A Look Inside the Guardianship System with Investigative Reporter Diane Dimond

Edison Public Library to Welcome Author of ‘We’re Here to Help: When Guardianship Goes Wrong,’ on September 24

By Victoria Davis

EDISON, NJ - Join author and investigative journalist Diane Dimond on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at the Edison Public Library to learn more about the state-run guardianship/conservatory system and ways to safeguard yourself and loved ones. 

During the 6:30 p.m. event, which will take place at the North Edison Branch, Dimond will discuss her latest book, We’re Here to Help: When Guardianship Goes Wrong.

A guardianship is a legal arrangement where a court appoints a person or organization to make decisions for someone who is unable to do so themselves. We’re Here to Help, a culmination of more than eight years of research, offers an in-depth look into a system that, according to Dimond, has become ‘largely unregulated, ill-understood, and increasingly populated by financially motivated predators.’ 

“It is a court system that has truly run amok, a system in which you or someone you love can be declared an ‘incapacitated ward-of-the-court’ and be automatically stripped of all civil rights,” Dimond, whose book examines the system and its real-life effects by telling the human stories behind the headlines, and shows how to avoid the risks of voluntary or involuntary guardianship, said. 

“While many associate abusive and financially exploitative guardianships with the elderly, many citizens living with a disability - be it intellectual, physical or psychiatric - are often the target of guardianship insiders who prey on the vulnerable,” Dimond said, adding, “Many senior citizens I speak to are worried about what will happen to their disabled adult child after they pass away. The disabled are prime targets for predators operating within this system.”

Diane Dimond is a multiple award-winning freelance journalist, author, syndicated columnist, and former television correspondent who specializes in crime and justice issues. She began her journalism career in her hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico and, over the years, worked at National Public Radio, WCBS-TV, Hard Copy, the Today Show, MSNBC, CNBC, and Court TV. Dimond has written for Newsweek, Huffington Post, the Daily Beast, the New York Post, Real Clear Investigations, and the Albuquerque Journal and is also the author of Be Careful Who You Love: Inside the Michael Jackson Case, Cirque Du Salahi, and Thinking Outside the Crime and Justice Box. 

Dimond’s Sept. 24 book discussion is geared toward adults as well as family members and/or caregivers of someone who may require guardianship in the future. 

Admission is free, but space is limited and registration, which can be done by clicking here, is recommended. 

Copies of We’re Here to Help: When Guardianship Goes Wrong will also be available for purchase at the event. 

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A Look Inside the Guardianship System with Investigative Reporter Diane Dimond