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NDEX TO WITNESSES
FOR THE PETITIONER DIRECT CROSS REDIRECT RECROSS
THE COURT: All right. Petitioner.
2 MS. MILLER: Your Honor, good afternoon. I'm
3 Attorney Marci Miller of Hazen Elder Law. I represent the
4 Petitioner, Frank Parrott. Present in the courtroom with me
5 today is Petitioner, Frank Parrott, who is the nephew of
6 Margaret Chapman, the alleged incapacitated party, and Dora
7 Addams, who's been a close and longtime friend of Mrs.
8 Chapman.
9 Also present is Cumberland County Office of Aging
1.0 caseworker, Karen Sheriff. Margaret Chapman, the alleged
1.1 incapacitated party, is present with her attorney, Melissa
1.2 Miller, who's been appointed by the Court.
1.3 THE COURT: Ready to proceed, Ms. Miller?
1.4 MS. MILLER: The other Ms. Miller?
1.5 THE COURT: Are you ready?
1.6 MS. MILLER: Yes, sir.
1.7 THE COURT: Okay. Call your first witness.
1.8 MS. MILLER: At this time I would like to
1.9 bring to the Court's attention that Mrs. Chapman is a widow
2.0 and does not have any children. Her closest family members
21 are her three living siblings, Rachel Parrott, Joe Pillo,
2.2 and Chester Pillo, and all three siblings have joined in
23 with the guardianship petition that has been filed with the
24 Court.
25 Your Honor, I would first like to address the
3
procedural issues. I have with me today a summary of
2 service of process. All service of process requirements
3 have been met. I personally served the citation, petition,
4 and preliminary order of court on Mrs. Chapman on September
5 25th, 2009.
6 And then on September 1st -- excuse me, on
7 September 2nd, 2009, I sent written notice of the
8 guardianship petition to Mrs. Chapman's twenty-six potential
9 intestate heirs via certified mail return-receipt requested.
10 A family tree identifying those persons who are known to be
11 her potential intestates --
12 THE COURT: I've read the petition. Do you
13 have any procedural problems?
14 MS. MILLER: No, Your Honor.
15 THE COURT: Why don't we just proceed with
16 the testimony?
17 MS. MILLER: I would like to present the
18 deposition of Dr. Kenneth Conner who is Margaret Chapman's
1.9 primary care physician. Dr. Conner's deposition was taken
20 at the Offices of Conner-Rich Associates, 207 House Avenue,
2.1 Suite 101, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, on October 2nd, 2009,
2.2 and a transcript of the deposition was taken. Your Honor,
23 at this time I would like to submit this deposition as
24 evidence of medical testimony.
25 THE COURT: Any objection?
4
MS. MILLER: No, Your Honor.
2 THE COURT: The deposition will be admitted
3 as Petitioner's Exhibit No. 1.
4 MS. MILLER: Your Honor, on Pages 3 through 5
5 of the deposition, Dr. Conner's qualifications are set
6 forth. He's a licensed physician and a Board-certified
7 internist for 36 years.
8 Dr. Conner has practiced medicine for 36 years.
9 His specific practice in internal medicine accounts for a
10 broad range of experience in treating geriatric patients.
11 Dr. Conner has treated Mrs. Chapman since 1973.
12 On Pages 5 through 7 of the deposition transcript
13 Dr. Conner summarizes the dates and dispositions of the many
14 mental status exams that he gave her. Specifically she
15 performed poorly on the mini mental status exam that he gave
16 her in August of 2008.
17 Dr. Conner also ordered a CT scan of Mrs.
1.8 Chapman's brain in August of 2008 which showed cerebral
1.9 atrophy. At that time Dr. Conner diagnosed Mrs. Chapman
2.0 with progressive dementia.
21 Since that time Mrs. Chapman's progressive memory
22 loss and decreased cognitive ability became more apparent to
23 the doctor, so in May of 2009 he referred her to the
24 Cumberland County Office of Aging for a psychological
25 evaluation.
5
On Page 7 of the deposition transcript Dr. Conner
2 indicates that he referred Mrs. Chapman to the Cumberland
3 County Office of Aging due to increasing concerns of
4 friends, family, and others that she was not safe to live
5 alone.
6 That psychological evaluation concluded that Mrs.
7 Chapman had senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type with
8 orientation impairment and impairment of abstract thinking
9 and attention span and concluded that she was incapacitated
10 to make decisions concerning her own interest and that she
11 would be best served by an assisted living secured dementia
1.2 unit where safety and care could be constantly maintained.
1.3 THE COURT: What page is that on?
1.4 MS. MILLER: Your Honor, the reference to the
15 evaluation is on Page 7. The actual results of the
1.6 evaluation we're going to discuss when I take the testimony
1.7 of Dr. Conner who actually performed the evaluation.
1.8 THE COURT: Okay.
1.9 MS. MILLER: On Page 7 of the transcript Dr.
20 Conner states that Mrs. Chapman's diagnosis is progressive
21 Alzheimer's disease and that disease is getting
22 progressively worse over time.
23 On Page 8 of the transcript Dr. Conner states that
24 he was concerned about Mrs. Chapman's progressive weight
25 loss due to her not eating and her forgetfulness, both of
6
which he believes are manifestations of her progressive
2 Alzheimer's disease.
3 Dr. Conner believes that Mrs. Chapman has had
4 issues with personal care. Dr. Conner prescribed Aricept
5 medication for Mrs. Chapman, but she stopped taking it or
6 forgets to take it and now refuses to take it.
7 On Page 9 Dr. Conner states that Mrs. Chapman's
8 ability to receive and evaluate information effectively and
9 communicate decisions is impaired to such a significant
10 extent that she is totally unable to manage her financial
11 resources or meet the essential requirements for her
12 physical health and safety.
13 And, lastly, on Pages 10 and 11, Dr. Conner states
14 that Mrs. Chapman will not regain or develop an ability to
15 care for herself due to the extended nature of her
16 disability. He states that she's certainly not capable of
1.7 managing financial issues, that she's unsafe to live alone,
1.8 and that she probably needs to be in a secured dementia unit
19 of an assisted living facility.
20 Dr. Conner thinks that Mrs. Chapman's dementia is
21 such that she's incapable of managing anything at this point
2.2 and could easily be taken advantage of. He indicates that
2.3 her incapacity will certainly increase as she has shown
24 fairly rapid progression and loss of cognitive function over
25 the last two years and that there is no probability that she
7
will get better.
2 Your Honor, at this time I'd like to present
3 medical testimony via telephone of Dr. Christopher Royer.
4 Dr. Royer is a clinical neuropsychologist who had the
5 opportunity to clinically evaluate Mrs. Chapman in May of
6 this year. Dr. Royer will be able to provide expert medical
7 evidence of Mrs. Chapman's incapacity.
8 Good afternoon, Dr. Royer. This is Attorney Marci
9 Miller. We're present in court today before the Honorable
10 Judge Ebert for a guardianship hearing concerning Margaret
11 Chapman. Mrs. Chapman's nephew, Frank Parrott, has
12 petitioned the Court to become Mrs. Chapman's guardian.
13 We're calling you as a witness today to provide
14 medical testimony, medical evidence, of Mrs. Chapman's
1.5 progressive Alzheimer's and neurocognitive status. Mrs.
1.6 Chapman and her attorney, Melissa Miller, are both present
1.7 in the courtroom today.
lg Whereupon,
1.9 CHRISTOPHER ROYER
20 having been duly sworn, testified as follows:
2.1 DIRECT EXAMINATION
22 ON QUALIFICATIONS
23 BY MS. MILLER:
14 Q Could you please state your name and address,
25 office address, for the record?
8
A Sure. Christopher Royer, R-o-y-e-r, address
2 is 3314 Marke t Street, Suite 200, Camp Hill, 17011.
3 Q Can you please state your educational
4 background an d the professional degrees you've obtained?
5 A Sure. I have a Bachelor's in psychology from
6 Haverford Col lege, a Master's in psychology from Weidner
7 University, a doctorate in psychology from Weidner
8 University, a nd a post-doctoral fellowship certificate in
9 clinical neur opsychology.
10 Q Doctor, what is your current position?
11 A I'm in private practice in Camp Hill.
12 Q How long have you practiced your profession?
1.3 A Just under fifteen years.
1.4 Q Are you licensed?
1.5 A Yes .
1.6 Q Could you state the name of the Pennsylvania
17 professional licensing agency that has issued you a license?
1.8 A The Pennsylvania Board of Professional
1.9 Psychology.
20 Q What is the date of issuance of that license?
21 A The issue date is, I believe, December 1995.
2.2 Q What is your specific experience in
2.3 evaluating individuals with incapacities?
24 A Well, I have a very broad experience for most
25 of my career doing neurocognitive evaluations with
9
individuals who are over the age of 65. I've done that in a
2 variety of settings both inpatient hospital, outpatient kind
3 of settings.
4 One component of those evaluations has to do with
5 capacity, and I receive referrals from both the Cumberland
6 County Office of Aging, the Dauphin County Area Office on
7 Aging, individual physicians, and continuing care facilities
8 all for capacity evaluations from time to time.
9 Q Have you had the opportunity to evaluate Mrs.
10 Margaret Chapman?
11 A Yes, I have.
12 Q What is her age and date of birth?
13 A Hang on one second. I'm sorry. Age is 90,
14 date of birth 3/13/19.
1.5 Q On what date did you evaluate Mrs. Chapman?
1.6 A May 20th, 2009.
1.7 THE COURT: What is he being offered as an
18 expert in?
1.9 MS. MILLER: In her neurocognitive status.
20 THE COURT: Do you have any objection to him?
21 MS. MILLER: No, Your Honor.
22 THE COURT: This is Judge Ebert. We're going
23 to recognize Dr. Royer as an expert in the field of
2.4 neurocognitive evaluation.
25 MS. MILLER: Thank you.
10
DIRECT EXAMINATION
2 BY MS. MILLER:
3 Q Was Mrs. Chapman referred to you by somebody?
4 A Yes, both by the Cumberland County Office of
5 Aging and Dr. Conner.
6 Q Do you know the reason for the referral?
7 A The reason for the referral was both a
8 concern about her cognitive capacity and also -- or
9 cognitive abilities and also her capacity to make decisions
10 for herself.
11 Q What diagnostic tests, if any, were used
12 during the course of your evaluation of Mrs. Chapman?
1.3 A Well, over the years I have chosen to use
1.4 some, in addition to my interview with her, different tests
1.5 or components of tests. There's elements of what is called
1.6 the Cognistat, which is a small cognitive battery, along
1.7 with some other tests that are just bits and pieces of
1.8 commonly used neuropsychological batteries.
1.9 The main reason being is that these batteries are
20 extremely simple, and, you know, it's very important to, you
21 know, look for a minimum level of competence when doing
32 these type of evaluations, so they're a good choice in this
23 case.
24 Q Could you briefly summarize to the Court your
~?5 findings and diagnostic impressions of Mrs. Chapman as a
11
result of your evaluation of her?
2 A Sure. There were a couple of real pronounced
3 things at the get-go. One is that she had great difficulty
4 with her orientation, and that would include, you know,
5 simple facts like day, date, month, year. She was off by
6 nine years for the year.
7 She had difficulty with, you know, she was able to
8 basically state the season, and, again, these are not by
9 themselves measures of competency, but they are a good
10 benchmark of cognitive functioning as most people can at
11 least grossly state those kind of information.
12 She had a significant difficulty with her memory.
13 She -- I'd give a very, very brief test. Again brief
1.4 because most people can do it, and she was not able to
1.5 remember very much at all and required significant cuing
1.6 even to remember half of the material.
1.7 I give a test of what we call reasoning by
18 analogy, which has to do with the person's abstract
].9 reasoning and problem solving. She had a lot of difficulty
2.0 with making those kind of abstract connections between one
21 word and another, for example, or one item for another.
?2 She was quite perseverative; that is, that she
23 tended to repeat herself without being aware or seeming to
~?4 be aware that she was doing so. She appeared somewhat
25 distracted and sometimes didn't seem to be really with me
12
there in the room.
2 She also exhibited, and I think this is probably
3 one of the most important things for a capacity assessment,
4 is that she reported no difficulties cognitively during the
5 time there, and, of course, she had quite a number of
6 difficulties.
7 Unawareness is probably the biggest predictor of a
8 person's function given that one can easily live with a fair
9 number of difficulties if one is aware and able to make
10 those kinds of accommodations.
1.1 As such my impressions of her are that she does
12 have an Alzheimer's-type dementia and that at this point it
1.3 is significant enough to impede her ability to make
1.4 decisions in her own best interest.
1.5 Q Dr. Royer, based on your findings does Mrs.
16 Chapman meet the Pennsylvania statutory definition of
1.7 incapacity?
]_8 A Yes, she does.
]_9 Q In your opinion is Mrs. Chapman safe to live
20 alone?
21 A No, she is not in my opinion.
22 Q What provisions could be made that would
23 allow for her to reside safely and for her health to be
~?4 maintained?
~?5 A I'm sorry. Can you repeat the last part of
13
that question again? You faded out.
2 Q Sure. What provisions could be made to
3 provide for the physical health and safety of Mrs. Chapman?
4 A She is an ideal candidate for an assisted
5 living kind of environment, and in a setting like that the
6 appropriate medications can be monitored, certainly any
7 safety issues, and particularly I worry about her
8 susceptibility to manipulation from others.
9 Q Do you feel that having a guardian appointed
1.0 for her would ensure her medical, safety, and financial
ll needs -- excuse me -- to ensure her medical, safety, and
12 financial needs are met would be in her best interest?
1.3 A I do .
14 MS. MILLER: Thank you. I have no further
1.5 questions for you.
1.6 THE COURT: Doctor, this is Judge Ebert. Are
]_7 those opinions that you just gave to me -- can you state
]_8 those to a degree of medical certainty?
19 THE WITNESS: Yes, my opinions are within a
20 reasonable degree of medical certainty.
~?1 THE COURT: Thank you. Cross-examine.
~?2 CROSS-EXAMINATION
~?3 BY MS. MILLER:
~?4 Q I just have a few questions, Dr. Royer. My
25 name is Melissa Miller. Could you repeat the date you
14
examined Mrs. Chapman?
2 A Sure. It was May the 20th, 2009.
3 Q Have you seen her since then?
4 A I have not.
5 Q In your opinion is there any chance that Mrs.
6 Chapman's condition would improve?
7 A Given my diagnosis and the nature of dementia
8 of the Alzheimer's type, I consider it to be if not
9 absolutely unlikely extremely unlikely that she would
10 improve.
1.1 MS. MILLER: Thank you. No further
12 questions.
13 THE COURT: Anything else?
1.4 MS. MILLER: No.
15 THE COURT: Doctor, this is Judge Ebert.
16 Thank you very much. I'll excuse you at this time.
]_7 THE WITNESS: Okay. Thank you. Have a good
18 day.
]_9 THE COURT: Next witness, please.
20 MS. MILLER: I would like to call Dora Addams
21 to the stand.
2.2 Whereupon,
2.3 DORA ADDAMS
24 having been duly sworn, testified as follows:
25 DIRECT EXAMINATION
15
BY MS. MILLER:
2 Q Would you please state your name and address
3 for the record.
4 A Dora Addams, A-d-d-a-m-s, and I live at 100
5 Ege Drive, Carl isle, 17015.
6 Q Please state your relationship to Margaret
7 Chapman.
8 A We've been friends for about thirty years
9 now.
10 Q How often do you see and spend time with Mrs.
1.1 Chapman?
1.2 A Well, I try to get down to see her at least
1.3 once every ten days, but I haven't been able to lately.
1.4 It's been more like two weeks than ten days.
1.5 Q What type of things do you do for Mrs.
1.6 Chapman when you see her?
1.7 A Well, we mostly sit and talk or if she has
1.8 anything she wants me to do, I'll do it. I go to the drug
]_9 store or go to the grocery store if she needs milk,
20 something like that. We go out to lunch once in awhile.
21 Q Do you look after Mrs. Chapman?
22 A Pardon?
23 Q Do you look after Mrs. Chapman?
2.4 A Well, I don't know if you'd call it looking
25 after her. I try to help her. She's been very good to me.
16
Q What is your day-to-day interaction like with
2 Mrs. Chapman?
3 A Oh, very -- friends talking.
4 Q And day-to-day?
5 A Day-to-day, well, I don't see her day-to-day.
6 Sometimes talk on the phone, but I'm pretty active. I'm out
7 a lot. I belong to a lot of organizations, so I don't
8 interact with anybody very much in one day.
9 Q Well, have your interactions with her, with
1.0 Mrs. Chapman, of late given you any concern?
1.1 A Yes, they have because there have been times
1.2 when I've cal led her and told her I was coming down to go to
1.3 lunch with he r, usually on Saturday, and she hasn't been
1.4 there. She's forgotten. A number of times I've called
15 she's been th ere, but she forgot I was coming.
1.6 Q Do you know Frank Parrott, the Petitioner?
1.7 A Yes, I do.
1.8 Q How long have you known him?
19 A Oh, I guess about two, three years.
~0 Q Do you believe that as guardian Mr. Parrott
21 would act in Margaret's best interest?
Z2 A Yes, I do, and I think she would be very
2.3 lucky to have someone so conscientious.
24 MS. MILLER: Thank you. I have no further
2.5 questions.
17
MS. MILLER: We have no questions, Your
2 Honor.
3 THE COURT: Okay. Thank you, ma'am.
4 MS. MILLER: Your Honor, my last witness is
5 Frank Parrott. I'd like to call him to the stand.
6 Whereupon,
7 FRANK PARROTT
8 having been duly sworn, testified as follows:
9 DIRECT EXAMINATION
10 BY MS. MILLER:
1.1 Q Would you please state your name and address?
1.2 A Frank Parrott, 7747 Porters Hill Lane,
1.3 Lorton, Virginia, 22079.
14 Q Please state your occupation.
1.5 A I'm an auditor for the United States
16 Department of Homeland Security, Office of Audits.
].7 Q Please state your relationship to Mrs.
]_ 8 Chapman .
19 A I'm her nephew.
20 Q How long have you known Mrs. Chapman?
21 A Sixty-one years.
22 Q How often do you see and spend time with Mrs.
23 Chapman?
24 A I try to make it up here at least once a
25 month. Sometimes it's more often. When there's nobody
18
taking her out on Saturday's, I make extra trips up to spend
2 time with her.
3 Q What is your relationship with Mrs. Chapman
4 like?
5 A We talk a lot. She asks for advice on her
6 finances. Sometimes I try to advise her. I keep an eye on
7 her from a distance. I have people checking on her,
8 reporting back to me as to her well-being.
9 I try to make sure that she has meals and. ask
1.0 people when they take her out to buy extra food for her to
1.1 keep in her refrigerator, so --
1.2 Q Can you tell the Court how you've made
1.3 arrangements for Mrs. Chapman's care while this guardianship
14 matter has been pending?
1.5 A Basically just ask people to check on her
]_6 while this is pending, let me know if she's being taken care
17 of, and I also tell them that if they incur expenses to
18 contact me and I'll reimburse them.
19 Q With these arrangements you've made, do you
?0 see them as being a permanent solution to your -- solutions
21 to your aunt's inability to provide for her physical safety
22 and health?
23 A No, they absolutely are not a permanent
?_4 solution.
25 Q Why not?
19
A Her behavior has been getting more bizarre.
2 She's getting very forgetful. Tele-marketers have called
3 her. They've talked her into signing up for Internet
4 service when she doesn't even own a computer.
5 They've taken her off of her plan where she has
6 unlimited long distance calls to pay by the minute. I've
7 had to call her friends to call up the company to put a stop
8 to it and not to contact her anymore. Also, she has a habit
9 of giving things away to people she doesn't even know. I
1.0 mean she does it for good intention, but I'm not sold on it.
1.1 Q What types of things is she giving away?
1.2 A Jewelry, perfume, money. She's given her
13 doctor's nurse five thousand at one time. I don't know the
]_4 exact amount, but I know it was over a thousand.
15 Q Mr. Parrott, why do you believe this
16 guardianship is needed?
17 A I don't believe she is capable of managing
18 her affairs. Her apartment has not been kept up. Her
19 clothes have -- she's wearing the same clothes for two to
20 three weeks, black pants blue sweater, without changing.
2.1 She's been told about this by her friends. I'm sure she's
22 not doing it intentionally.
23 She's told her house cleaner not to clean her
24 apartment more than one day a month and don't spend more
25 than one hour. Her friends have been going in and cleaning
20
her kitchen and bathroom for her. This is not the aunt I
2 used to know.
3 Q What are your plans for the physical care and
4 financial management for the benefit of Mrs. Chapman?
5 A I would like to get Elder Care in temporarily
6 and then if the Court approves it, I would like to move her
7 to West Virginia to assisted living where her family can
8 check on her and be near her.
g Q You had mentioned getting Elder Care in.
10 What is Elder Care?
11 A It's a 24/7 company that -- they're highly
12 recommended -- to stay with incapacitated individuals in
13 their dwelling, and also I'm concerned about her living
1.4 alone. She's on a bottom floor of an apartment with no
1.5 security. The element has changed in that neighborhood,
1.6 anybody can break in.
1.7 I was there one time when the maintenance guy was
18 there getting very angry with her because she kept repeating
7.9 questions to him, and he was angry, and I wouldn't leave
20 until he left.
21 Q So just to confirm your plans in the interim,
22 before you're able to move her to an assisted living
23 dementia facility in West Virginia, what specific plans do
24 you have?
25 A Elder Care is on standby if the Court
21
approves me or somebody taking guardianship to move in and
2 stay with her 24/7 until it is approved.
3 Q So an aide would come in and provide personal
4 care for your aunt?
5 A Yes.
6 Q Mr. Parrott, do you understand your
7 responsibilities as guardian?
g A Yes.
g Q Do you understand that as guardian you would
10 need to ensure that your aunt has the ability to participate
11 as fully as possible in all decisions that will affect her?
12 A Yes.
13 Q Do you understand that you would have the
14 responsibility to file a 90-day inventory and annual
1.5 accounting thereafter?
1.6 A Yes.
1.~ Q And are you willing to accept the
1.8 responsibilities that come along with being the guardian of
19 Mrs. Chapman's person and estate?
20 A Yes.
2.1 MS. MILLER: Thank you. I have no further
22 questions.
2.3 BY THE COURT
24 Q Sir, when you say the assisted living area,
25 did I catch that correctly as West Virginia?
22
A Yes.
2 Q And you said there is family there?
3 A Yes.
q Q Can you explain that to me, what family? Who
5 are you talking about? I mean you live in Lorton, Virginia.
6 Who lives in West Virginia?
'7 A My mother lives in West Virginia.
g Q -Okay. Her sister?
g A Yes. I have several cousins, and if that's
10 not enough I have several people that I could have go and
11 check on her .
12 THE COURT: All right. Cross-examine.
1.3 CROSS-EXAMINATION
1.4 BY MS. MILLE R:
1.5 Q Mr. Parrott, when you say West Virginia, are
16 you talking about the Clarksburg area?
].7 A Clarksburg, Bridgeport, it's in that area.
lg Q And that's where Mrs. Chapman was originally
]_ 9 f rom?
20 A Yes, well close.
~?1 Q And I just have a question, do you know
22 whether the Cumberland County Department of Aging offered
~?3 your aunt services and whether she accepted them?
24 A I don't know.
25 MS. MILLER: I have no further questions at
23
this time.
2 THE COURT: Thank you very much, sir. You
3 may step down.
4 MS. MILLER: I have no further witnesses.
5 THE COURT: Ms. Miller. She's resting.
6 MS. MILLER: Your Honor, I can call Ms.
7 Sheriff or I just wanted to get on the record that
8 Cumberland County did offer services and they were refused,
9 but she's your witness so do you want to call her?
10 THE COURT: It doesn't make any difference.
11 You can call her. Go ahead.
12 Whereupon,
1.3 KAREN SHERIFF
1.4 having been duly sworn, testified as follows:
15 DIRECT EXAMINATION
1.6 BY MS. MILLER:
1.7 Q Ms. Sheriff, could you please state your name
1.8 and title for the record.
19 A Yes, my name is Karen Sheriff, S-h-e-r-i-f-f.
20 I'm the elder adult protective service investigator for
21 Cumberland County Aging and Community Services located at 16
22 West High Street, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
23 Q And was it your office that Dr. Conner
24 contacted?
25 A Under the Protective Services Law, I am not
24
permitted to testify unless I am ordered by a judge to do
2 so.
3 THE COURT: I will so order you, ma'am.
4 THE WITNESS: Thank you. It is our office
5 that requested that Dr. Royer evaluate Mrs. Chapman for
6 capacity, yes.
7 MS. MILLER: And was Mrs. Chapman offered any
8 services by the county?
g THE WITNESS: Yes, she was, and she refused
10 all services.
11 MS. MILLER: I have no further questions.
12 THE COURT: Cross-examine.
13 CROSS-EXAMINATION
14 BY MS. MILLER:
1.5 Q Ms. Sheriff, you had mentioned that you were
16 referred by Dr. Conner to conduct an investigation, a
1.7 protective services investigation?
1.8 A That is not true. I cannot divulge the name
19 of the reporter for protective services. We initially were
20 involved with Mrs. Chapman in October of 2008. That was the
21 initial concern that came into our office.
22 A subsequent concern came in in April of 2009.
23 Our office, as normal procedure under protective services,
24 contacts the physician to see what their concerns are, and
25 the doctor was very concerned. He had been a long-time
25
friend of Mrs. Chapman in addition to her primary care
2 physician and felt that she was not doing well in the
3 community.
4 Our office felt the same way; however, we were in
5 frequent contact with Mr. Parrott, and since he was willing
6 as a family member to step up and proceed as guardian, it is
7 always the first choice of our office to allow family, and
8 we prefer family to get involved.
g I believe that based on all my interactions with
10 Mr. Parrott, I know I'm not asking this, but I believe he
11 would be a very good guardian for Mrs. Chapman. She always
12 spoke very highly of him, and he is the only family member
1.3 that she has mentioned consistently and with such high
1.4 regard.
1.5 Q Now, had Mr. Parrott not stepped up and
1.6 petitioned to become Mrs. Chapman's guardian, would the
1.7 Office of Aging?
]_8 A Yes, we would have because she's not -- in
19 our opinion she's not safe living alone in her home. One of
20 the visits -- she never recalled me from one time to the
21 next when I would visit, but she at one visit offered to
22 give me some jewelry because she thought I was such a nice
23 person.
24 And that coincides with why -- I was there when
25 Dr. Royer was there, and she's very susceptible to people.
26
She would probably give a stranger anything, and she's very
2 vulnerable.
3 MS. MILLER: Okay. Thank you. I have
4 nothing further.
5 THE COURT: So you got these protective
6 reports by telephone and you contacted Dr. Conner?
7 THE WITNESS: That's correct.
g THE COURT: Thank you. Do you have anything
9 further?
10 MS. MILLER: No, Your Honor.
1.1 THE COURT: You may step down.
1.2 MS. MILLER: One moment, Your Honor.
1.3 THE COURT: I understand.
14 Whereupon,
1.5 MARGARET P. CHAPMAN
16 having been duly sworn, testified as follows:
17 DIRECT EXAMINATION
18 BY MS. MILLER:
19 Q Mrs. Chapman, could you state your name for
20 the record.
21 A Margaret P. Chapman.
~?2 Q And I believe you said Dr. Royer got your
23 date of birth wrong, so what's your date of birth?
,i4 A March 14th, 1919.
25 Q Mrs. Chapman, do you believe that you need
27
any help making decisions?
2 A No, I don't need any help at all. I live
3 very well, and if I have a good doctor -- my doctor is a
4 very good friend. I've known him for at least twenty years.
5 Q And who is your doctor?
6 A Dr. Conner.
7 Q When was the last time you saw Dr. Conner?
8 A Well, I see him quite-often when I need him.
9 He's a good friend. He was a friend of my husband. My
10 husband was a doctor.
11 Q Has Dr. Conner expressed any concerns to you
12 about your ability to live alone?
13 A No, not that I know of. I live in a nice
14 apartment. I mean I don't have to worry about anything.
15 They take care of everything. I live in a nice place.
16 Q Mrs. Chapman, would you like to go back to
17 West Virginia and be closer to your sister?
18 A I'm planning to go to West Virginia because
19 I'm ninety years old. It's about time I do go home.
20 Q So you would like to go back to West
21 Virginia?
22 A I am. I'm going as soon as I can.
23 MS. MILLER: I have no further questions.
24 CROSS-EXAMINATION
25 BY MS. MILLER:
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Q I just have one question, Mrs. Chapman. Do
you recall the last time you met with Dr. Conner?
A With Dr. Conner? Right now I don't remember,
but Dr. Conner is really a good friend of mine, and he was a
friend of my husband. He's my doctor and any time I need
him, he's right there for me.
Q You met with him on November 4th. Do you
remember that?
A What?
Q Do you remember meeting Dr. Conner on
November 4th of 2009, just last month?
A Well, I can't remember exactly, but I see him
-- anytime I see him, I go to him and I get my medicine from
him and everything.
Q Okay.
A He's a good friend.
MS. MILLER: Thank you.
THE COURT: Anything further?
MS. MILLER: No, Your Honor.
THE WITNESS: He's been my friend for twenty
years. He's like part of my family.
THE COURT: This exhibit that was read by the
other attorney, those are the words of Dr. Conner. Would
you have any idea why he would say that you need help?
THE WITNESS: Because he likes me. He's like
29
my family. I've known him for a long time. My husband was
2 a doctor, and --
3 THE COURT: Sure, but his words to me are
4 that --
5 THE WITNESS: He worries about me. That's
6 all. Sir, I'm planning to move to West Virginia to be with
7 family. I'm planning that.
8 THE COURT: Okay. All right. You may go
9 back to your seat. Anything further?
10 MS. MILLER: No, Your Honor.
11 MS. MILLER: Your Honor, in closing the
12 Petitioner requests this Honorable Court to enter an order
13 appointing him as plenary guardian of the person and estate
14 of Margaret Chapman. I have a final order, albeit it is wet
15 now, for Your Honor's consideration.
16 I would like to call Your Honor's attention to the
1'7 fact that Mr. Parrott as guardian of the person of Mrs.
18 Chapman would like to have the authority to make decisions
19 concerning her placement in a residential or long-term care
20 facility unit provided that within 90 days of her admission
21 to any facility located outside of Pennsylvania, that he
22 would take appropriate action with this Court and with the
23 current Court in the jurisdiction where the facility is
24 located to transfer the guardianship there.
25 Mr. Parrott as guardian of the estate of Mrs.
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Chapman would like to have the authority to make
2 distribution from principal funds for the payment of rent,
3 utility expenses, any moving expenses, medical care
4 expenses, legal fees, and all medical needs, and I've
5 included provisions in the final order for these items.
b THE COURT: Okay. Let me just see your final
7 order then. Given the testimony of the caseworker in this
8 case -- your title again is protective service officer?
MS. SHERIFF: Investigator.
l~ THE COURT: Given her relationship with the
1:1 Petitioner in this case, I'm not setting any bond
12 requirement in the matter. It's also based on Mrs. Addams'
13 workings with Mr. Parrott. All right. I've executed the
14 final order.
15 For the record the Court does find that Mrs.
16 Chapman suffers from Alzheimer's and that impairs her
17 capacity to receive and evaluate information effectively and
18 make and communicate decisions regarding her management of
19 her financial affairs and meet the essential requirements
20 for her physical health and safety. Accordingly I am
21 appointing a plenary guardian of her person and estate, and
22 that person will be Mr. Parrott.
23 This is very difficult. I appreciate you stepping
24 forward. I am glad, ma'am, you're going back to be with
25 your family.
31
MS. CHAPMAN: Oh, I've been planning that.
;? When I go, it's going to be forever.
3 THE COURT: Well, I know this is difficult,
4 but I am ordering that Mr. Parrott help you accomplish that.
5 Okay?
6 MS. CHAPMAN: I don't need his help.
'7 THE COURT: I know, but I say you do, and you
3 have to listen to me. I understand that. And we're not
9 going to have a debate here. Everybody in here including
10 your friend, your case investigator --
11 MS. CHAPMAN: I've worked for the government
12 for twenty years, and I'm getting a pension, and honestly he
13 needs help. I would rather help him then he can help me.
14 THE COURT: Maybe you will get that
15 opportunity. Anything further?
16 MS. MILLER: No. Thank you, Your Honor.
1'7 THE COURT: Stand in recess.
lg (Whereupon, Court adjourned at 2:25 p.m.)
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ERTIFICATION
I hereby certify that the proceedings are
contained fully and accurately in the notes taken by me on
the above cause and that this is a correct transcript of
the same.
~, ahdr
Laura F. andley
Official Court Reporter
The foregoing record of the proceedings on the
hearing of the within matter is hereby approved and
directed to be filed.
~ ~~ ~~
Date M. L. be t, Jr.,