Britney Spears, Peter Max and all of us: Abusive guardianships are a big national problem

By Jonathan Martinis

Britney Spears and Peter Max (Getty Images)

The Peter Max case should send shivers down the spine of every aging parent and their children.

Max, the revered artist and 1960s icon who painted for presidents and befriended Beatles, is living with dementia. In 2016, he was ordered into guardianship, with the judge specifically saying that the guardian must not deny him contact with his children.

Despite the judge’s ruling, Max’s only daughter, Libra, asserts that an army of attorneys and guardians — whose fees total in the millions and are paid from Max’s estate — have worked to isolate him from his family and friends. Even though her father pleads with Libra to visit him, stay with him and care for him, his guardian has banned her, and all of Max’s other family and friends, from visiting his home; limited her visits to an hour, outside, and only with the guardian’s written permission after 48 hours’ notice; refused to share medical information; confiscated his telephone; made him ask permission to call his children; and even took away his beloved cats.

In short, Max, whose art represents freedom to generations of Americans, has none for himself.

The #FreeBritney movement shined a spotlight on what people under guardianship, families and advocates have known for decades: Guardianship, when overbroad or undue, can hurt the people it is designed to protect. In 1987, Congress found that “The typical ward has fewer rights than the typical convicted felon.” Researchers and scholars describe how overbroad and undue guardianships can cause “significant negative impacts on physical and mental health, longevity, ability to function, and reports of subjective well-being” and, even when guardianship “is functioning as intended, it evokes a kind of ‘civil death’ for the individual.”

Since 2013, 13 states and the District of Columbia have reformed their guardianship laws to recognize options like “supported decision-making” that can empower people to make their own decisions and direct their lives without a guardian. But what about people who may need the additional support that good guardians provide? How can we ensure that they, and their families, are not left to the uncertain mercy of unscrupulous people?

The time is now for Congress to take action and pass legislation protecting Americans from abuses in guardianship systems across the country, including a Bill of Rights for people facing or under guardianship.

It’s long past time to recognize that people in the guardianship system deserve the same rights as convicted felons: an attorney of their choice; the freedom to see and speak with who they want; access to due process where a hearing and evidence are required before they lose their rights; and a meaningful opportunity to ask the court to give them their rights back.

Peter Max, Britney Spears and countless others have been denied these fundamental freedoms, time and time again. If we don’t change the guardianship system now, what kind of system will be waiting for us when we need help?

Martinis, who represents Libra Max, is an attorney and advocate for older adults and people with disabilities.

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Britney Spears, Peter Max and all of us: Abusive guardianships are a big national problem