West Newsmagazine 3-21-18

12 I NEWS I
March 21, 2018
WEST NEWSMAGAZINE
A Client Letter
Law Matters
Dear Client:
Let me start
by commending
you on what
you were doing.
Having helped
my wife care for
her parents as
their health and
mental capacity declined, I know how
physically, intellectually, and emotionally
draining this can all be. Growing
up, we never really think about the
kinds of things you are dealing with
now. Some people walk away. Some
people delegate the duties. Some people
just want to end it all. But you are
caring for your mother at what is probably
the most difficult time in her
life, and also of your life up to now.
Having said that, I wanted to answer
some of your questions. The first
was whether having your mom declared
incompetent created any
problems for you personally. To
answer that, I need to define what I
mean by declaring your mom
incompetent.
If she had not done any planning,
that would mean getting a court involved.
It’s not the end of the world,
but it is sort of a pain. You’d need to
get a doctor in a formal set of questions
(“interrogatories”) to say that
your mom can’t perform certain basic
functions of daily living. For instance,
can she remember to take her medicine
at the proper time? Does she
know to wear a coat when it’s cold
outside?
Once you have the interrogatories,
you have a hearing. Assuming all goes
as planned, the judge would then put
you in charge of her finances (a
conservatorship) and her person (a
guardianship). You would next need
to get a court order authorizing you
to spend money, and then you have
to file an annual financial report
with the court.
Fortunately, your mom did all the
necessary planning. She has a general
durable power of attorney, a recent
medical directive (which includes a
medical power of attorney and a living
will), and a trust. Since your
mom wanted to retain control as
long as she could, now we just need a
doctor to certify that she is not able
to perform some of the necessary
functions of basic daily living.
Once you do get the certification,
you can pay your mom’s bills and
make decisions regarding her care.
There is no need for any court
proceeding. In addition, there will be
no additional liability for you
personally.
Once again, I want to commend
you on what you are doing. God
bless.
with estate planning is
always know what to
expect. Fred has gathered
some of the most
interesting examples he
knows into an entertaining
and eduactional book.
at ae t t is available
to order online at www.lawmatters.net
Fred L. Vilbig is an attorney with over 30
years of experience in the areas of wills
and trusts, small businesses, and real
estate. This column is for informational
purposes only. Nothing herein should be
treated as legal advice or as creating an
attorney-client relationship. The choice
of a lawyer is an important decision
and should not be based solely upon
advertisements.
(636) 537-7884 | fvilbig@shandselbert.com | www.law-matters.net
Monarch Fire District board
reinstates suspended chief
By JIM ERICKSON
The Monarch Fire Protection District
board has reinstated its former fire chief
days after various felony charges against
him were dropped in St. Louis Circuit Court.
After a lengthy March 13 closed-door
session, directors voted 3-0 to hire Wayne
“Chuck” Marsonette as deputy chief of operations,
Rick Gans, board president, reported.
Cary Spiegel remains the chief, a position
he assumed Jan. 1 after serving as
acting chief since August 2016 when Marsonette
was suspended.
Marsonette’s three-year contract as chief
expired at the end of 2017 and the board
opted not to renew it, appointing Spiegel to
the post instead.
Before the charges were dismissed, Marsonette
was accused of fraudulent use of
a business credit card from Reliant Care
Management Co., a former employer. He
later was charged with tampering with an
airplane or boat, forgery and additional misuses
of a credit card.
According to the county prosecutor’s
office, Reliant asked that the charges be
dropped because it no longer wanted the
case to be criminally prosecuted. The company
and The Big Blessing, LLC, which also
employed Marsonette, reportedly planned
to pursue their complaints in a civil lawsuit.
Marsonette has denied all the charges, and,
according to Gans, said he is not a plaintiff
On April 16, 2016, first-grader Rachael
Bick was hit and killed by an SUV while
crossing Hwy. 109, from the parking lot
of Elaine Rosi Academy, with her father
on their way to a father-daughter dance at
Babler Elementary in Wildwood.
Immediately following the accident, St.
Louis County Police Wildwood Precinct
reported that an SUV was making a left turn
out of the parking lot of Babler Elementary,
1955 Shepard Road, to drive southbound
on Hwy. 109 when it struck Bick.
Wildwood Police and Rockwood
School District officials agreed to meet
about procedures in regard to enhancing
safety at that location. Capt. Tim Tanner,
precinct commander, admitted “there’s
a huge amount of traffic congestion on
Hwy. 109, and we address speeding and
other issues regularly throughout the corridor
because it’s so heavily traveled.”
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or defendant in any current civil cases.
As deputy chief of operations, Marsonette
will have the position formerly held by
Les Crews, who moved up to acting assistant
chief when Marsonette was suspended.
He became the regular assistant chief at the
same time Spiegel was named chief.
The deputy chief position has been
vacant since the 2016 changes.
Gans said Marsonette has accepted the
offer and will start work as deputy chief as
soon as the required pre-employment protocols,
which include a physical exam, drug
test and background check, are completed.
The board president added that Marsonette’s
annual salary will be equal to that
of other current deputy chiefs. According
to Monarch’s transparency portal, the pay
of two other deputy chiefs ranged from
about $121,000 to $122,700 during the 12
months that ended Aug. 31, 2017.
Asked what factors led the board to its
decision, Gans stated, “First of all, we had
an opening that existed. Secondly, I said …
if he was found innocent at trial or if the
charges were dropped, then my vote would
be to bring him back.
“The man was arrested, jailed and put
through significant strife and, in the end,
the charges were dropped. While I don’t
know why it happened, it is scary to think
that can happen to you, to me or anyone
who, in the end, may have done nothing to
deserve it.”
Anniversary of fatal accident prompts
talk of school safety procedures
As the two-year anniversary of the
accident approaches, West Newsmagazine
checked in with Dr. Eric Knost, superintendent
of the Rockwood School District,
to see what safety procedures have been
implemented.
“We have worked hard to encourage
parents not to utilize parking across Hwy.
109,” Knost said. “The school typically
has ample parking in the back lot behind
Babler Elementary. If we were to host a
huge program or event at the school, we
have the option of utilizing the parking lots
available at Lafayette High to shuttle to
and from the Babler campus.”
In St. Louis Circuit Court last month,
Rachael’s parents, Susan and John Bick, of
Wildwood, approved a settlement with the
driver of the SUV that hit and killed their
daughter. The identity of the driver has
been kept confidential.