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NPRC Scores First Advocacy Victory: David Shaw Finally Gets His Wish to ‘Go Home’
POST NEWS GROUP — The National Probate Reform Coalition (NPRC), formed by the Post Newspaper Group in January following years of reporting on alleged abuses within the probate court system, helped Beverly secure the return of her husband, along with the couple’s property and assets.
For nearly four years, Beverly Shaw fought to bring her husband home.
She watched as David Shaw moved through three nursing homes, became increasingly sedated and repeatedly expressed his desire to return to his wife. Last week, that finally happened.
The National Probate Reform Coalition (NPRC), formed by the Post Newspaper Group in January following years of reporting on alleged abuses within the probate court system, helped Beverly secure the return of her husband, along with the couple’s property and assets.
For NPRC, the Shaw case represents its first major advocacy victory. For David, it means something much simpler: He finally got to go home.
In a letter to the court, Beverly raised serious concerns about her husband’s care at Riverview at the Park Nursing Home.
She alleged that David was frequently heavily sedated and questioned whether his medications were properly documented. She said an aide told her medications were sometimes administered without proper charting, although she acknowledged she had not independently verified that information.
Shaw also said she was unable to obtain David’s medical records and questioned medications he was receiving despite previous medical instructions following his 2023 stroke.
“I believe David has been subjected to abuse, neglect, and unnecessary chemical restraint,” Shaw wrote.
The allegations are Shaw’s account and have not been independently established. But they raise questions central to NPRC’s mission: Who is watching when a vulnerable person becomes subject to guardianship? Who is accountable when family members say they are ignored? And who makes sure the person under guardianship, not the professionals surrounding them, remains the priority?
“Please let me go home”
Perhaps the most compelling part of Shaw’s case was David’s own voice. Shaw told the court she possesses recordings in which David repeatedly expressed his desire to return home.
After 45 years of marriage and four years apart, Beverly argued that David deserved the opportunity to spend his remaining years at home with his wife, receiving individualized care.
NPRC responded with a “Request for Compassion” letter-writing campaign to Judge Thomas Inman, Associate Circuit judge for Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri. The coalition also helped Shaw pursue appropriate legal filings and engaged with her attorney to press for action.
The court ultimately returned David to Beverly’s custody and restored the couple’s property and assets.
“What we have here is the power of coalition,” said Alee Carrino, an NPRC planning committee member. “We applied pressure from all sides, and it worked.”
The victory comes during NPRC’s eighth month of organizing for probate reform. The coalition advocates for greater judicial and governmental oversight, court ombudsmen, mandatory mediation, transparency in probate billing and stronger protections for elders and disabled people.
The Shaw case sends a powerful message: Guardianship is supposed to protect vulnerable people, not permanently separate them from those who love and care for them.
David Shaw asked to go home. His wife fought to bring him home. NPRC supported her every step of the way, and this time, the system listened.
