Millionaire defends his wife and his spending

The man, 92, faces a competency challenge, but says his grandson is after his money.

By ANITA KUMAR

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 1, 2000

After 92 years, George Smith walks with baby steps, leaning on a cane and often a family member for support. His hearing isn't what it used to be. And, sometimes, he needs things to be repeated because he doesn't understand or remember what has been said.

But he is certain of one thing: He can make his own decisions about his life -- and he plans to fight anyone who thinks otherwise.

That includes his grandchildren.

They are worried because George Smith, a self-made millionaire, recently married his live-in health aide, a woman 43 years his junior who faces criminal charges that she stole money from another elderly man.

Doug Smith, his oldest grandson, successfully went to court to stop his grandfather from spending money after the newlyweds removed $87,000 from his grandfather's account and tried to get their hands on hundreds of thousands of dollars more.

George Smith said his grandson is just after his money and can "go pound sand" for even suggesting he is incompetent and should not be able to spend money he earned as an executive at Gulf Oil.

"He's a dreamer," George Smith said last week. "He's a selfish person."

As Delores Ann Holton listened to her husband talk last week about his family problems, she started to cry, interjecting her own opinions and encouraging him to tell certain stories. She said Doug Smith doesn't know how much she loves George Smith and his late wife, Augusta, whom she also used to care for.

"I loved her, like I love him," Ms. Holton said breaking into tears last week. "I love him."

At Doug Smith's request, a judge ordered three doctors to evaluate his grandfather, who he says is in failing health. George Smith and his wife left town recently to visit her mother in Illinois, and so far, the medical evaluation has not taken place.

George Smith, who retired to Clearwater three decades ago, said he doesn't need a medical evaluation because his psychiatrist has given him a clean bill of health. He has hired attorneys and plans to oppose his grandson in court.

Number of visits challenged

George Smith and Delores Ann Holton were wed in a small outdoor ceremony on Clearwater Beach on Jan. 29. They say they didn't try to keep the marriage a secret, calling his family a week later.

But Doug Smith has insisted he didn't find out about the marriage until March, when George Smith and his wife tried -- unsuccessfully -- to remove several hundred thousand dollars from his trust account.

George Smith said that he is not close with his grandchildren, and that they are only interested in him now because they want his money after he dies. He said they visit infrequently and that Doug Smith is lying when he says he has been to Clearwater 11 times in the past two years.

In a trip he and Ms. Holton took last August to see family in Massachusetts, George Smith said that he stayed with his daughter-in-law and that Doug Smith and his family were reluctant to visit him.

"He was cold as he could be," Smith said. "He showed no love to me."

Doug Smith did not return phone calls last week seeking comment on George Smith's allegations.

George and Augusta Smith, who were married for 67 years, first hired Ms. Holton, a certified nursing assistant referred to them by a friend, to look after Mrs. Smith around the clock. After Mrs. Smith, 90, died in December 1998, Ms. Holton stayed on to help with the cooking and cleaning.

George Smith and Ms. Holton said Doug Smith has never shown affection for either of his grandparents. "He ignored his grandmother," George Smith said. "As far as I'm concerned, he never showed the least bit of concern for her."

Doug Smith has said Ms. Holton became protective of George Smith after his wife died and started to listen in on his phone conversations, monitored calls with caller ID and installed a video camera in the house. Ms. Holton, who once ran a for-profit nursing agency called We Do Care Inc., denies that and said she has left him alone with his family before to visit.

Doug Smith said Ms. Holton has persuaded her husband to turn his back on his family and trust only her. He said George Smith is not even aware of how much money his wife has spent.

But George Smith says he knows all about how much money he and his wife are spending, and that he agrees with her that they need to use some to update his aging house in the Clearview Lake Estates subdivision. He said his grandchildren never complained in 1997 when he set aside $67,000 for his great-grandchildren.

In a recent interview, Doug Smith said his grandfather can barely speak and was almost blind, unable to dial a phone or write a check. But last week, George Smith insisted he was in good health.

David Kurland, George Smith's attorney, said his client believes he is competent and is fighting his grandson. He declined to comment further.

Planning to sit in on trial

George Smith knows about his wife's criminal charges, and plans to sit in court during her trial this month to show his support.

In January 1998, Ms. Holton began living in a Clearwater apartment with Serge Guez, who was paralyzed on one side and used a wheelchair after a stroke. She allegedly received $70,000 for nine weeks of work, court records show.

Guez's two neighbors, who helped care for him and write out his checks for bills, became suspicious when he started paying Ms. Holton for work in advance with checks up to $14,000. Gwendolyn LaBarr, one of the neighbors, said she considered Guez, a Frenchman who spoke broken English, competent but maybe not lucid all the time.

Guez, who now lives in a nursing home, could not be reached for comment.

Clearwater police charged Ms. Holton with grand larceny and exploitation of an elderly or disabled person.

Now, police spokesman Wayne Shelor said the department is looking into the relationship between Ms. Holton and George Smith -- a move George Smith says is unnecessary.

"This could be the beginning of a long fight," he said.

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