Guardianship Reform Bill, Karilyn’s Law, Clears Both Chambers of the State Legislature, Awaiting Action by Hochul

by Michelle Trauring

Earlier this month, Karilyn’s Law — a bill that would reform the guardianship system — unanimously passed both chambers of the New York State Legislature and now awaits action by Governor Kathy Hochul.

When longtime guardianship advocate Christine Montanti, who is a frequent visitor to the East End, called her mother to tell her the good news, the elder had one question.

“Does that mean I’m free?” she asked her daughter.

“It was so heartbreaking. I don’t want to cry myself,” Montanti recalled, her voice breaking. “I'm still fighting.”

Montanti’s 82-year-old mother, Karilyn, is the name and story behind the bill. It begins in 2018, Montanti said, when her mother — who resides in an assisted living facility in Florida, where the bill is also attempting to be passed — began complaining about excessive control.

When Montanti tried to intervene, she was blocked by the power of attorney, which is held by a family member, she said. As the isolation has progressed, Karilyn Montanti was denied use of her phone and computer, visitation with her family members, and even access to medical care, her daughter said.

Family photographs were removed from her room, Montanti said. She wasn’t allowed to receive letters or packages, she said, and she was all alone.

“It’s been over eight years of litigating,” she said. “I can’t even tell you, the legal bills are outrageous. Many people go broke trying to litigate for their loved one, and they end up having to give up because they can’t hang in there.”

Karilyn’s Law is the first guardianship reform measure of its kind to be passed by a state legislature in the United States. Montanti said she hopes that this landmark legislation will inspire sweeping reforms nationwide aimed at protecting the rights of vulnerable individuals and their families — and stop the isolation of vulnerable individuals.

“It’s a cruel and unusual punishment without presenting clear and convincing evidence of wrongdoing,” she said, “and you just feel like you're suffocating, like you cannot believe this is even happening.”

As she has advocated for her mother, Montanti learned that guardianship abuse is a national epidemic that ransacks the wealth and autonomy of vulnerable senior citizens.

The Elder Justice Roadmap, a research initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, reported that 10 percent of adults over age 60 experience some form of abuse each year. Studies have also shown that about two-thirds of elder abuse victims are women.

But the extent of guardianship abuse is unknown, due to a lack of data.

“Hopefully, this bill and my mother’s story will stop that exploitation and neglect and abuse, because you have to watch your loved one going through all this and they’re pleading for help,” Montanti said. “To date, my mother is still suffering, so while I’m so grateful that this happened, it’s still not over in my mother’s case.”

Under the legislation — which was authored by State Senator Anthony Palumbo and co-sponsored by State Senator Cordell Cleare and State Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni — a guardian, care manager or power of attorney is prohibited from arbitrarily terminating visitation rights and isolating vulnerable individuals who are being held in involuntary guardianship.

The bill provides for family members to make an application for visitation and have an evidentiary hearing within 10 days.

“Karilyn’s Law makes a simple but important change to the state’s guardianship laws to provide family members and friends with an opportunity to visit loved ones who are under guardianship,” Palumbo said. “The legislation will close a loophole that has allowed guardians with extreme power to arbitrarily deny individuals access to their loved ones over personal differences and family disputes.”

For now, it’s a waiting game as Hochul considers the bill, Montani said, which could change the guardianship system forever.

“It’s a huge, huge win,” she said. “Hopefully, it’s going to restore access to all these New York State residents who have been arbitrarily blocked without any evidence of wrongdoing whatsoever and get them access — and get those vulnerable individuals out of this isolation that they’re in. So this is a huge win.” 

Full Article & Source:
Guardianship Reform Bill, Karilyn’s Law, Clears Both Chambers of the State Legislature, Awaiting Action by Hochul