California Man Almost Loses His Stepmother in Guardianship Dispute
Even though they live in different states, Larry Davis, 74, regularly speaks to and visits his 85-year-old stepmother, Kise. So he is stunned when her neighbor calls to inform him that someone came and took her away. Determined to help his stepmother, Larry embarks on a long legal battle to bring Kise home. [00:00:00] Bob: This week on The Perfect Scam. [00:00:02] It’s painful, and it’s heartbreaking. One lesson I learned is that no matter how awkward it seems to be intervening in your loved one’s life, and how much they may resist it because of their own independence, you cannot get in there too soon. [00:00:18] Bob: Welcome back to The Perfect Scam. I’m your host, Bob Sullivan. And today we’re going to talk about a really important topic, a really sensitive topic about what happens when someone gets very sick and they can no longer make decisions for themselves about their health or their money. Often a court-appointed guardian is named to make these critical decisions, and sometimes these relationships go sideways fast. There can be a tug of war between family members and institutions over who gets to make those decisions with the vulnerable person caught in the middle. And there’s been some horrible abuses, scams that involve bad actors taking control of people’s lives just for the money, raiding their bank accounts with fake services, keeping loved ones away from family members during their last few precious years of life. Some of the scams are so dramatic there have been several exposes in newspapers across the country, even a new show on a popular streaming service devoted to this tragic problem. We’ll get to this heart wrenching topic in a moment, but first, I want to… Read More