Newspaper: THE REPOSITORY

Date: Jan 16, 2006

Headline: Trillium's sale of ward homes studied Property values, auction
profits lead to questions
Credit: Botos, Tim
Length (in lines): 32
Trilliums sale of ward homes studied
Property values,
auction profits
lead to questions
BY TIM BOTOS
REPOSITORY STAFF WRITER
CANTON In her best interest and for her own good, it explained, Trillium
Family Solutions used its authority as Carmela Howells legal guardian to
sell her home and duplex.
They had moved the 80-year-old Italian woman into the Canton Regency
nursing home, so she didnt need the properties anymore.
Financially, the 4-foot-10 Howell got the short end of the deal. Her
properties sold at auction last spring, with most proceeds going to Kiko
Auctioneers, which hosted the sale, and Jon Hollingsworth, Trilliums
attorney.
The buildings in the 1400 block of Sixth Street NE werent in the best
shape, or in the best Canton neighborhood. The home sold for $9,750
Howell netted just $2,780.
It got worse. Her duplex sold for $6,300 Howells share was $22.23.

In the last six years, Trillium has sold homes of more than 50 wards at
auctions. An auction, as opposed to a private listing with a Realtor, is the
best way to quickly get rid of a property. Trillium officials say they must
liquidate the assets of many wards to qualify the wards for Medicaid,
government funding that can pay nursing-home bills for the poor.
Hollingsworth developed a sales system thats expedient, but misleads
the Stark County Probate Court that oversees guardianships. And the
setup regularly allows homes to be sold for less than the market value
affixed by the Stark County auditor.
Sale prices on the Howell properties and its adjoining lots totaled $16,150
less than half the county auditors combined market value of $42,800.
Probate Court requires appraisals before homes can be sold. Usually, the
judge orders Trillium to sell for no less than appraised value. That can be
difficult if the housing market is slow. To keep homes selling at a rapid
pace, Hollingsworth turned in appraisals to the court weeks after an
auction already was held in effect doing it backward.
Obviously, it doesnt look good, Hollingsworth said.
With an auction bid in hand, a Trillium-hired appraiser, usually Richard
Perkins, then signed papers fixing the value of homes at the exact price
theyd already auctioned for.
There were two appraisals, one before and one after, Perkins said. He
added hed only sign off on a post-auction appraisal if it was in the same
ballpark as the earlier one.
All this was done without the courts knowledge, said Probate Judge Dixie
Park and Magistrate Gust Goutras.

When advised of the practice, Park, Goutras and Trillium Executive

Director Eve Brown agreed it was wrong and said it will stop.
Hollingsworth blamed the after-sale appraisals on himself, but denied
homes sold for less than their value. The properties may not be as
wellmaintained
as the neighbors.
On the Howell property sales, Kiko collected $6,000, plus another $1,655
to pay for advertising. Hollingsworth was paid $2,600 for legal fees; his
Ohio Bar Title company got $1,175.
Richard Kiko Jr. said numbers dont always tell the whole story. Plenty of
times, he said, auctioneers must clean up a property just to make it
presentable for a sale. We usually lose money on these Trillium
(auctions). ... Its almost like a community service.
He said its possible Howell made out as best she could.
We dont gouge anybody, he said. Maybe we hit a grand slam for her.
LESS THAN MARKET VALUE?
We dont like to leave someones property vacant, said Lisa Garnes, vice
president of social services at Trillium. Aside from paying for upkeep and
utilities, empty homes are a target for vandals, she said.
A Mount Pleasant Street NE home in Lake Township, valued at $61,800 by
the auditor, sold for $27,500 in February 2004.
Trillium officials say the auditors market value of a home isnt accurate
with some wards properties. Often, they said, insides of a home are
unkempt which is why a guardian was needed in the first place.
In some cases, homes are resold for large profits within months of the

original auction.
For example:
-- A Columbus Road NE home in Plain Township sold for $57,000 in
2000; four months later, the buyer resold it for $87,500.
-- An Amherst Road NE home in Massillon sold for $40,000 in 2003; one
year later, it was resold for $90,700.
-- A 16th Street NE home in Massillon sold for $73,000 in 2003; a month
later, it was resold for $92,000.
SWITCHED ROLES
Hollingsworth typically asks the court to appoint a guardian ad litem to
represent the ward in real-estate sales. A guardian ad litem is to ensure a
sale is in the wards best interest.
In every instance, Hollingsworth requested the court to select attorney
David Tarr to fill that role.
Tarrs response is a boiler-plate paragraph that essentially says whatever
the court decides is fine. Tarr used to do the same legal work for Trillium
that Hollingsworth now does. When Tarr handled land sales for the
agency, Hollingsworth was the guardian ad litem.
Hollingsworth said he selects Tarr because hes familiar with
guardianship cases and understands the nuances of the system.
On March 16, 2004, Hollingsworth filed a complaint with the court to sell
76-year-old Marion Beebes home, and asked the court to appoint Tarr
guardian ad litem. Two weeks later, Tarr filed his response.
Apparently, neither attorney realized Beebe had died on March 14. The
land sale case was later dismissed, because guardianship legally ends

upon death of the ward.

Reach Repository staff writer Tim Botos at (330) 580-8333 or e-mail:
tim.botos@cantonrep.com
AFTER-SALE APPRAISALS
Typically, a real-estate appraisal is completed before a house is sold.
That was reversed in the sale of some properties of wards of Trillium
Family Solutions.
Trilliums regular appraiser, Richard Perkins, said he did an early
appraisal, then completed a second one that he turned in to the court. The
result of the backward process was that homes often sold for less than
market value. Heres an example:
-- On Aug. 16, Trillium asked Stark County Probate Court for permission
to sell the home of ward Fritz Knetsch at 1549 Bedford Ave. SW. The most
recent auditors market value of the home, from two years prior, was
$58,000.
-- On Aug. 30, Probate Judge Dixie Park ordered an appraisal.
-- On Sept. 1, Kiko auctioned the home; the high bid was $52,000.
-- On Sept. 13, Perkins signed appraisal papers, valuing the home at
$52,000.
On Oct. 24, Park OKd the sale, ordering Trillium to advertise and
privately sell the home for no less than appraised value.
On Oct. 26, Trillium filed papers with the court, indicating the home was
sold for the appraised value of $52,000.
description of scans CUTLINE
Breakdown on the proceeds from a sale of one of Carmela Howells

properties. A ward of Trilliums, she netted $22.23.

Story 5
Newspaper: THE REPOSITORY
Date: Jan 15, 2006
Headline: Trillium's billing methods scrutinized Ward's assets pay for
guardianship services
Credit: Botos, Tim
Length (in lines): 31
Trilliums billing methods scrutinized
BY TIM BOTOS
REPOSITORY STAFF WRITER
CANTON Suffering from bipolar disorder and in the midst of a messy
divorce, Dian Moore was a prime candidate for guardianship.
The 55-year-old was prone to extravagant spending, a classic symptom
of her mental illness. In less than three weeks, she bought a new Ford
Expedition and a Jaguar, with little or no means to pay for them. R.R.
Denny Clunk, then the county probate judge, agreed that Family Services
(now known as Trillium Family Solutions) should control her money.
By the summer of 2002, Moores assets hovered near $300,000. Much of
the cash came by way of a divorce settlement with her husband, James, a
retired Goodyear Tire & Rubber engineer. Also, he paid his former wife
$1,200 a month alimony for the next three years.
With Trillium as legal guardian of her finances, she couldnt touch a dime
without its approval. It was Trilliums duty to make choices, balancing
Moores wants with her needs, to support her.

Today, Moore is virtually penniless.

And shes furious.
Those people didnt do one damn thing except spend my money, and
turn around and tell me it was my fault, she said.
After a brief stay at the YWCA, she now lives in a $377-a-month room in
downtown Cantons Towne Manor Motel. Her life is far removed from the
days she frequented Glenmoor Country Club.
Sometimes, we dont have a success story; Ill admit that, said Eve
Brown, executive director of Trillium.
During Trilliums stint as guardian, Moore was arrested on charges of
theft, breaking and entering, and disorderly conduct.
Her situation was a trying one, said Lisa Garnes, vice president of social
services at Trillium. Still, she believes Moore would have been in worse
shape, and probably much faster, without a guardian.
In a little more than five years as her guardian (Trillium was appointed in
August 2000), the agency collected more than $65,000 from Moore for its
guardianship and associated services some for as much as $70 per
hour.
Among the charges:
$17.50 for time spent to prepare a formal request to give her $10 cash.
$84 to deliver money to her, order a pizza, and leave a voice message
for medication refill.
$192.50 for time visiting, grocery shopping and filling prescriptions.
More than $100 for time shopping at Marcs and Giant Eagle to buy bed
pads and trash bags, shopping for pillow cases; and to deliver

incontinence supplies, garbage bags and spending money to Moore.

ITS NOT FREE
In Ohio, there are two types of guardianship guardian of person and
guardian of estate. By law, an agency such as Trillium cannot be guardian
of person. To get around that, its employees serve as guardians of
person, while the agency usually is in charge of the estate.
Any service provided by an employee guardian or the agency itself costs
wards $70 an hour, an amount typical in all guardianship cases.
The money comes from the wards assets, controlled by Trillium. Every
moment working for a ward is billable time. For example, listening to or
leaving a phone voice mail can be billed as one-tenth of an hours work,
or $7. In February 2005, the agency billed 86-year-old ward Nick Orazi,
an Altercare of Navarre nursing home resident, $7 for time it took to open
an SBC refund check to Orazi for $3.31.
Guardian Patricia Mandator showered ward Alma Thompson with gifts in
2002. A 100th birthday present, flowers for Thanksgiving, a gift basket
for Christmas, a Valentines gift from Hartville Chocolate Factory.
The $145 to pay for the gifts came from Almas own money.
Gifts such as those can be important for wards who have no family, said
Trilliums Garnes.
Though Trillium is supposed to get court approval before spending any
money, the agency regularly pays itself for services, then asks for
approval later. On Jan. 8, 2004, a guardian asked Probate Judge Dixie Park
if she could sell Virginia Todghams 1979 Dodge. The guardian had sold
the car six months earlier for $200.

SERVICE EVEN AFTER DEATH

Guardianship is supposed to end when a ward is declared competent
again, or dies.
However, on July 8, 2002, Trillium documented a sale of $175 to Hartville
Coin Exchange for some of Ethel Houzes property. Houze had died 10
days earlier.
Requests for payment, submitted to the court by Trillium, arent itemized.
They read more like blanket purchase orders for compiled hours of
service. The only description of a service is an alphanumeric internal
Trillium code, which stands for types of work performed, such as
shopping or banking.
The bills have raised some questions from judges, including Park. Trillium
officials say they cant produce a more detailed bill on their computer
system.
If I got a bill that looked like that, I wouldnt pay it, acknowledged
Brown, Trilliums executive director.
SOLD TO THE APPRAISER
When Trillium moves a ward into a nursing home, the agency typically
sells his or her personal belongings.
Those sales sometimes are to the same people who estimate the
propertys value. Thats a direct violation of local probate court selfdealing
rules, as well as ethical guidelines recommended by guardianship
associations.
At least 17 times, Trillium dealt with The Barn Sale, a Waynesburg-area
business, to clear items from apartments and storage units owned by

wards of the agency.

Trillium would ask the business to estimate the value. Barn Sale operators
Frank Kersey and Kathleen Kersey Grisez would look at the items, provide
an estimate, then buy the items for the estimated amount.
In 2003, they valued ward Blanche Brotts items including a sleeper
sofa, end tables, bed, night stands and a chair for $225, then bought it
all.
Trilliums guardians have sold wards belongings to Hartville Coin
Exchange in a similar manner.
In 2002, the Hartville shop valued Mattie Camerons jewelry: two gold
rings, two gold bracelets, a cubic zirconia bracelet, gold chain, gold-filled
watch, two-piece wedding set, bracelet, three pairs of gold earrings and
costume jewelry at $566. Trillium then sold it all to the business for the
$566.
Trillium officials point out the court approved the transaction.
But its a practice Judge Dixie Park stopped this year. This is clearly not
permitted for obvious reasons, she wrote in a letter June 17. When
assets are to be sold, they should be independently appraised for the
protection of all parties.
The court also requires a wards home be appraised before its sold, but
Trilliums attorney regularly had appraisal papers signed after properties
were auctioned. Brown said she wasnt aware backward appraisals were
being done, but said it will stop.
Reach Repository staff writer Tim Botos at (330) 580-8333 or e-mail:
tim.botos@cantonrep.com