The supervision of Phoebe Hearst Cooke’s care and estate is now in the hands of her twin brother and her nephew. It took 'em almost a year, but they finally did it. Judge Teresa Estrada-Mullaney ruled, based on written reports, that Cooke is paranoid and suffers from significant cognitive impairment and is thus unable to care for herself or protect herself against potential fraud.
Reporting from San Luis Obispo'sNew Times
"Cooke’s court-appointed attorney Martha Spalding mounted no obvious defense. She offered no opening statement, rebuttal, or witnesses in the case, allowing a confidential report to the judge to represent her position. She declined to comment after the decision.
Cooke herself, in interviews, had said she was not happy with her defense and felt she had no control over the processes. She made numerous attempts to hire her own attorneys, without success. More broadly, while she had said she needed more help than she had been getting under the county’s control of her estate, she did not want her brother and nephew to have control over her estate and personal life."
It's impossible to know with what limited reporting has been done, but I hope the right thing has happened.
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4 comments:
Martha Spalding sounds like a very incompetent attorney.
Hard to believe that an attorney would not give an opening statement, would not call a witness or care to comment. Where did she go to law school?
Atty. Spalding should have at least found an independent conservator for her client, Phoebe Hearst Cooke. Phoebe made it perfectly clear she did not want her brother & nephew to control her estate and personal life.
It sounded like Pheobe heast Cooke probably did need help with managing her affairs but why didn't the court-appointed attorney, Martha Spalding do anything to represent her client? She should have at least spoken in court or tried to find another conservator. Sad story.
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