Rebecca Harber-Georgia

Our nightmare began when we visited a rehab facility in Florida after my husband of thirty years suffered a stroke. When he was admitted it was determined he required a CPAP machine at night. The clinic referred him to a hospital in Florida, where I, Rebecca, expected to be trained on the CPAP machine to care for him at home in Georgia. During the eight days he was admitted, things went horribly wrong! I was falsely accused of removing the CPAP machine. APS was called. I was arrested and held for four hours on false charges. My rights as a medical durable power of attorney, healthcare surrogate, temporary guardian, and permanent guardian of my dying husband were disregarded, as was my status as estate administrator. I was denied access to court records and hearings involving my husband’s well-being. My access and visitation were denied during the final days of my husband’s life.

I believe all this was to hide the true causes of my husbands’ death, revealed in autopsy. Apparently, the court presumed I was guilty of outrageous conduct, a charge that was never proven. No evidence was presented to the court of assault, neglect, or not properly taking care of him. The Department of Children and Families (DCF) in Florida admitted they had only accusations, no evidence, that I’d done anything improper. I was then pressured into a $210,000.00 payment (out of our life savings to free my husband from Florida and transport him to a private facility in Georgia on or about April 23, 2021, under a guardianship. We were isolated from him for nine months. He died without me or his mother by his side.

Many people face similar interventions to gain guardianships and take from families what belongs to them. I became a national husband, and wives advocate to show a better way that if I’d known could have changed the direction of my case. I see the same pattern. I’ve learned that bogus charges often are made that include poisoning their spouse, not taking care of them properly, interference with medical care, or staff, verbal and physical abuse, all to gain a guardianship over someone. It’s important to know your rights. When you’re taken under a “for- profit guardianship” you have no idea what’s happened to you.