Florida Advocate Doug Franks is tonight's guest on "In the Mix With Coz and Marti" on Marti Oakley's TS Radio Network at 7:00 CST:

"Doug Franks joins us this evening to discuss the new laws along with the formation of the Office of Public & Private Guardians (OPPG) in Florida. The OPPG was started in 2016, but by 2019 almost everyone had exited the office. Noting that the OPPG will have zero effect on stopping others from being targeted and abused in the probate system, Doug has been an outspoken advocate for change. Doug became involved when his own mother was taken hostage by these predators who operate freely and openly in Florida. FREE ERNESTINE became the hallmark of Doug's public campaign to free his mother from this probate imposed, captivity.

SB994 and HB709

Both bills were supposed to be a major step in reforming what is nothing more than a government approved system of human trafficking for profit. Across the country, families and organizations have been fighting for years to halt the kidnapping, isolation, psychological abuse and theft of assets that occurs via probate tribunals. These bills might have provided a good starting point, but after being passed the state BAR Associations came in through the back door and had any language that might have held them accountable or subjected them to any repercussions, removed. The bills are now just more fluff and buff to make you think they are actually going to protect seniors from this type of exploitation." ...

LISTEN to the show LIVE or listen to the archive later

Call Christina: Professional Guardianship Laws Expanding to Protect Seniors from Exploitation

The state of Florida is cracking down on bad actors in the professional guardianship industry, hoping the latest reform bill, signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott in March, will protect seniors from guardianship abuse.

Last Friday, the Florida State Guardianship Association (FSGA) met in Fort Lauderdale for their 2016 Annual Conference, where officials discussed recently passed SB-232, based on the guardianship audits performed by the Clerk & Comptroller in Palm Beach County for the last 25 years.

"Historically, the clerks have had the statutory obligation to monitor the guardianship's financial information," Clerk Sharon Bock, from the Palm Beach County Clerk & Comptroller, said. "In 2013, that was enhanced to be able to actually investigate and audit and get down really in the nitty-gritty of these files."

Now that the Clerk of Courts is partnering with the Department of Elder Affairs, however, Bock said the new law fills that hole by requiring a collection of that information all in one place.

"That gap has now closed," Bock said. "We will now, through our partnership with the state, be reporting the outcome of our investigations and audits."

"There are sometimes some bad apples," Secretary Sam Verghese, from the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, said. "What we've sought to do with the legislature has been to fix some of those gaps that have been there, so that if there is someone who's being taken advantage of from abuse, neglect, exploitation, financial fraud, there's a way to actually go after the bad apples so more people aren't hurt."

In creating the Office of Public and Professional Guardians (OPPG) within Department of Elder Affairs, the passing of SB-232 requires that the OPPG provide monitoring and disciplinary oversight of professional guardians, including the ability to revoke a guardian's registration. It also establishes a complaint department for families and those in guardianships, and certifies and supervises court-appointed guardians.

This is in addition to HB-5, which was signed into law last year in order to make it more difficult for guardians to seize control of their wards' assets.

"This in fact will stop, or we hope will deter the kind of unethical and fraudulent practices that we may have seen in the past," Bock said.

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Call Christina:  Professional Guardianship Laws Expanding to Protect Seniors from Exploitation