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My 2000 response to Matt Shearer
March 6, 2000
John M. “Matt” Shearer
Adult Protective Services
PO Drawer 310
Kalispell, MT 59903-0310Re: Julius T. Schroeder
Dear Mr. Shearer:
On February 23 I was contacted by a Mrs. Gloria Schroeder who, being referred to me by a local attorney, wanted me to do some work for her and her husband, Julius T. Schroeder. She also stated that both her and her husband wanted to terminate a divorce action which he had filed previously. She told me that I would also be working for Mr. Schroeder and that he approved of what I was doing. If there was any dispute between Mr. and Mrs. Schroeder regarding what terms they were going to reconcile under, I was going to offer my services as a mediator.
Mrs. Schroeder stated to me that her husband was being improperly held in the Colonial Manor Nursing Home at Whitefish, Montana. She informed me that you stated that you were Julius’ guardian, but in reality there was no guardianship order, or file, in existence and that you would resist any efforts to prove otherwise. She also gave me a couple of names that she stated would confirm what she was telling me.
Besides helping the two of them stop the divorce, Mrs. Schroeder hired me to investigate if there was actually a valid guardianship order and if not, to get proof that no such order existed.
If I was being unlawfully held under an alleged guardianship arrangement I would be desperate to have an independent source of help to rectify the situation. Therefore, based upon Mrs. Schroeder’s allegations and directions, I undertook to investigate whether there actually was a valid order affecting Mr. Schroeder.
The first thing I needed in order to find out if any such order existed was a release from Mr. Schroeder to look at any files pertaining to him. I had no evidence of any relationship between Mr. Schroeder and you. (Actually I still do not have any such evidence.) If there was no valid court order then Mr. Schroeder would have authority to sign such a release. If there actually was a valid court order then you might not be able to show it to me without such a release.
Therefore, after contacting Mrs. Schroeder, I phoned Mr. Schroeder at the Colonial Manor Nursing home and at his invitation, went to see him. Mr. Schroeder met me at the front door by the fireplace. Although it appeared physically uncomfortable for him, he took me on a fairly long walk into the manor obviously looking for some place where the two of us could be alone. He responded appropriately to my conversation and appeared to me to be coherent.
After talking to me he told me that yes, he did want to terminate the divorce, but that he needed to think about it before he signed any release of information. It was not my intention to pressure him to sign the release, only to make sure he had an opportunity to do so if he wished. At that time I left him and left the Colonial Manor. As I left I was ushered to the front door of the manor by a member of the staff. Based upon Mr. Schroeder’s responses I figured that things evidently were proper and that there was no reason for me to conduct any investigation.
Shortly after leaving Mr. Schroeder at the Colonial Manor, he phoned me and told me that he wanted my help and that he would sign the release. Therefore I mailed him my February 25th letter along with the Authorization for Release of Information. By this time it was appearing to me like the parties’ communications with me were not complete, so I requested that, if possible, I be paid if Mr. Schroeder wanted me to do any more work for him.
I again attempted to phone Mr. Schroeder on February 28th. Karen at the Colonial Manor Nursing Home answered my call and informed me that you have power of attorney over Mr. Schroeder – or you are his guardian. She was not sure what your actual capacity was but, whatever it was, she would not let me speak to Mr. Schroeder.
On February 29th Mr. Schroeder phoned me and stated that he has a lawyer and that he doesn’t want any more paperwork from me. It appeared to me like someone was in the background coaching him.
Since I have received Mr. Schroeder’s verbal instruction not to do any more work for him, you can rest assured that I will not instigate any contact between Mr. Schroeder and myself. If he phones me and states that he is being unlawfully held captive I will tell him to either talk to you or phone an attorney. (Actually I need to see the alleged restraining order before I dare refer Mr. Schroeder to an attorney). Since you have cut off his contact with the outside world there is not much chance that he will write or phone me anyway.
While I have no intention of ever again seeing Mr. Schroeder, I am still curious as to what “District Court Restraining Order” you are accusing me of “attempting to circumvent”. Please send me a copy of any such order so I will know what I can, or can not do, if I am again contacted by either Mr. or Mrs. Schroeder.
I presume that since both Mr. and Mrs. Schroeder have stated they do not want the divorce to go through that you will take the necessary steps to stop the divorce even if such action might be adverse to your personal financial interests. If you desire the help of a mediator to accomplish this, I am at your service.Yours truly,
Jerry O’Neil
