PROBATE COMMISSIONER SEAN TANKO GIFTS FAMILY HOME TO A HANDYMAN

Rebecca L. Norrington appeared on the Veterans In Politics Video Internet talk show on Wednesday, May 3rd. Norrington explains the multiple corruptions that have taken place with Probate Commissioner Sean Tanko and the lack of investigation by state agencies.

A Cast of Characters:

Sean M. Tanko: Current Probate Commissioner, Clark County, Nevada. Area of Law: Probate & Estate Planning. Before Tanko was appointed Probate Commissioner in May 2022, he served years as an alternate commissioner appointed by Wesley Yamashita.

Rebecca L. Norrington: Daughter, Ralph & Marcelle Norrington

Ralph Norrington: Husband, Father (Deceased June 2008)

Marcelle Norrington: Wife, Mother (Deceased October 2018)

Christian P. Bakke: Handyman

Probate Case No.: P-19-099344-T

 

Daughter Fights for Her Family: 

My name is Rebecca L. Norrington. I retired in July 2017, from working as a legal secretary for the Attorney General’s Office, Department of Justice, in Los Angeles, California.

How many times have you heard about an elderly person who was taken advantage of because their mental capacity was diminished? I’ll admit, I heard the stories but I never thought that would happen to me or my family.

I witnessed my father, Ralph Norrington, a strong successful, Navy Veteran loses his mental capacity due to Alzheimer’s in 2006, while I watched my mother Marcelle Norrington, who was diagnosed with early dementia in 2007, succumb to Sean Tanko’s influence from 2008 to her death in 2018.

To date, Sean Tanko refuses to disclose how he met Marcelle D. Norrington.

Battle with Probate Commissioner: 

I’ve been in a five-year ongoing battle with now Probate Commissioner Sean Tanko.  For five years, I allege, which is accompanied by three reams of 78 exhibits, along with physical and video evidence, Probate Commissioner Sean Tanko engaged in legal misconduct; breach of fiduciary duties; has not acted in good faith; has not been transparent; lack of fiduciary accountability with pertinent Norrington Trust information; used undue influence over Marcelle D. Norrington (deceased) for financial gain; used undue influence over Marcelle Norrington compelling her to gift a family home worth $325k to her handyman; failed to follow the guidelines of the Norrington Trust and divide the assets of the Norrington Trust into two trusts as required by the expressed language of the Family Trust Agreement in 1993; removed relevant evidence from the family home without permission or notice; continues to delay distributions without legal reason; displayed a clear and personal vendetta against beneficiary Rebecca L. Norrington; and used his position of power and authority for leverage to effect decisions made by practicing attorneys and possible judges.

Undisputed Facts:

  1. Sean Tanko drafted a third amendment to the Norrington Trust dated May 22, 2015, removing Rebecca L. Norrington as Successor Trustee and appointing himself as Successor Trustee to the Norrington Trust. Tanko drafted this third amendment in secret. The third amendment was not notary stamped nor initialed by Marcelle Norrington at the time of signing. I had no knowledge of Sean Tanko appointing himself Successor Trustee until after Marcelle Norrington’s death in October 2018.
  1. After the death of Ralph Norrington in 2008, Sean Tanko ignored specific instructions from the Norrington Family Trust. The Norrington Family Trust instructed that the Estate be divided into two separate Trusts upon the death of the first Trustor, Ralph Norrington.  Probate attorneys Alice S. Denton, Jaren L. Cho, and Mark Solomon all interpreted that the Norrington Trust was to be divided.  Tanako’s legal misconduct set off events that continue in May 2023.
  1. In August 2016, Sean Tanko drafted a fourth amendment to Norrington Trust gifting the Norrington home to Marcelle’s handyman.
  1. It’s May 2023, and Sean Tanko continues to delay the final distribution to four Norrington beneficiaries without any legal justification. Currently, Tanko has ceased all communication with me despite several requests for a copy of the cashier’s check Tanko claims to have in his possession of the Norrington inheritance.

As an acting probate and estate attorney, Sean Tanko’s resume is extensive. I further allege Sean Tanko:

  • Obtained signatures on legal documents from Ralph Norrington who was lacking mental capacity in 2007.
  • Obtained signatures on legal documents from Marcelle D. Norrington who was lacking mental capacity.
  • Drafted a first amendment, in secret, to the Norrington Trust in 2014, which failed to recognize legal jurisdiction of the ORIGINAL First Amendment executed in 2005 by both Ralph and Marcelle Norrington;
  • Drafted a second amendment, in secret, to the Norrington Trust. The second amendment was not notary stamped;
  • Drafted a third amendment, in secret, to the Norrington Trust, to remove Rebecca L. Norrington as Successor Trustee and appointed himself Successor Trustee. The third amendment was not notary stamped;
  • Breached professional conduct by refusing to meet and confer with Rebecca’s attorney Alice Denton. Denton was forced to file court documents which eventually cost Rebecca L. Norrington over 125k in legal fees and 40k in settlement fees to handyman Christian P. Bakke.
  • Refuses beneficiary Rebecca L. Norrington access to the Norrington Successor Trustee file and original documents associated with the Norrington Trust;
  • Refused to allow beneficiary Rebecca L. Norrington to pick up legal documents and personal family items from his office in 2019-2020.
  • Breached fiduciary duty by refusing to provide evidence and documentation of when the TransAmerica Life, Jackson Nation Life, and Franklin Fed Mutual funds were liquidated;
  • Refused to provide a legal reason(s) as to why the distributions were given out in two separate distributions causing financial hardship to beneficiaries.
  • Avoided and ignored phone calls and emails from Attorney Denton in March/April 2019 to meet and confer;
  • Displayed a clear vendetta and unfavorable bias against beneficiary Rebecca L. Norrington (ongoing);
  • Drafted a fourth amendment to the Norrington Trust, in secret, gifting the family home worth over $325k to handyman Christian Bakke;
  • Disregarded concerns and emails from beneficiary Rebecca L. Norrington citing undue influence while Marcelle Norrington was alive;
  • Disregarded and ignored Marcelle Norrington’s diagnosis of “early dementia” in 2007;
  • Disregarded and ignored the bequests of Trustors Ralph Norrington and Marcelle Norrington in the Original Amendment to the Norrington Trust in 2005;
  • Purposefully, willfully, and in secret, removed relevant evidence of legal documents, personal family information, and family artifacts from the home after receiving numerous and clear instructions from beneficiary Rebecca L. Norrington “not to remove or disturb anything in the house”;
  • Refused to respond to Rebecca Norrington’s several requests for the location of relevant evidence taken from the family home without permission or notification;
  • Has sole access to the Norrington Trust funds without accountability.
  • Displayed favoritism by offering a family automobile to one beneficiary without offering the automobile or compensation to all beneficiaries;
  • Refuses to divulge information as to how he met Marcelle Norrington;
  • Did not divulge Chase bank account funded solely by Marcelle Norrington on “Inventory of the Norrington Family Trust” with over 35k deposited. (Handyman Bakke is listed on the account);
  • Shared private information about the Norrington Trust with Gloria C. who was not a beneficiary of the Norrington Trust;
  • Engaged in legal misconduct by not releasing a copy of the Norrington Trust to beneficiary Rebecca Norrington immediately after Marcelle Norrington’s death;
  • Engaged in legal misconduct by not releasing a full copy of the Norrington Trust until three months after Marcelle Norrington’s death;
  • Refused to provide a legal reason or any reason why there was a three-month delay in releasing the Norrington Trust;
  • Refused to provide a legal reason or any reason as to why there was a 6-month delay in distributions to the Norrington beneficiaries;
  • Refused to request the immediate return of Marcelle Norrington’s personal property (iPhone & iPad) from handyman Bakke;
  • Requested an extension to respond to Attorney Denton’s letter dated March 4, 2019, and then refused to meet and confer. Commissioner Tanko’s lack of professional conduct added thousands of dollars to Rebecca Norrington’s legal fees;
  • Sean Tanko referred handyman Bakke to Attorney Christopher Harris for representation.

The Nevada State Bar Protects their own:

I filed two Nevada State Bar complaints. Both were denied. Oh, by the way, in May 2022, Sean Tanko was featured on the Nevada State Bar website congratulating him on his new position as Probate Commissioner.  I filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office in Nevada.  An AG investigation was rejected.

In 2020 and 2021, I mailed four correspondences to now-retired Commissioner Yamashita, documenting my claims of legal misconduct. Commissioner never responded.

In 2022, I filed an Opposition and an Amendment to my Opposition in Pro Per.  Both were denied.  I filed, in Pro Per, a Motion for Reconsideration, and a hearing was set for July 2022.  The Motion for Reconsideration was denied without Judicial explanation.

Multiple State Agencies Contacted: 

On April 10, 2023, I mailed correspondence, including the Motion for Reconsideration & The Petition To Assume Jurisdiction of Trust, To Remove the Trustee, To Declare the Bequest of Real Property in the Fourth Amendment Dated August 29, 2016, to be Void and to Compel Compliance with the Terms of the Trust, filed May 17, 2019, to The Honorable Jerry A. Wiese II, Judge for the Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County, Nevada. As of this date, I have not received a response.

On April 18, 2023, I filed a complaint with the State of Nevada, Commission on Judicial Discipline. On April 26, 2023, I received a notice the complaint has been received for submission.

To date, I’ve spent over 200k on legal fees and I was forced to settle with the handyman for 40k in 2019.

It’s been five years, and I’m still awaiting justice.

Rebecca L. Norrington

Beneficiary to the Norrington Family Trust

Email: RLNSIGNATURE@GMAIL.COM

Watch this powerful interview:

Rebecca L. Norrington 5 year battle with Probate Commissioner Sean Tanko on Veterans In Politics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF5naIXB2KU&t=3s

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