This story in the Arizona Republic is about three recently filed lawsuits in which the plaintiffs allege that lawyers and fiduciaries who had a duty to protect their elderly clients instead are alleged to have done the opposite.

“The old lady who lost all her money while being ‘protected' by Maricopa County's probate court is now pleading her case to another court — and she isn't the only one.  ‘Obviously, it (the probate system) isn't doing what it's intended to do, it isn't protecting vulnerable adults,' said attorney Grant Goodman, who filed the lawsuits after reading about 88-year-old Marie Long, who went from having $1.3 million to nothing in four years.  ‘It's actually allowing these predators to strip these estates bare under the cloth of a judicial rubber stamp.' . . .

“According to probate court records, Church's law firms have collected $343,000 from Marie's trust since 2005, when the widow suffered a stroke and came under the protection of the court. Sun Valley, meanwhile, has collected $413,000 in guardian and companion care fees while seven other attorneys have scooped up another $86,000. As a result of all this “protection”, Marie is now in the poorhouse and will need taxpayer support.”