Governor Kelly Signs Bipartisan Bill Establishing the Supported Decision-making Agreements Act

Post Date:04/07/2026

TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly today announced she has signed Senate Bill 84 (SB 84), establishing the Supported Decision-making Agreements Act, which will allow adults to enter into supported decision-making agreements to receive assistance with an adult’s affairs from one or more other adults. This bill provides individuals who need assistance with decision-making with the option to receive support from one or more adults while remaining as independent as possible.

“Senate Bill 84 is thoughtful legislation that empowers Kansans to receive support as they make key decisions about their lives, while preserving their independence,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “These voluntary agreements will equip those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental health needs, or other impairments, with assistance from trusted adults as they navigate decisions about health care, finances, housing, and more.”

SB 84 establishes the legal framework for a supportive adult to provide decision-making assistance to another adult (the principal), who could be an adult with developmental disabilities, brain injuries, mental health needs, or more, who wants support while maintaining control over decisions in their life. A supporter could provide the principal with aid in making and communicating decisions, and understanding information, options, responsibilities, and consequences related to those decisions. The supporter could also access and obtain information relevant to decisions necessary for managing the principal’s affairs; ascertain the wishes and decisions of the principal and help communicate those decisions to others; advocate to ensure those wishes and decisions are implemented; and accompany the principal, as well as participate in discussions with others, when the principal is making decisions.

“I’m pleased to support this commonsense legislation that establishes a legal framework to help Kansans receive voluntary support from other adults as they navigate their lives, while maintaining their control and independence,” said Representative Mari-Lynn Poskin, District 20. “Everyone has the right to agency in their own life, and this bill will enable more Kansans to make choices that are best for them with the comfort of knowing they have reliable assistance from others. Congratulations to disability advocates who have been working on this for years.”

The supportive adult would not be allowed to exert undue influence on the principal, make decisions for or on behalf of the principal, sign for the principal, obtain information not reasonably related to the matters the supporter is authorized to assist the principal with under the agreement without consent, and use information acquired for a purpose other than authorized under the agreement. Violations would be added to the crime of mistreatment of a dependent adult or an elder person, for which felony or misdemeanor penalties would apply, depending on the amount of financial resources involved.

“Through Senate Bill 84, we’re offering Kansans more avenues to be active participants not only in their own lives, but also in their communities across the state,” said Senator Rick Billinger, District 40. “This is strong, bipartisan legislation that will truly help more Kansans make life-changing decisions that will be in their best interests.”

In addition to Senate Bill 84, Governor Kelly also signed the following bipartisan bills:

House Substitute for Senate Bill 260: Establishing the born to invest act and requiring the office of vital statistics to provide data to the office of the state treasurer for distribution of informational materials regarding certain government-administered savings accounts

Senate Bill 398: Aligning a part of the Kansas Rules of Evidence dealing with Expert witnesses with the Federal Rules of Evidence by requiring a proponent to demonstrate that it is more likely than not that certain specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact to understand evidence before certain qualified witnesses may testify.

Senate Bill 418: Enacting the by-right housing development act to provide a streamlined permit approval process for by-right housing developments and allowing third-party review of new residential construction development documents and inspection of improvements, along with making other updates to zoning and regulations.

Senate Bill 459: Removing the prisoner review board from the supervision of the secretary of corrections, changing the appointing authority, creating qualifications for the members of the board, and requiring parole hearings to be postponed if proper notice of the public comment session is not made to the victim.

Senate Substitute for House Bill 2402: Requiring eligible boards of education to consider participation in the community eligibility provision, providing a financial hardship exception to such participation and requiring the state department of education to assist school districts seeking such participation.

House Bill 2739: Relating to housing code requirements, removing the definition of apartment houses from chapter 31 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated, providing requirements for adoption of the national fire protection association standards, 2024 edition, and providing that certain state accessibility standards are not applicable to moderate income housing program and Kansas investor tax credit housing act projects.

House Bill 2528: Requiring all state board of nursing actions related to certain nonpractice violations be void, allowing for late license renewal for professional, practical and advanced practice registered nurses, setting fees for late license renewal, limiting unprofessional conduct to acts related to the practice of nursing, prohibiting the board from taking retaliatory action against a licensee based on certain lawful actions and creating a civil cause of action for violation thereof, requiring termination of current board members on January 1, 2027 and requiring the governor to appoint interim board members subject to senate confirmation and requiring the board to issue refunds for overpayment or duplicate payment.

House Bill 2652: Requiring the clerk of the appellate courts to publish monthly a list of cases of the supreme court and court of appeals in which a decision has not been entered and filed within six months of submission and a list of cases in which a petition for review has not been granted or denied within six months of submission. 

Source:
Governor Kelly Signs Bipartisan Bill Establishing the Supported Decision-making Agreements Act 

Streamwood woman says brother took more than $430,000 from elderly parents' financial accounts

By Carol Thompson, Dorothy Tucker

Cathy Solway remembers a promise made with her brother to take care of their aging parents when their health began to decline and they moved into assisted living: "We're gonna take care of mom and dad as a team. We're gonna do this together." 

But then she made a discovery that changed everything.

"I left the bank, sat in my car and about had a complete breakdown from what I was seeing. A lot less money than I knew should have been in that account," she said.

Growing up

Cathy Solway and her brother, Robert Carlson, grew up in suburban Streamwood.

"We had a pretty great childhood. My brother and I were pretty happy growing up," she said.

Their parents, William and Caroline Carlson, got married in 1958 and raised their family in a modest house.

"My mom was a stay-at-home mom. She was the room mom. My dad worked hard, but they never missed anything that we were involved in," said Solway.

William Carlson served in the Air Force as a young man. After his stint in the military, he worked for United Airlines, the FAA and the Village of Streamwood. He worked practically his entire life, his daughter said.

"He was getting a decent amount of retirement benefits," said Solway.

But then came the official word her parents' health was declining.

"They both were just not able to take care of themselves," she said. "They both were in various stages of Alzheimer's. They were diagnosed in 2017 to 2019."

In 2022 the family decided to move them into assisted living, first at an Illinois facility and then into a Wisconsin facility, closer to her brother Robert.

"And my brother was like, 'You know, I'm going to make sure that their finances are taken care of and, you know, we'll make sure that their bills are paid for the house.' They still had the house that they had lived in," Solway said. 

Solway knew her parents had enough money to cover those bills plus the assisted living facilities' fees.

"I knew my dad was very good at saving money. He was very careful with his money," she said.

But her brother had surprise news. 

"He just suddenly told me in March of '23 'We need to sell their house,'" she recalled. "To be told that there's no money left was a little odd."

The discovery

After asking her brother questions and getting vague answers, Cathy said she went to the bank to check the account balance.

"When they went into assisted living [in 2022] they had over $165,000 in their savings account," she explained. "When I saw how much was left in the account, I felt that was like a gut punch."

With that initial balance, plus their parents' monthly social security and benefit payments and minus the living expenses, Solway estimated the remaining balance should still have been a large amount. 

"I'm doing the math in my head. At some point, there should be around $80,000 in there," she said. But the actual balance was much lower. "There was only about $9,200."

She looked through other statements, and said she spotted multiple large deposits, several withdrawals and checks for thousands of dollars each.

"This is what would happen: $30,000 would go in and about $30,000 would go out, but not in one lump sum," she said. 

She, along with her mother, called the three financial institutions that held her father's retirement accounts and found in the one that held her father's 401k there was a zero balance. She found just $600 left in another one. 

"Over $110,000 and that was just from those three accounts," she said.

Within months, her brother had sold the family home in Streamwood for around $160,000. That money was supposed to be used for their parents' living expenses.

Her brother had been designated power-of-attorney for the parents in early 2023, an arrangement made as part of a trust prior to the Carlsons' failing health. But by the end of the year, Solway was legally challenging his power over their financial affairs.

The court case and admissions

Solway and her attorney filed a petition to remove her brother as power-of-attorney and trustee of the family trust in December 2023 in Walworth County Civil Court.

Through the probate case, she was able to get access to detailed financial records and audio recordings from financial institutions.

"When we subpoenaed all the audio records, there were multiple times that he called and made withdrawals. They were all my brother," she said.

She said her brother called and told representatives he was his father, William Carlson. And in a deposition taken for the case he admitted the voice on the recordings was "Mine."

Some of the checks seen in the statements were made out to her brother's business, Looking Good Turf. Some had Robert Carlson's signature, but many appeared to be signed by his father.

"There were checks through '23 written for his landscaping company," Solway said. "Writing thousands of dollars of checks to his landscaping company and signing my dad's name to it."

And in his deposition, when Robert Carlson was asked who signed his parents' names on documents and checks, he answered, "Me."

By July 2024 a Walworth County judge removed Robert Carlson as power-of-attorney and trustee over the family trust. The ruling also ordered him to repay the trust more than $430,000.

Elder Financial Exploitation

The Illinois Department on Aging, or IDoA, released new data from 2025 showing financial exploitation is the leading type of abuse against people over the age of 60, and adults with a disability of any age.

Twenty-five percent of elder abuse is financial exploitation. and the 6,000 cases in 2025 are an increase from 4,500 in 2004.

"This is due to the growth of the program, but it's also due to increased prevalence of exploitation among the population," said Brian Pastor, division manager of Advocacy and Prevention Services in the IDoA. 

He said the abuser is often close to the victim.

"They're a family member. They're a trusted individual," he explained. 

The agency's data shows most often, in 34% of all cases, the abuse is committed by the victim's adult child, especially when it comes to money.

"They really do feel often in these circumstances that they are entitled to these funds because they're going to get them eventually. Which may or may not be true," Pastor said.

Solway said she doesn't expect her brother will ever repay the money. She has received compensation from at least one of the financial institutions.

Wintrust, the Carlsons' bank, told CBS News Chicago in a statement, that the judicial order did not pertain to it, so it will not repay any of the money Robert Carlson withdrew via checks to his business or for other bills.

CBS News Chicago tried to contact Robert Carlson in Wisconsin, but could not find him. Neighbors told us they thought he had moved to Florida.

Solway advised others to make sure more than one person has power-of-attorney privileges. Her parents both passed away within a few weeks of each other in 2025. 

Full Article & Source:
Streamwood woman says brother took more than $430,000 from elderly parents' financial accounts 

TBI: Former Greene County group home caregiver facing charges related to abuse of a vulnerable adult

The TBI said a former Support Solutions caregiver is charged with abuse of a vulnerable adult. In 2025, six employees at the same facility faced similar charges. 

Source:
TBI: Former Greene County group home caregiver facing charges related to abuse of a vulnerable adult 

Caregiver in Wisconsin arrested on 20 counts of abuse to disabled adult

by: Adam Rosen

BELOIT, Wis. (WFRV) – A 49-year-old caregiver in Wisconsin was arrested following an investigation into battery against a disabled adult over time.

According to the Rock County Sheriff’s Office, the initial report was on January 23, 2026, when deputies responded to the possible battery. Officials learned throughout the early phases of the investigation that there may have been multiple offenses over time.

Officials developed probable cause early in the case to arrest 49-year-old Toyo Perez of Beloit on a single count of abusing a vulnerable adult; however, upon reviewing several hours of footage and a subsequent interview, Perez was arrested on Wednesday on the following charges:

• 10 counts – Intentionally Subjecting an At-Risk Individual to Abuse—Causing Bodily Harm
• 10 counts – Intentionally Abusing/Neglecting Patient/Resident by Facility/Program Employee—Causing Bodily Harm

Perez is set for a court hearing at 3 p.m. on February 19.

Full Article & Source:
Caregiver in Wisconsin arrested on 20 counts of abuse to disabled adult 

Beloit caregiver accused of abusing disabled adult, Rock Co. deputies report

A Beloit woman faces charges after she was accused of abusing an adult with disabilities on multiple occasions. 

Source:
Beloit caregiver accused of abusing disabled adult, Rock Co. deputies report 

Former attorney found guilty on charges in connection with financial exploitation of client

by Marissa Barrett 

 MANCHESTER, N.H. —

A former attorney has been found guilty of multiple felony charges for obtaining loans under false pretenses from a former client who suffered a traumatic brain injury.

The New Hampshire Attorney General's Office said Justin Nadeau received a $275,000 loan from the client in August 2018, then obtained a second loan in December. 

Officials said Nadeau tried to conceal the loans in several ways, including fabricating documents and forging his then-wife's signature.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in June. 

Full Article & Source:
Former attorney found guilty on charges in connection with financial exploitation of client

Birmingham woman extradited to Madison County in elderly financial exploitation case

A Birmingham woman faces charges in Madison County for allegedly exploiting an elderly person by cashing a fraudulent check. 

by Austin Pylant

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A Birmingham woman was extradited to Madison County after Huntsville Police say she used her role as a caregiver to an elderly person to cash a fraudulent check.

The case came to light when a family member noticed suspicious withdrawals from the victim’s account on April 11, 2024, and reported it to authorities. Investigators learned that 41-year-old Sheneika Lavonne Clay had been caring for the victim at the time.

Police say Clay duplicated a check from the victim’s checkbook, made it payable to herself, and deposited it into her own account.

Three warrants were issued charging Clay with First-Degree Financial Exploitation of the Elderly, Third-Degree Forgery – Counterfeiting, and Identity Theft.

Clay was apprehended in St. Clair County before being extradited to Madison County.

“This case is an important reminder to families to regularly monitor the finances of elderly loved ones and report suspicious activity as soon as possible,” Huntsville Police said. 

Full Article & Source:
Birmingham woman extradited to Madison County in elderly financial exploitation case 

New Jersey Eases Guardianship Process for Disabled Kids

Law allows families to start guardianship earlier, closing risky gap when children turn 18.

New Jersey has passed a law making it easier for parents of children with disabilities to file for legal guardianship. The new legislation allows families to begin the guardianship process earlier, closing a gap that previously left many vulnerable adults at risk when they turned 18 and lost certain protections.

Why it matters

This new law addresses a critical issue facing families of children with disabilities in New Jersey. Previously, the guardianship process could not begin until the child turned 18, leaving a precarious period where the young adult was no longer a minor but still required significant support and decision-making assistance. The new law aims to provide more stability and security for this population.

The details

Under the new law, parents in New Jersey can now initiate the guardianship process for their children with disabilities before the child turns 18. This helps ensure a smoother transition and avoids a lapse in legal protections when the child becomes a legal adult. The change was championed by a Sussex County mother who faced anxiety navigating the previous system.

• The new law went into effect on April 1, 2026.

The players

Sussex County Mom

A mother from Sussex County, New Jersey who advocated for the new law after facing challenges with the previous guardianship process for her child with a disability.

What’s next

The new law is expected to provide greater peace of mind for families of children with disabilities in New Jersey, allowing them to plan for the future and ensure their loved ones' needs are met.

The takeaway

This legislation represents an important step forward in supporting individuals with disabilities and their families in New Jersey. By streamlining the guardianship process, the state is helping to protect vulnerable adults and provide more stability during a critical life transition. 

Full Article & Source:
New Jersey Eases Guardianship Process for Disabled Kids

Representative Ray Provides Testimony on Bill to Modernize Ohio Guardianship Law

COLUMBUS –State Representative Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth) recently provided sponsor testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on House Bill 491, legislation to make updates to Ohio’s current guardianship laws, providing greater clarity and accountability. 

Guardianship law involves transferring decision-making authority over personal, medical, and financial matters from an individual to a court-appointed guardian.

Key updates in the bill include the following: 

• Defines the different types of guardians and clarifies their roles;
• Clarifies the termination of guardianship based on the value of the ward’s estate by requiring a receipt verifying a deposit filed with the court and court approval for the release of funds to benefit an incompetent adult; and
• Establishes new reporting requirements for guardians, specifically those appointed for incompetent adults.
   

“House Bill 491 modernizes Ohio’s guardianship statutes, so they are clearer, more consistent, and better aligned with current practice, while still maintaining the essential protection that guardianship is meant to provide,” Ray said during sponsor testimony. 

House Bill 491 awaits further consideration from the committee.  

Full Article & Source:
Representative Ray Provides Testimony on Bill to Modernize Ohio Guardianship Law