WA: Volunteers Keep Watch Over Court-Appointed Guardians

Robert Bibb retired from the Snohomish Superior Court bench two decades ago, but he keeps coming back to the courthouse.

Since 2000, Bibb, 89, has volunteered to monitor guardians appointed to oversee legal and financial matters for people who are too sick, frail or confused to handle their affairs alone.

Bibb and about 12 other volunteers review reports, including determining whether guardians are providing an accounting of how money is being spent to support their wards.

The volunteers also field a lot of questions by guardians, often family members, who have taken on the responsibility of caring for a loved one's financial and legal matters.

"We basically police guardianships," Bibb said. "We make sure reports required by law are filed when they're supposed to and the proper forms are filled out. We also look over the reports for any suspicious things that might be detected by reviewing them."

The county's Guardianship Monitoring Program grew out of a long-standing national effort by the AARP to provide oversight to guardianships, often involving the elderly.

The organization provided a $5,000 grant in 2000 to kick start the program in Snohomish County.

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Volunteers Keep Watch Over Court-Appointed Guardians