Six takeaways from the Monitor’s guardianship investigation

By Samantha Hogan

People with disabilities frequently are appointed a guardian, but judges should rule out a less restrictive alternative first.

“Kate is thriving and happy and flourishing because I’m in her life and making sure that happens," said Debbie Dionne, the mother and guardian of Kate Riordan. Photo by Fred J. Field.

Last Sunday, The Maine Monitor published an investigation about adult guardianships and a new law that requires probate judges to consider a less restrictive alternative called “supported decision-making.” 

The Monitor spoke with guardians, judges, disability rights lawyers, national guardianship experts and people with disabilities.

We shared the stories of two women: Kate Riordan, 43, who has cerebral palsy and an intellectual disability, and is “thriving” under guardianship, and Cindy Thielen, 31, who has autism and was able to terminate her mother’s guardianship in 2022.

Here are six takeaways from that story.

“Supported decision-making” is an alternative to guardianship in multiple states, including Maine

“Supported decision-making” is a nationally recognized tool used by people with disabilities to help them assess the consequences of big and small decisions. The person picks supporters and talks through a decision.

About one-third of states have a definition of supported decision-making in state law, according to a 2022 analysis by the American Bar Association.

Maine’s probate judges infrequently opt for supported decision-making

A state law that went into effect in late 2019 requires probate judges to consider supported decision-making before appointing a guardian. Yet, Maine’s judges have infrequently gone for supported decision-making.

Guardians are supposed to be a last resort to make medical, financial and housing decisions for an adult whom a judge deems cannot make or communicate their own choices.

No court or state entity has tracked the probate courts’ use of supported decision-making in Maine.

Guardianship takes away a person’s civil rights 

“Guardianship takes away your civil rights. It takes away your civil liberties and formally — not in some abstract way — is the court taking away your rights and giving those rights to someone else to hold on your behalf or exercise on your behalf,” said Zoe Brennan-Krohn, an attorney with the national ACLU Disability Rights Program.

Under guardianship in Maine, adults retain only three privileges — the right to marry, vote and retain a lawyer. Still, probate judges have the discretion to take away the privileges to marry and vote. 

Guardianships can be difficult and time-consuming to end

Thielen’s mother was appointed as her guardian in 2011. This meant Thielen could not technically make financial or medical decisions on her own. 

Thielen applied to the University of Maine and was halfway to completing her degree when she asked the probate court to end the guardianship. After one hearing, the probate judge suspended the guardianship. But her case was left in limbo for years.

The state’s top disability advocacy organization, Disability Rights Maine, intervened in 2021. 

Eleven years after the guardianship was granted, a probate judge gave Thielen control of her life back on April 12, 2022.

Supported decision-making may not work for everyone

Kate Riordan has used sign language since she was in preschool, but because she has cerebral palsy, she lacks the fine motor skills to spell words with her fingers. She fills in the gaps with gestures, spoken words and an iPad filled with icons and programmed responses.

We spent a day with Riordan and watched how with gentle suggestions from her mother Debbie Dionne, Riordan can find answers to questions using her iPad. Riordan knows her mother is her guardian. She doesn’t have the words to say what a guardian does.

A barrier to Dionne and Riordan using supported decision-making is that Riordan does not initiate decision-making. She does not have the language tools to ask for advice, Dionne said. When a decision needs to be made, Dionne starts their discussions.

“Kate is thriving and happy and flourishing,” Dionne said, “because I’m in her life and making sure that happens.”

Stigmatization of guardians could have negative consequences

Opposition to guardianship risks cutting services, policies, money and resources for people who still need them. 

It also risks dividing the disability community between the people who need guardians and those who don’t, said Kim Humphrey, whose adult son Dan has autism and requires multiple support people to get through the day.

“If you say that ‘nobody’ needs a guardian and then you meet somebody like him, well then, is he nobody?” Kim said.

Full Article & Source:
Six takeaways from the Monitor’s guardianship investigation

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The decision that can last a lifetime

77-page guardianship investigation exposes lack of oversight in Florida's system

Concerns include missing jewelry, 18% real estate commission

By: Adam Walser 

CLEARWATER, Fla. — The I-Team has reported for a decade how Florida’s court-appointed professional guardians can control your life, health care decisions and finances and get paid with your assets.  

A scathing new report alleges one former guardian exploited dozens of people under her care called “wards."

In exclusive interviews, we hear from two people working to protect vulnerable seniors and how the flawed system makes that impossible.  

In 2019, professional guardian Traci Hudson was arrested and charged with exploiting an elderly man under her care.

Investigators said she used a half-a-million dollars of his money to buy herself a luxury home, jewelry and Tampa Bay Buccaneers tickets.

Days after her arrest, a judge ordered the Pinellas County Clerk’s office to investigate Hudson’s 45 guardianship cases. 

“What it produced was evidence of flagrant fraud”  

Hudson’s wards had a combined $14 million in assets at the time they entered guardianship.  

“If there are any red flags that are brought to our attention, then we’ll address that at that point in time,” Pinellas County Probate Judge Campbell said during a court hearing days after Hudson’s arrest.  

Three years later, a 77-page report filled with red flags not only exposes problems with Hudson’s cases but also with the guardianship system.

Investigation of Former Pro... by ABC Action News

Hudson declined to be interviewed.  

Her attorney Richard McKyton said he wouldn’t talk about specific allegations in the report but said he doesn't anticipate it will affect her upcoming trial.  

“What it produced was just evidence of flagrant fraud,” said retired Pinellas County Judge Linda Allan. 

Allan, who presided over thousands of guardianship cases, said many guardians receive minimal training. 

Under Florida law, they are only required to pass a background check and complete a 40-hour course.  

“There’s virtually no standards or criteria,” Allan said.  

“There’s very little direct oversight of what the guardian does,” said Pinellas County Clerk of Court Ken Burke, who oversaw the investigation.  “If there were all these safeguards, things like we found in this report would not have been found."

Hudson declined to be interviewed by the Pinellas County Inspector General’s Office.  

Guardian paid for working more than 24 hours a day  

The report shows Hudson was paid more than $406,000 from her wards’ assets in less than three years. 

“The number of hours that were allegedly expended were way out of the norm to come up with that,” Allan said.  

Seven times Hudson billed for working between 25 and 39 hours in a single day.  

Burke said investigators found that Hudson billed for being in California working on behalf of a ward on the same day she billed for visiting local banks and nursing homes.  

“There was not just a single instance, but many instances of billing over 18 hours in a day,” Burked said.  

The report said Hudson billed for working more than 18 hours in a day 83 times. 

Allan said guardians can do that because judges approve payments one case at a time.  

“There should be greater oversight. I just don’t know exactly how to accomplish that,” Allan said.  

Missing jewelry, court documents altered  

“There was jewelry missing, savings bonds worth twenty-some thousand dollars missing… not accounted for,” Burke said.  

Another concern for the experts: guardians don’t have to have anyone accompany them when they inventory a home.  

“These folks who are asking to be the guardian have usually gotten into the home before it even comes to court, somehow,” Allan said.  

The report said one of Hudson’s inventory reports “contained blotches of Wite-Out that could be noticed throughout the paper document.”  

Jewelry was removed from the original report, and the appraised value of personal property was reduced from $8,250 to $1,100 when it was filed with the court.  

Documents show Hudson purchased multiple pre-need funeral plans for people who already had them, causing some wards to be cremated rather than being buried in family plots next to their loved ones.

House sold three times in a day, realtor paid 18% commission 

Hudson used her wards' assets to buy new funeral plans from a member of the Guardianship Association of Pinellas County—a networking group—while Hudson served as president.  

According to the report, Hudson also used a realtor serving on the association board to sell her wards’ homes, paying her 14, 16 and 18% commissions.

The report cited the average commission in Florida as 6% of the home sale price.  

“It’s unheard of, let’s face it,” Burke said. “There need to be better safeguards put on these things”  

The report said wards’ properties were often sold without appraisals at below-market prices.  

According to the report, a home that belonged to one of Hudson’s wards sold three times in a single day.  

The first time for $30,450… the second time for $37,000… and the third time for $57,984.  

The profit from the 90% increase in value went to investors, not for the care of the ward.  

“When I look at the guardianship program, the internal controls don’t exist,” Burke said.  

When asked whether he believed other guardians could be breaking the rules, Burke responded, “There could be. Because it’s just too tempting.”  

“It’s really one of the reasons that I left the probate division was it was so frustrating to me to really feel like my hands were tied in not being able to do anything,” Allan said.  

“We need to send it to policymakers”  

The judge and clerk are supposed to be the safeguards of the system.

Burke hopes that Florida officials will learn from his report.  

“Not only do we have to send it to every clerk, but more importantly, we need to send it to policymakers because that’s where change needs to happen… with our state legislature, with our leaders,” he said.  

Until then, some of Florida’s most vulnerable residents can’t be protected.  

The Inspector General’s report has been forwarded to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office and the State’s Attorney Office.  

Hudson’s trial has been set for early May.   

If you have a story you think the I-Team should investigate, email adam@abcactionnews.com 

Full Article & Source:
77-page guardianship investigation exposes lack of oversight in Florida's system

Detroit grandmother freed from guardianship after 7 Investigation

DETROIT (WXYZ) — She’s a 78-year-old Detroit grandmother who just wanted a wheelchair ramp. Instead, she was put under court guardianship. The 7 Investigators were in court Thursday when the Chief Probate Judge terminated that guardianship, bringing a lot of joy to Bessie and her family.

Bessie Owens can now make her medical, legal and financial decisions.

And not only did the judge terminate this guardianship and conservatorship – he also put Adult Protective Services on notice that things need to change with how they’re petitioning the court to put seniors under guardianship.

Cheers and applause filled the halls of Wayne County Probate Court Thursday where supporters gathered to watch Chief Judge Freddie Burton Jr. terminate Bessie’s guardianship and conservatorship cases.

“I do not want or need strangers or bureaucrats over my life or finances,” Bessie told the judge.

Bessie called the 7 Investigators in August after she discovered Adult Protective Services investigator Tresna Tupper had petitioned the court, saying Bessie was “medically frail” and “unable to manage her affairs.”

At the time, Bessie says all she needed was a wheelchair ramp so she could get out of her house safely. Instead, court records show Tupper told Judge Burton that she couldn’t find Bessie’s adult children to tell them about the guardianship, as required by law, even though the 7 Investigators easily found Owens’ daughter on Facebook.

“It does look like there’s some things that, in the course of doing your job, that some things were missed,” Burton told an APS supervisor in court on Thursday. The supervisor was in court instead of Tupper.

Bessie’s three adult children were also present.

“It seems to me it would be pretty simple to find them. Were other efforts made,” Judge Burton asked.

The supervisor maintained that Tupper followed APS protocol, but ultimately no one objected to Bessie’s request to drop the guardianship and conservatorship.

“It’s clear to me there’s insufficient evidence to continue the guardianship, and so I will grant the petition to terminate guardianship as you requested,” ruled Judge Burton.

A large group of anti-guardianship protestors in the courtroom cheered and applauded the judge’s decision.

The 7 Investigators showed you last week how Bessie’s conservator, lawyer Cynthia Williams, was asking the court to approve $687.50 in legal fees, even though she never met with Bessie.

“Why are you trying to charge her $687 when she only has $6500,” Catallo asked.

“Because that is my fee for my services,” Williams said.

“What did you actually do though,” Catallo asked.

“It’s on my account, did you see it,” Williams said.

Today Williams argued briefly with the judge, but she ultimately waived her fees and the judge terminated the conservatorship as well.

“The thing that’s important here, Mrs. Owens now has her ramp, and the court is apprised. We need to get out of her way and let her go live her life,” Judge Burton said.

“[I’m] elated and glad it was terminated, there was no need for it. And I think there should be something addressed to keep this from happening to another person and their family and friends,” said Bessie after the ruling.

“Did you have any notice from Adult Protective Services this was happening,” Catallo asked Mischia Smith, Bessie Owens’ son.

“No. I talked to my mother, who I talk to on a daily basis and she informed me, they didn’t contact me at all. And I was very surprised by this whole thing. I believe they should be punished for what they do,” Smith said.

Judge Burton also put APS on notice that he wants a meeting with state officials to make sure they are giving family members notice, before taking the extreme step of declaring an adult legally incapacitated.

“It does look like there’s several things we need to shore up, particularly in terms of making certain notice is provided,” Judge Burton said.

Bob Wheaton, Public Information Officer for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees APS, issued this statement last week about investigator Tupper and this case:

“The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is committed to respecting human dignity and protecting the health, safety and well-being of vulnerable adults. Adult Protective Services takes very seriously its responsibility to protect vulnerable adults. APS follows policies put in place to help understand and respond to each unique situation, and when necessary, works with partners in the court who make the final decision on what’s best for these individuals. Adult Protective Services aims to provide the least-restrictive services that are necessary to keep a vulnerable adult safe. The department is looking into the concerns that have been expressed.”

Full Article & Source:
Detroit grandmother freed from guardianship after 7 Investigation

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Detroit grandma just wanted a wheelchair ramp, but ended up being put under guardianship

Detroit grandma just wanted a wheelchair ramp, but ended up being put under guardianship

DETROIT (WXYZ) — After a fall in her home, 78-year-old Bessie Owens said she just needed some help getting a wheelchair ramp installed. Instead, the long-time Detroit resident ended up being put under guardianship in the probate courts – where she was declared legally incapacitated.

When you’re put under guardianship and conservatorship, you can no longer make any legal, medical or financial decisions.

That’s why Owens says she wants to know why Adult Protective Services workers petition the court to put her under guardianship and conservatorship, instead of helping her get what she really needed.

Owens needs a walker to get around, but she’s still fiercely independent. She struggles with osteoarthritis, but Bessie says she is more than capable of handling her own medical and financial affairs.

“I know how to tap into resources in my neighborhood and beyond,” Bessie told 7 Investigator Heather Catallo. “And I think I should have some input into my life daily.”

That’s why the long-time Detroiter is furious that an Adult Protective Services worker petitioned the Wayne County Probate Court last May to place Bessie under guardianship and conservatorship.

“Did you have any notice that a guardianship case had been opened about you?” Catallo asked.

“No,” said Bessie.

“Nothing in writing?” asked Catallo.

“Nothing in writing,” Bessie responded.

This all started last year when Bessie says she fell two times and ended up in the hospital.

Bessie says on her own, she arranged for in-home caregivers, but she still needed a ramp to bypass her front steps with her walker.

“Without the ramp, I could not get outside to transact business and that kind of stuff,” said Bessie.

Someone contacted Adult Protective Services for a welfare check, and then Bessie says an APS investigator named Tresna Tupper came into her home uninvited.

“That’s intrusion,” said Bessie.

Tupper then filed petitions for guardianship and conservatorship with the Wayne County Probate Court, saying Bessie is “medically frail” and “unable to manage her affairs.”

Court records show Tupper even wrote under penalty of perjury that she couldn’t find Bessie’s adult children to tell them about the guardianship – even though the 7 Investigators easily found Bessie’s daughter on Facebook.

Her daughter, a Wayne County employee, confirms no one from APS or the courts ever contacted her. Tupper also typed the wrong address for APS on the petitions, as well as on the petition in another case reviewed by the 7 Investigators.

Legal experts say Owens' family would have had priority under the law to become a guardian, if one was needed.

“Your guardian is making some very intimate decisions about everything about your life,” said Nicole Shannon, Systemic Advocacy Attorney from the Michigan Elder Justice Initiative.

Shannon also says, “Michigan law requires that adult children be notified of a petition for guardianship and presumptive heirs be notified of a petition for conservatorship. That notice has to be in writing and served either in person or through the mail."

If a person filing a petition is unable to locate the adult children or presumptive heirs, they can ask the court for special permission to notify them through publication or some other method. That is done by filing an affidavit under penalty of perjury with the court showing that despite diligent efforts, they could not determine the whereabouts of the person.

Diligent effort typically includes asking known friends or family members, as well as conducting an internet search. There should not be a final ruling until all parties have received their notice.

Unfortunately, when family members do find out about guardianship or conservatorship after the fact, it can be too late. Significant decisions have already been made, and there must often be a second series of court hearings to try to unwind what has already happened.”

“I do not need no one to oversee my finances, or a guardian. I’m mentally capable of transacting my day-to-day business. I do not need that. I need a ramp to be able to leave my home when I need to,” said Bessie.

Even after she learned of the guardianship case, Bessie says she did not have transportation for court so she could not attend the hearing last summer.

Tupper asked the court to appoint Whitehouse Guardian Services, which is owned by Stacey White-Smith.

Court records show Tupper has asked the court to give at least nine guardianship cases this year to Whitehouse Guardian Services.

Tupper also nominated a lawyer named Cynthia Williams to be Bessie’s conservator to take over her social security income.

Court records show Tupper and Williams are also listed together on at least eight conservatorship cases since 2018.

Williams and White-Smith deny they have any sort of relationship with APS investigator Tupper.

On her own, Bessie contacted a local non-profit who installed the ramp for her in August.

Guardian Stacey White-Smith would not talk to us on camera, but she did admit she’s only seen Bessie two times since she was appointed guardian in June.

Bessie says when she tried to get ahold of White in September she couldn’t, and later found out White was out of the country.

The 7 Investigators started asking questions why Bessie Owens was put under guardianship in August.

Now, both the guardian and the conservator have told they court that they want out of the case, and say Bessie doesn’t need a guardian or conservator.

“Have you met your conservator?” Catallo asked Bessie.

“No. Never,” said Bessie.

Even as she seeks to terminate her involvement, court records show the conservator wants to get paid $687.50 for five and half hours of work.

We caught up with conservator Cynthia Williams after a court hearing for another case where she and White-Smith are both in charge of a different ward.

“Why are you trying to charge her $687 when she only has $6500?” asked Catallo.

“Because that is my fee for my services,” said Williams.

“What did you actually do though?” asked Catallo.

“It’s on my account did you see it,” said Williams.

“I did see your account, but you never talked to her, you never went to see her, you filed some paperwork, she doesn’t have that much money, she says she doesn’t need a guardian or conservator -- so what did you do?" asked Catallo.

“You saw my account correct,” said Williams.

“I did – I’m asking you what you did,” asked Catallo.

“I told you, my account shows you what I did,” said Williams, who refused to provide more details.

“I want everybody to know, especially the population that I’m in, which is seniors and people with disabilities, what can happen, if you don’t pay attention to the system that’s supposed to protect us,” said Bessie.

Bessie Owens, the guardian and the conservator will all be in court next week when Bessie Owens hopes to have this guardianship terminated.

The 7 Investigators did try several times to talk to Tresna Tupper from APS, including visiting her a home and calling her.

A spokesman says they can’t comment on the specifics of this case due to privacy rules, but they are going to conduct additional training on filing guardianship petitions and using community resources first.

Below we have listed a series of our questions to APS about their role in initiating guardianship cases.

The guardian says she tries to go above and beyond for her wards. Her additional statement is below.

Stacey White-Smith Statement

“I am one of many public guardian's that genuinely care [sic] about the community that I live in and would like to see more stories in regards to the challenges we face serving the mentally and physically incapacitated individuals in Wayne County. Every day is a challenge in making sure that my Wards have all of their needs met. It is my job to assess every situation individually and make the best decisions for the people I am appointed to serve. As a guardian at times I go above and beyond my mandated duties to make sure that my Wards feel that they are cared for. It is not beneath me to assist with transportation to hair appointments, grocery stores, doctor’s appointments, even bringing lunch and snacks to my clients in nursing and group homes. I love my community and I love the people in it and I have committed myself to making sure that I help as many people as I can in Wayne County. My client list is very small, one of the smallest agencies in Wayne County but that's only because I want to make sure that I can give individualized attention to the people I've been appointed to care for…

Everyday I work with phenomenal Judges who have to make tough decisions in regards to people's lives. I am proud to be a part of this system and I hope that I can continue to provide quality Guardianship Services to my community. At this point I would have to respectfully decline a second interview. I thank you in advance for respecting my privacy and the privacy of my family.”

Questions regarding Adult Protective Services to Bob Wheaton, Public Information Officer, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services:

How often do APS investigators file petitions for guardianships?

Guardianship petitions are filed when allegations of abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation is substantiated for adults determined to be vulnerable, mentally or physically at risk of harm and/or unable to make an informed decision. APS will exhaust all other alternative resources to alleviate risk of harm to the client prior to filing a petition.

Policy is as follows:

Whenever non-legal intervention fails to meet the goal of protection, the need for voluntary or involuntary legal intervention may be utilized to protect the client. The APS worker must evaluate the need for legal intervention, and it should be initiated only when the following conditions exist:
· Endangerment cannot be eliminated with the use of the social intervention process, and
· The client requests or voluntarily accepts legal assistance because physical or cognitive limitations result in the inability to manage one’s own affairs or the client does not consent to legal action but is endangered because he/she is unable to exercise independent judgment due to cognitive or physical limitations.

What’s the protocol for filing a petition?

The APS investigator determines if petition is needed and gathers information to support or justify the need to present to the court.

What happens before a petition is filed?

The APS investigator gathers pertinent information, attempts to alleviate risk of harm by obtaining resources, working with client (if cooperative/able), working with the client’s support base, i.e. community affiliations, family, neighbors, and friends, and making appropriate referrals/arrangements for other services. APS investigator reviews the case with supervisor.

What’s the protocol for trying to reach family members?

It is routine for APS investigators to attempt to find and contact family members and include the family if appropriate (unless the related person is the perpetrator) when completing a Plan of Care and filing petitions. There are times in which it is appropriate to honor the client’s request not to contact family. In an attempt to locate family, APS investigators will ask the client, review former MDHHS cases, conduct the Bridges system (which tracks public assistance cases) clearance to search associated people, ask friends or neighbors of the client if appropriate, review the Court-View court records system, and publish in the Legal News.

How is the guardian determined?

The guardian can be nominated by the judge or APS investigator. There are times when APS will nominate a guardian and the judge appoints someone else. Wayne County has two contracted guardianship agencies which we will generally nominate, prior to 2018 we only had one. However, APS is not restricted to utilizing contracted agencies due to the volume of clients in need. Guardianship agencies are our community partners who we establish working relationships with. Due to agencies’ established networks with community resources, some specialize in serving developmentally delayed clients, seniors who want to stay in their own home or clients who need placements. In general APS investigators establish working relationship with various guardians and learn who provides the best client services and will best meet the needs of clients.

Does your APS investigator (Ms. Tupper) have a relationship, financial or otherwise, with Whitehouse Guardian Service?

The department is unaware of any relationship other than a professional relationship.

Why did the APS investigator (Ms. Tupper) say in the petition that she couldn’t reach the client’s family to see if there was a suitable relative provider when the client says all she had to do was ask the client for contact information? Tupper wrote “unknown” for the address of all three adult children who live in Southeast Michigan.

We can’t discuss specifics due to confidentiality, however, as stated above, APS attempts to find a suitable family guardian if possible and if the client wants to have a relative guardian. In some cases, the client does not want to have a relative be his/her guardian or the probate court may appoint an guardian that the court feels is best suited for this role, if the court finds there is clear and convincing evidence that the person is legally incapacitated and that the appointment is necessary to provide continuing care and supervision of the person.

How does this APS investigator (Ms. Tupper) find guardians?

Each county has contracted guardians, and can also utilize other guardians that the workers are familiar with. There are checks and balances in the system. Clients have a guardian ad litem who is appointed to watch out for the client’s interest, and the probate judge makes the final decision. So APS investigators may make a recommendation of a guardian who is willing to serve as guardian and the probate court determines who the guardian will be.

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Detroit grandma just wanted a wheelchair ramp, but ended up being put under guardianship

Families voice guardianship concerns in court

By Darcy Spears
 
Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- More emotion was felt in a Contact 13 investigation about a system that many say is broken and sometimes does more harm to those it's supposed to protect.

We've investigated problems with the guardianship court for nearly a year.

 

We found cases of double-billing clients, questionable fees, entire life savings spent and families pushed out when they tried to care for loved ones.   

 

As a result, the Nevada Supreme Court created a State Guardianship Commission which held its second meeting on Monday.

 

More than a dozen victim families and friends voiced their concerns for over two hours telling their stories and demanding change.  

 

Also, commission members were tasked to look at the fees private professional guardians charge in Nevada and how that compares to other states.  

 

The commission is expected to have final recommendations to improve the system by the end of the year.

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Families voice guardianship concerns in court