigation. Please contact us; we will be happy to provide you with our preliminary data and aid you in your investigation.



Please help us save the elderly disabled in Illinois. They need your help. Only you can put an end this exploitation.



Signed,



Your ProbateSharks Team of Dedicated Volunteers

Editor's note: Many private guardians also utilize OBRA accounts for their wards of the court. The cases of all private court-appointed guardians may also be searched by using the link above.

Editor's note 12-22-2010.  Hi Tami,  I have refered your comment to our expert on OBRA accounts. Our expert will also search our files for any information concerning the Devon Bank.  Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com