“I’ve been kidnapped.” Vietnam veteran fighting Michigan’s guardianship system

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — Prosecutors have called court-ordered custody a superhighway you can’t get off of and that’s exactly what a Macomb County combat veteran says happened to him.

Gerald F. Harten says he survived the horrors of the Vietnam War, but now feels like he was captured by the enemy decades later. But this time he says the enemy is Michigan’s guardianship system.

Harten admits he is entering his golden years and is not as physically capable as he once was, but he insists he is not mentally handicapped. Harten says he wants his voice to be heard by the American justice system he fought for so many years ago.

“This isn’t right. This is holding me illegally. I might as well go to jail – at least then I’ll have more people to talk to. Get three squares there and they’ll give you your medicine. I spent a year in ‘prison’. That’s how I feel,” Harten told the 7 researchers.

The 77-year-old Army veteran’s journey to custody began last November after he underwent back surgery and other health complications.

According to court records, his wife, Mary, had power of attorney to make Harten’s medical decisions, but was hospitalized at the same time so she could not care for him.

“I was in a hospital and my son acted as my supervisor of the medicine,” Harten said.

Harten’s son became his legal guardian. When a judge approved that request for custody, Harten was declared incapacitated.

“The court says I’m not allowed to go to the bank, withdraw money or do anything else,” Harten said.

If a judge appoints a guardian and conservator for you, you lose your rights. This means that you can no longer make your own medical or financial decisions, get married, get divorced or decide where to live.

Harten says his son took good care of him at his home in Madison Heights after his surgery, but when Harten and his wife both got better, Harten began asking to move back to his own home in Harrison Township.

“I was a millwright by profession. Worked seven days a week for 31 years. And I had paid for everything: my house. I have… three motorcycles, the pool in the back, a jacuzzi. I was made for retirement. I’m not allowed to go home,” Harten said. “It was just a nightmare.”

Then things got messy in the courtroom. According to court records, Harten’s wife tried to contest custody, his son hired an attorney and there are allegations that Harten’s wife ignored court orders and refused to pay for Harten’s care. The judge later terminated the woman’s power of attorney over her husband.

In May, the judge put Macomb County professional guardian George Heitmanis in charge of Harten’s life.

Harten says he was furious. Heitmanis kept him at his son’s home even though police records show the family argued so violently that officers were repeatedly called to the house last summer.

‘I have been kidnapped. I was really kidnapped,” Harten said of his custody.

Through their attorney, Harten’s son and his family declined to speak to the seven investigators, but police records show they claimed Harten was often the aggressor during their conflicts.

According to court records, the claim that Harten has dementia has been used to justify the need for guardianship.

The doctor’s note filed with the court last fall and used to initiate the procedure says Harten suffered from “probable underlying vascular dementia…”

A report later ordered by the court, prepared by a gerontologist who also works as a professional guardian, states that Harten’s “need for a guardian and conservator … was clearly noted by four different evaluators.” For at least two of those evaluations, court records show Harten was taking opioid painkillers, and he claims those were the cause of his confusion at the time, not dementia.

“Do you think you are mentally deficient,” researcher Heather Catallo asked.

“No! Just no,” said Harten. “I remember everything.”

Whether he has spoken to the 7 Detectives or the police, Harten consistently insists that he is not mentally disabled and tells anyone who will listen that he just wants to go home.

“Do you remember the last time we talked,” an officer asked Harten as his body camera was recording in August.

“I certainly do. I don’t have dementia,” said Harten.

Harten later told the officer as he sat in the back of the police car: “It’s a very bad situation. I don’t want to be there.”

Police bodycam footage as officers took Harten to the hospital shows him remembering the officer, a fellow veteran from the past, running toward the house.

“You’re from the military,” Harten said.

“Yes, yes,” said the officer.

After that conversation with the police in August, Harten was examined by several neurologists in the hospital, and doctors regularly noted in his file that he was alert and oriented to person, place and time. Doctor’s notes show that no “outpatient examination for dementia” has taken place…

In September, Harten arranged his own transportation to get to the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Detroit to meet his regular doctor, who wrote a letter stating: “…Mr. Harten is competent and able to make his own decisions. ..” and that Harten understands ‘the consequences of his actions’.

“Everyone I know would say I’m not crazy,” Harten said.

Harten’s guardian eventually transferred him from the hospital to a group home, which he says he is not happy about. And other than one hearing on Zoom in July, Harten says he has not been allowed to attend his own court hearings.

‘They always keep me away from legal deals. And that made me angry. I said, ‘what? I can’t see the judge?’ said Harten.

Harten has written two letters to Macomb County Judge Sandra Harrison asking for a hearing in court, and his fellow veterans have filled the courtroom to support him, even though he says he has not yet been allowed to attend the hearing in person attend. Instead, his guardian speaks for him.

“Sir. Harten has significant neurological problems,” Heitmanis said during a hearing in September.

As for a ward’s presence in court: “It’s not up to their guardian. It’s not their loved ones’ fault. It’s not even their doctors’ fault. Only that person should make that call,” said Nicole Shannon, attorney for the Michigan Elder Justice Initiative.

Shannon says someone under guardianship has a legal right to attend important hearings, and she helped write new legislation to strengthen that right for anyone under guardianship.

“This is not just a legal technicality. This is a very substantial, important right that people must exercise. And if someone is not allowed to attend their own hearing, it can have devastating consequences,” Shannon said.

“I almost scream in despair. I want to go home,” Harten said.

On Tuesday, the seven investigators contacted both Harten’s professional guardian and his court-appointed attorney. Within hours, a new hearing was scheduled on the court docket to discuss a new request to terminate custody.

Heitmanis told the seven investigators that the court wants Harten to go home as long as it can be made safe.

The hearing on the termination of guardianship will take place in December.

On Thursday, Michigan state senators are expected to discuss proposed child custody reforms at a committee hearing. These reforms include increasing access to court hearings for people under guardianship, and other safeguards.

Keep up wxyz.com for updates.

If you have a story for Heather Catallo, call 248-827-4473 or email her at [email protected].