Sunday, January 24, 2016

Guardianships: A Broken Trust: How Do You Convince a God He's Wrong?

The nation as a whole is beset by unscrupulous guardians, some of whom have been charged with crimes. Florida passed its first effort at reform last legislative session, including applying criminal penalties to guardians found guilty of abuse. Advocates say legislative reform, though, means nothing if judges are complicit in draining the life savings of seniors in guardianships.

Judges like Colin are the main line of defense against guardianship abuse.

Colin, 66, is one of a handful of judges in Palm Beach County Circuit Court who oversee guardians for incapacitated adults. When a senior is found to be incapacitated, they can lose all legal rights to make decisions for themselves. So these judges approve expenditures including fees for the guardian and the guardian’s attorney — again all coming from the senior’s money.

“The problems all arise from the judges and the lawyers and the greed-driven abusive guardians they enable,” said Dr. Sam Sugar, co-founder of Americans Against Abusive Probate Guardianship, which spearheaded the Florida legislation.

“Judges are extremely insulated. They are legal gods who live in a court bubble in which they only believe what their friendly guardians tell them. I mean how do you convince a god that he or she is wrong? It’s a near incestuous fraternity.”

Full Article and Source:
Guardianships:  A Broken Trust:  How Do You Convince a God He's Wrong?

3 comments:

  1. StandUpSunday, January 24, 2016 9:05:00 AM

    Judges need to be disciplined. The new NAPRA org now forming will concentrate on this problem as I understand it. Judges need oversight in all areas of law, not just probate.

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  2. ConnieSunday, January 24, 2016 11:05:00 AM

    I think it's not a good thing to call a judge a God. I understand it's not meant literally and means to just show that judges think they are God and act like it too. But not all judges do so I think it's unfair.

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  3. WilliamMonday, January 25, 2016 9:52:00 PM

    I agree with Connie but at the same time to people who stand before a bad judge, they see that judge as believing he's god. Let's face it, most discipline complaints are dismissed. Is everybody sour grapes? No. We know they're not.

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