The Britney Spears proceeding has brought new attention to the power of attorney. This is a legal arrangement that affects many people but is not tracked at the national level.
Britney Spears and her ongoing legal drama on the power of attorney introduced the concept of the power of attorney to many.
The definition of the power of attorney, also known as guardianship, varies from state to state. In general, the power of attorney is a legal arrangement in which a judge decides that he or she cannot control a person’s health or finances and appoints a third party, often family or friends, to handle those responsibilities.
People on social media in response to talk about adult guardianship involving Britney Spears Asked How many people are in the guardianship system?
question
Is the number of US power of attorneys tracked?
Source of information
answer
No, the number of US power of attorneys is not tracked. Experts and groups studying the power of attorney say that some states can provide reliable data on the power of attorney, while others cannot.
What we found
Diane Robinson, a senior court researcher at the National Court, said one of the most common situations in the power of attorney system is when older people have memory problems such as dementia. She also said that young adults may be subject to adult guardianship.
“They are usually due to severe mental illness, and sometimes severe substance abuse disorders, which also applies to people with intellectual disabilities,” Robinson explained. “And what else can happen can be the result of traumatic brain injury. Therefore, if young people participate in a guardianship or guardianship system, that is usually one of these reasons. ”
The guardianship system is permanent or temporary, depending on the situation. And they can be limited. That is, parents focus on specific areas where it is difficult for a person to make a decision. Persons subject to adult guardianship may terminate the arrangement and petition the judge to present their case.
There is no national database to track the number of US power of attorneys and guardianship. Naomi Khan, a law professor at the University of Virginia, said the federal government did not require the state to report the number of powers of attorneys.
“Some states may have that information, but not all states,” Khan said. “And there are very different estimates about the amount of money managed by the power of attorney and how often the power of attorney is signed, as well as how often the power of attorney ends. is.”
The National Center for Courts (NCSC), a non-profit organization focused on improving judicial administration, announced in 2016 Proceedings of approximately 1.3 million adult guardians or guardians In the United States, we had a total of at least $ 50 billion in assets. The group said the estimates are based on data given from nearly one-third of US states.
“16 states have provided reliable data on the cases of adult guardians or guardians used to make national estimates.” NCSC said..
According to Robinson, many states do not have a state-wide power of attorney, and some data exists at the county level, so there is another challenge to tracking the number of power of attorneys.
so 2018 report“There are often no data standards in the state that need to be collected and reported,” NCSC said.
That same year, the US Senate Special Committee on Aging Concluded with a report “Few states can report accurate or detailed guardianship data, and few figures related to the number of individuals subject to guardianship are available.” One recommendation made by the Commission is that all states are state-wide. Was to create a data registry for.
The lack of information on the total number of parents has been documented for over a decade. NS 2010 report A study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a nonpartisan parliamentary observer, found that there was no group in the United States to track the number of power of attorneys.
“Our investigation did not identify the total number of parents or public, private, or non-governmental organizations that systematically track allegations of parental abuse, neglect, or exploitation.” Report said.. “GAO has previously found that many of the courts investigated did not track the number of parents in charge of surveillance.”
Kahn said the guardianship oversight requirements vary from state to state. In California, Investigators will consider a guardianship system a year after it begins. After that, the investigator visits the parents at least once every two years.
While the total number of power of attorneys in the United States is still only estimated, Robinson said the state is improving the way it collects information on the power of attorney.For example, she is in Pennsylvania Guardianship tracking system..
“It’s an area where many states are doing a really good job trying to do a better job of collecting and maintaining that information,” she said.
Other articles on VERIFY: Yes, a family can be a full legal guardian even for adults.It’s a process called the guardianship system
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