By Patty Wight
It's a weekday morning, and Charlee Beaulieu slides into the driver's seat of a car and buckles in.
She needs to get to her job as a cashier at a grocery store in Ellsworth. She's learning to drive, so her best friend's mom, Lisa Cloutier, offers gentle guidance from the passenger's seat.
"Remember, step on the brake and then the gas," Cloutier says.
Driving, having a job: these are milestones that some may take for granted. But not Beaulieu. She's 25 and has a developmental disability. And until recently, she was under the guardianship of her adoptive mother.
The state's guardianship system is intended to protect vulnerable Mainers from potential danger and abuse. But a recent study found that most people in Maine who are considered for guardianship don't have legal representation during the process.
After Beaulieu turned 18, she continued to live at home with her adoptive parents. And while guardianship can be a bridge toward independence, she says she wasn't allowed to get a job, cook for herself, do laundry, or even decide when to go to bed.
"I thought this was going to be my life going forward," she says. "I didn't think there was a way out of it."
Patty Wight: "Even though you didn't want it, did you know you could have an attorney? Did you have an attorney?"
Charlee Beaulieu: "I didn't know I was able to have an attorney. I didn't have any legal counseling at all."
Beaulieu is not alone, according to Lauren Wille, legal director at Disability Rights Maine. She said the advocacy organization has represented dozens of people in guardianship cases.
"And I cannot think of an example of a person who had come under guardianship that was represented by an attorney," Wille said.
There are no statewide data that track the number of adults under guardianship. But Disability Rights recently issued a report that examined more than 2,000 cases over three years. It found that 75% of Mainers who go through the guardianship process have no legal representation. For people with developmental disabilities, the rate is 90%. And Wille said there's another key finding.
"What stands out to me from the data is that attorneys really do make a difference in outcomes," she said.
'Outcomes' in this case can mean less restrictive guardianship arrangements or no guardian at all. But one attorney who works in the system questions the report's findings.
"Unfortunately, I find the conclusions quite flawed," attorney Bruce Williams said.
Williams is based in Augusta, and occasionally represents the state in guardianship cases. The report is flawed, he said, because it fails to recognize that often, both parties agree that guardianship is needed. When there's no conflict, Williams said, there's no need for an attorney.
"The attorney is being appointed in cases where there are doubts, where there are alternatives, where there are objections by respondent," he said. "So the statute's actually working very well in providing legal counsel for the respondents who need them."
Williams also works as a court-appointed visitor. When a guardianship is first considered he meets with each party and submits an evaluation. He says a medical provider is also brought in.
"Where are the safeguards?" he asked. "The visitor is one, the medical provider is another, and the judge is a third. And in all of those situations, if it is believed by these professionals that an attorney is necessary, the attorneys appointed."
Several years ago, the Maine legislature passed a first in the nation law that aimed to reform the guardianship system. Cases are handled in county-run probate courts, and the law directs those judges to treat guardianship as a last resort. The law also envisioned, but did not mandate, that attorneys would be appointed in most guardianship cases. But Kennebec County Probate Judge Libby Mitchell said that expectation is unrealistic.
"I think the system would actually grind to a halt," Mitchell said.
There aren't enough attorneys who will take these cases, she said, especially in rural counties. The pay is low, and county budgets are tight. Even so, Mitchell believes Maine's probate judges do what they can to prevent unnecessary guardianship.
"We do not take this lightly," Mitchell said. "The last thing we want to do is to put anybody under guardianship."
But Lauren Wille of Disability Rights Maine said it's not fair to expect anyone to try to protect their own legal interests without the guidance of an attorney.
"We are somehow accepting that they are consenting to the removal of all their fundamental rights," Wille said.
Charlee Beaulieu said she eventually discovered through friends that she could take steps to end her guardianship. She found her chance when her adoptive parents left on vacation last year. She left home and moved in to her best friend's house.
"I was very scared because I didn't know what was going to happen," she said. "I didn't even know if this was, like, an okay thing to do. Am I gonna get in trouble with the court? All these questions are going through my head, and I'm just scared."
Beaulieu called Disability Rights, which helped her terminate her guardianship last May. Her adoptive mother didn't challenge the petition, nor did she respond to requests for an interview. Beaulieu continues to live with her best friend and her family.
Patty Wight: "What is the most exciting thing about being on your own, being independent?"
Beaulieu: "Being able to realize my capabilities for myself and to learn that I'm a lot more capable than every one else thought I was."
Next year,
Beaulieu said she's going to Southern New Hampshire University. She
wants to become a social worker and help other people with intellectual
disabilities.
Full Article & Source:
Report says lack of legal representation in adult guardianship cases is a problem, some disagree
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