“It’s the damndest thing I’ve seen in a while,” Ohio House Speaker William G. Batchelder said. “ It just seems to me we better hold some hearings.”
Batchelder, R-Medina, an attorney and former common pleas judge, said the legislature should address the problems revealed in the Dispatch investigation.
A yearlong look at guardianships in Ohio found numerous examples of guardians — chiefly family members and lawyers — who were ignoring their wards for months while draining their bank accounts. And it revealed a lack of oversight by the probate courts that appoint guardians, which allowed the behavior to continue.
Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor cautioned against a legislative fix, however, pointing out that probate court judges have the power to enact strict rules that she said can ensure people under guardianship are protected from exploitation and abuse.
“Across the state, there are judges who have kind of taken the bull by the horns and instituted local rules that address some of the concerns you may have uncovered,” O’Connor said, adding that they have done so under the rules already in place.
Full Article & Source:
Guardian problems prompt call for action
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Monitoring should be done by the office of court administration and oversight by the legislature.
“It’s the damndest thing I’ve seen in a while,” Ohio House Speaker William G. Batchelder said. “ It just seems to me we better hold some hearings.”
How surprised are you, Representative Batchelder? As I recall from my appearance before a House Committee on which you served, you were very familiar with these kinds of problems. In fact, it was during that hearing brought to my attention the Statutes of Mortmain and thought out loud that "maybe we should re-enact the Statutes of Mortmain", which had provided protection to families against abuses since nearly medieval times until revoked, you said, twenty-five years or so ago.
Ohio's laws governing governorships, estates, trusts and the like are in need of many reforms. One of the simplest needs is to amend the definition of "exploitation" in Ohio Revised Code 5101.60(G) so that it is not limited to just the acts of a caregiver (http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/5101.60). This definition needs to be amended to match the statutes of other states, such as Florida statutes 415.102(8) and 825.103(1) (http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0400-0499/0415/Sections/0415.102.html and http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=825.103&URL=0800-0899/0825/Sections/0825.103.html respectively) and Title I, Section 102, Paragraph 18(A) of the Older Americans Act (http://www.aoa.gov/AOA_programs/OAA/oaa_full.asp#_Toc153957628)
Legislators and other policy makers in Ohio have been repeatedly asked by myself and others for decades to institute these legal reforms. For example, legislation to amend the definition of "exploitation" was introduced but not passed in Ohio during the 1997-1998 legislative session as HB 632 and again during the 1999-2000 legislative session as HB 2. (http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=122_HB_632 and http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=123_HB_2_1 respectively). I personally addressed this need to the Ohio AG's Elder Abuse Commission in 2009.
More hearings will not be enough. We need lawmakers and other policy makers to demonstrate a real determination to work with members of the public like myself who have proposed reasonable, practical legal reforms needed to more effectively deter the negligence and abuse in the system.
Actually following the rules already in place?
What a new and different idea!
They all know the abuse by guardians is going !!! They need to do something about it!
Prompt call for action? More like screaming STOP STOP STOP!!!
I respectfully disagree with Jutice Maureen O'Connor in my opinion she is half right the judge should be in charge and control of his/her courtroom but we know the professional guardians and G-Team lawyers are running the courtrooms.
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Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor cautioned against a legislative fix, however, pointing out that probate court judges have the power to enact strict rules that she said can ensure people under guardianship are protected from exploitation and abuse.
“Across the state, there are judges who have kind of taken the bull by the horns and instituted local rules that address some of the concerns you may have uncovered,” O’Connor said, adding that they have done so under the rules already in place.
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Family serving as guardians is a mix bag of lazy to criminal intent all screaming for auditing and monitoring and yes it will take funding but this problem is out of control with promise of getting worse as the number of cases explodes with Baby Boomers coming into the system.
We need legislative remedies if the language is not included in the laws then it's up to court discretion leaving giant loopholes as large as sinkholes many times by design - yes by intent.
We have more insight and solutions anyone care to ask NASGA? Where are the advocates invitations to add to the other side of these problems. The dark side of protection - - let the sunshine in now.
Applause to the Dispatch for their hard work and efforts to bring awareness to the people who need to make informed decisions.
#1 HOW TO AVOID GUARDIANSHIP?
Advance directives is the only alternative for those of us who are living longer than any generations before us. Aging will guarantee you will need assistance and it might be sooner than later.
It's sad in the USA where we have human rights. The elderly have very little. WE put my mom's boyfriend, Walter Schmeltzer in Autumn Health care at 17 Forry St. Newark,Ohio and once he went in he never got out again and it was only to be rehab for his hip.They ran it to probate Court and he got a bad court Guardian, mary Humaphrey whom never allowed us to see him again and mom and Walter lived together for 7 years.We was his only friends. Walter was not allowed to use a phone, get mail or send mail. He said it was like being a prisoner of war.He said, People in jail get to use a phone, see friends and send mail. But not him..!! The Guardian took Walters car and van and put my mom on the street. Walter had 9 homes and alot of money and that's why they are doing this. Money..!! They took Walters life to get all he had and Walter was in his right mind.It seems in the USA the elderly really have no rights at all..!!!!
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