12/5/2008
Weldon Schwartz has seen plenty during his legal career, but nothing that could compare to this.
Schwartz, a family law attorney with Warner Norcross & Judd LLP, agreed to represent Joshua Hoffman, a former U.S. Marine who was totally paralyzed after being shot in the neck by a sniper's bullet while serving in Iraq in January 2007. The shot to his neck left Hoffman a quadriplegic and in a coma.
He remained in a coma for several months. In early 2007, petitions were filed by Hoffman's parents in Kent County Probate Court to determine if a guardian and conservator should appointed for him due to his incapacity. A guardian ad litem was appointed by the Probate Court to evaluate Hoffman and it was determined that he was in need of a guardian to make medical and other decisions and a conservator was needed to handle his financial affairs. Hoffman's father, James Hoffman, was then appointed to both positions in May 2007.
In 2008, Heather Lovell, Joshua Hoffman’s fiancée, contacted Warner seeking legal assistance for Hoffman who up until then was not represented before the Probate Court. Schwartz met with Hoffman several times and learned that his hearing was just fine, but that he could not speak. So to communicate it was necessary to ask "yes or no" questions or use the "letter box." The latter process had Schwartz moving through the alphabet quickly until the first letter of the word that Hoffman wanted was reached. The same process was used for the second letter and all subsequent letters. Every other letter is usually a vowel, Schwartz said, so at least reaching the correct vowel went quickly.
As the process continued Schwartz became convinced that Hoffman was able to make his own decisions regarding the handling of his assets and to make other informed decisions. Therefore he petitioned the Probate Court for permission to draft a will for Hoffman. The same guardian ad litem re-evaluated Hoffman and agreed that he was aware of his assets and cognizant of events in his life. The Probate Court agreed that Hoffman could have a will, which was drafted by other Warner attorneys acting in a pro bono capacity.
A few months later, Hoffman and his father agreed that Joshua no longer needed a guardianship and Warner filed a petition to terminate the guardianship. After a brief hearing in the Probate Court, at which Joshua was present, the guardianship was terminated. The Probate Judge also thanked Hoffman for his service to the United States, noting that he paid a heavy price. (By mutual agreement, the conservatorship remains in place.)
"He’s really pretty amazing," Schwartz said of Hoffman. "You just don’t see things like this very often."