Saturday, January 4, 2014

MAY 20, 2001


WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO GUARDIANSHIP SINCE?

5 comments:

Thelma said...

Greedy guardians can do that if the courts allow it, and I've never heard it better described:
"Milking the Helpless"!

StandUp said...

And they're still doing it.

Sue said...

May 2001 to January 2014 nothing has changed for the better in fact the protection industry is exploding if profit wasn't the issue, we would not be seeing the efforts to establish guardianship corporations all based on mega profits with much more coming via the Silver Tsunami.

Although, I disagree with some of what is written by Karen Desoto she seems to have forgotten some statistics on guardianship via Adult Protective Services and the number of wards discovered via the MEALS ON WHEELS headhunter however the article does have some merit.

see: http://karendesoto.newsvine.com/_news/2013/08/09/19951626-silver-tsunami-by-karen-desoto

As the baby boomer generation gets closer to retirement they become more concerned about their financial security and health care services. Conscientious senior citizens have planned for their future by working with an attorney to draw up an estate plan and will. However, even the most diligent seniors have fallen prey to a disturbing crisis in the form of elder abuse. Alleged friends, family, and neighbors have been filing for guardianship of the elderly, in numbers so alarming, that it raised red flags to government officials in Florida. Guardianship abuse reports reach across a broad spectrum including theft, kidnapping, forgery, assault, and criminal financial exploitation. Conspiracy to have seniors involuntarily committed to nursing homes and hospitals in order to gain control of their assets is a frightening reality faced by the elderly. Exploitation of the elderly has reached epidemic proportions in Florida; the country’s leading and most popular home for our senior citizens. This crisis forced state officials to take preemptive measures. Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller, Sharon Bock, Esq. spearheaded a new division in her office, designated to address this abuse. Four to five years ago, Bock noticed a 15% increase in guardianship filings. That trend, an increase in nearly four hundred new cases per year, has continued.

In Palm Beach County, it is estimated that the court governing guardianships maintains oversight of $500 million in assets..........

NASGA said...

Guardianship has gotten even more profitable and we have a lot of work to do.

Steve said...

I love the headline. It really does say it all.