You've Got to be Kidding

"Assault"/huntemann                                                                                                                                             Page 905

Chapter Ten
Scene [9]

You've Got to be Kidding!

Londonderry, NH
2000/07/04 - 2000/07/22

         The afternoon of July 4th, 2000, Ferne and I called Nina to wish her a happy 4th before we left for a fireworks show.

         Nina said, “I just opened a letter I received yesterday from Mass Health. They’re claiming $418,286.43 for Renee's past care.”

         I said, “Wow, so soon?”

         “What do you mean so soon? Did you expect this?”

         “Yeah, I estimated it would be $800,000 from my spreadsheet work back in June. I had guessed that the Town Manor’s portion would be $400,000 alone. They may still send you bills for things not covered by Mass Health.”

         “But, Daddy, Renee had no assets.”

         “No. No, not yet. But, remember, Ed and Michelle are trying to change that. They’ll probably be going after Town Manor for a lot more than $418,000.”

         Nina said, “So, we have to sue, just so the state can get reimbursed, is that it?”

          “Hum, sort of. This is all just legal crap. We will have to get Michelle's input on it. She’s the expert.”

          “Daddy, I’ve been leaving messages for her for days. She hasn’t returned my calls.”


         Wednesday, I worked on my notes, listened to Ronald Reagan’s biography "Dutch" on CD and sipped box-wine on the rocks in my den. As the hot afternoon progressed and the box lightened I found myself brooding about Nina’s last comments.

         Damn, the state of Massachusetts is a joke nobody laughs at. How do they expect Renee's estate to pay such a bill? She was under their care because she was indigent. Any future funds she may get would only come from a settlement or judgment of a lawsuit.

         I almost changed my mind to stop the suit and prevent the state any recovery. However, that would excuse Town Manor's management of responsibility, too... so I won't.

         Of course, we’d also owe Ed and Michelle a huge bill for their services already rendered. Damn lawyers, who are they really working for, us or themselves? The unavailability of Michelle irked me more.

         The state made a wager with Renee the day they took the first penny from her paycheck for Medicaid. They bet that she would contribute more during her working lifetime than she would require in benefits.

         But they lost the bet... and now they want to change the wager.

         I felt no obligation to repay their expenses one thin dime. The care they provided was flawed in the worst way. They were responsible for her safety and care from the day she was incapacitated.

         They failed!

         The institutions they’ve created to oversee and regulate Town Manor did not honor their charge.

         Renee was raped by an employee while on duty at work and I hold the management directly responsible for not preventing it. I hold the Health Department directly responsible for not impressing upon Town Manor their fundamental obligation to protect their patients. And I also hold the Legislature and Governor responsible for not demanding higher standards of the Health Department.

         The self-exonerating investigation and report the Health Department published on Renee's rape was about as far from any acceptance of responsibility as anyone could get.

         But they still want their money back.


         It took three days to finally got hold of Michelle on Thursday afternoon, July 6th. She had been on vacation last week visiting her Air Force son in Texas. She said, “I have already talked to Nina and am on board as the attorney of record.”

         “What can you do about this $418,000 bill?”

         “Don’t sweat that right now. But, there are several things I need you to do soon, though.”

         She gave me a list:
         1. Close Renee’s account at Mary Immaculate. Make out the check to ‘Estate of Renee Kim Huntemann’ and send it to her.
         2. Do the same for Renee’s SSA repository account at Citizens Bank.
         3. Liquidate all her personal assets; car, musical instruments, jewelry, clothes, and send a check for them.
         4. Itemize all the funeral expenses we paid for and send that to her, too. We might get reimbursed from the estate.

         She said, “I will set up an attorney account for Renee... it has some special considerations for setup, otherwise Nina would have to do it all. It will also be used for any funds involved in the case.”

         She agreed to defer her bill for the estate work until after the settlement (if there is one).

         I asked, “The bonds her grandfather sent us are in both our and Renee's names. They aren’t worth much, but we were always afraid if we cashed them the state would find out about it and kick her off Mass Health eligibility. Do we have to cash them now, too?”

         “No, they revert to the survivor and not to her estate, so you don't have to worry about them anymore. When you cash them though, you will need to send proof of her death along to the issuing bank.”

         “Will Maura have anything to do with Renee’s estate?”

         “No. I have sent a letter to Maura asking for the final accounting of Renee's affairs. The state's letter asking for $418,000 is perfunctory for every filing of probate upon death. If there is no settlement, then the state will be left with nothing.”

         I told her about how I was so angry yesterday with Massachusetts that I was tempted to stop Renee's suit just to gyp the state out of the money... “Except I don't want Town Manor to get off free! Maybe it was just the wine talking.”

         “Well, that’s not the only thing that may raise your ire. There is a possibility that if anything ever happens to Kimee, and if there is a settlement for Kimee and Renee that goes to Kimee’s estate, Moret could assert his rights as Kimee's biological father to claim any assets she gets.”

         “What?”

         “It would be a horrendous miscarriage of justice for him to profit from his crime... but it’s possible.”

         “How about the ‘Son-of-Sam’ laws. Don’t they prevent that?”

         “There are some statutes that would supposedly prevent it, but I am not sure that it would be an iron clad conclusion.”

         “You’ve got to be kidding!”

         “You were granted guardianship of Kimee by the Juvenile Court, but I do not believe his parental rights were ever terminated, since at the time, he was an unknown person.”

         “I do remember, and thought it was absurd at the time, that DSS had placed an ad in the newspaper advertising that Baby Jane Doe's father was to have his parental rights terminated as part of the guardianship proceedings.”

         Michelle said, “Right. Absurd or not, DSS was simply following procedures. He didn't step forward to claim his rights because if he had, he would have been arrested on the spot. And those proceedings ended up with you being appointed guardians. But, he was never specifically named.”

         “So, now he could become another threat?”

         “I advised you to not adopt Kimee at that time because it would have effected her eligibility for benefits, support, and care from the state. Your assets would have been included in her evaluations and you would have been required to foot the entire bill.

         “You may need to adopt her in the future, after the settlement, as a hedge against his future claims. It is a distant possibility, but I have talked to Ed about it and it would be prudent to take some preventative actions now.”

         “Actions?”

         “You do not need a Will for her now because she is a minor and you are already her guardians. But if she lives past 18, she may need a will. You could handle her estate without one before she turns 18, though.”

         I said, “That is if we are still alive. We’ll be in our mid seventies by then.”

         “If you precede her, then it would be Neil or Nina, or someone else along her family tree, possibly on Moret's side too, who would be appointed as her executor. We need to put something down in writing to give the courts some direction as to what should be done with her estate if she dies.”

         This was getting a bit disturbing for me. The legal system is really screwed up. “But you say, not much needs to be done until after a settlement?”

         “It’d be moot until then.”

         Michelle agreed to continue to investigate these problems. She had some friends who are experienced in these kind of cases who are interested too.


         The next Saturday I stopped by Renee's Place for 10 minutes. All the flowers and baskets were trash by then, so I dumped them over the fence with other litter.

         Even after you’re dead, he’s still a threat to you and your child. This world is upside down.

         The grass had completely filled in the bare spot. The only sign signifying Renee’s Place was the plot marker, 719, next to the road.

         And, we are not even done here. You need a real marker. Sorry Renee, I’m not thinking straight lately.


         Ferne and I discussed what we should do for Renee. We made an appointment at Hepworth Monuments in Londonderry where we purchased a slant stone in black marble for Renee's Place in Pleasant View. We asked for the peace sigh in the middle with Renee’s stats for the right side. The left side we reserved for Kimee. I hope I never see that filled in.

Pages: 8
Words: 1,588