I-Team: Guardianship courts at capacity

by Danielle DaRos

The 15th Circuit, which covers Palm Beach County, has 3,000 active guardianship cases, and just two probate judges to oversee all of them. (WPEC)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — The CBS12 News I-Team continues its investigation into court-appointed guardianships by examining the workload probate judges carry in Palm Beach County.

Judges are in charge of overseeing guardians, keeping tabs on their spending, and making sure decisions are made in the best interest of their wards.

Too often, guardians have been caught abusing, neglecting, and stealing from the people they are being paid to protect -- which calls into the question the amount of oversight and surveillance these cases receive going through the courts.

In Palm Beach County, there are an estimated 3,000 active guardianship cases, but only two probate judges to oversee all of them. 

It's the smallest number out of any circuit in South Florida. On the Treasure Coast, there are four judges who hear guardianship cases, in addition to family court cases.

"That's a problem because if you have a judge that is not watching your case, not on top of your case, you have no way of getting justice," said Zoraida Navarro, whose father was recently in a guardianship in Palm Beach County. "You definitely need more oversight." 

The CBS12 News I-Team continues its investigation into court-appointed guardianships by examining the workload probate judges carry in Palm Beach County. (WPEC)

Zoraida's father, Benito, was trapped in what was supposed to be an emergency, temporary guardianship, for years. As the I-Team reported earlier this year, Benito's daughters, who are medical doctors, petitioned to be his guardians to get him out of a romance scam. Instead of appointing them, a judge in Palm Beach County appointed a professional guardian -- a stranger -- who made all of his financial and medical decisions.

The daughters disagreed with the guardian's decisions, and worried that their father's health and finances were in trouble. The judge continued to extend the emergency order and even threatened the daughters with kidnapping charges for taking their father to lunch, and to the hospital, without the guardian's permission.

Through a rare legal maneuver, they were able to a get a new judge -- the only other probate judge in the county -- on their father's case, and he viewed the situation very differently, dismissing the professional guardian and reuniting Benito with his daughters.

"At no time did anyone on this case show concern for my dad's welfare, or for what he wanted," Zoraida told the I-Team.

She thinks having more judges as options in the county gives families more opportunities for fairness -- and could also keep cases from dragging on for years, like their father's did.

The Chief Judge of the 15th Circuit Court, which covers Palm Beach County, acknowledges the probate division had been bogged down.

Chief Judge Glenn Kelley told the I-Team improving efficiency has been a priority for him.

There used to be nine judges in Palm Beach County that heard guardianship cases -- but they also heard other types of family court cases, too.

He decided to split probate cases and other family court cases into two separate specialties, and appointed two judges to hear probate cases only.

Kelley says this has led to judges putting out orders faster in the probate division.

When asked how two judges could handle 3,000 guardianship cases, Kelley said not all 3,000 are complicated cases that involve professional guardians overseeing large sums of money.

Still, families who have been through the system think there need to be more guard rails to detect and prevent abuse and fraud.

Right now, there are a handful of employees at the Palm Beach Clerk of Courts office that assist judges with this oversight.

Chief Guardianship Investigator Anthony Palmieri tells the I-Team his office within the Clerk's office investigates complaints made against guardians. There are four staff members in the Clerk's office that perform audits and investigate these complaints, reviewing the entire case file, conducting interviews, and reviewing financial reports. He said investigating a single case can require hundreds of hours of manpower and thousands of documents to determine if a guardian has broken the law.

Additionally, there are five "operational auditors" within the Clerk's office who review the annual guardianship plan and annual accounting for each ward -- ensuring an extra set of eyes on a case just once a year.

"More resources, either at the Clerk's office or in the judiciary [would] better the services that can be provided to protect people even more so," Palmieri said. 

Judge Kelley said the 15th Circuit could benefit from more judges, and under a state formula for judicial need, should qualify for at least one, if not 2-3 more. It is up to the legislature to fund those appointments, and Judge Kelley said for the last 15 years, they have not funded additional judges for Palm Beach County.  

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I-Team: Guardianship courts at capacity