Nebraska: Panel Named to Probe State Guardian System

Judges, attorneys, investigators and accountants will probe what changes need to be made to the state's guardian and conservator system in the wake of a World-Herald series and an Omaha police investigation that revealed shoddy oversight of the health and wealth of wards.

Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Heavican appointed 14 people to a committee to examine -- and suggest changes to shore up -- the state's guardian and conservator system, after the investigation revealed hundreds of thousands of dollars missing from wards' estates.

Under state law, guardians are charged with overseeing health care for incapacitated people; conservators are charged with overseeing their finances.

Among the issues, The World-Herald found that judges and court staff failed to: check conservators' accountings and question inflated numbers and cryptic entries; require conservators to post bonds that could have insured the estates against thefts; scrutinize care decisions of guardians; and spot-check bank records of conservators.

In turn, at least eight wards, most of them in Douglas County, have lost more than $400,000.

Full Article and Source:
Panel Named to Probe State Guardian System

See Also:
Guardian Ignored Woman's Last Wish