Rep. Greene supports guardianship reform package to protect vulnerable Michiganders from abuse, exploitation, and neglect

State Rep. Jaime Greene today voted to strengthen oversight, licensing, training, and accountability for professional guardians and conservators in Michigan.  

“When the court gives one person authority over another person’s life, that power must come with accountability,” said Greene (R-Richmond). “A guardian or conservator can make decisions about where someone lives, what medical care they receive, how their money is handled, and whether they are able to maintain basic personal independence. That is too much power to hand over without clear standards, proper vetting, and real oversight.” 

The bill package, made up of House Bills 4727, 4728, 4729, and 4959, creates a licensing structure for professional guardians and conservators, requires background checks, establishes education and continuing training requirements, requires professional liability insurance, and creates a public list of licensed professional guardians and conservators. It also makes clear that courts should look first to family members, trusted nominees, patient advocates, or other suitable individuals before appointing a professional guardian or conservator.  

“This is not about attacking families who step up to care for loved ones,” Greene said. “This is about making sure that people who serve as professional guardians and conservators meet a basic standard of trust, training, and transparency.”  

Across Michigan, vulnerable adults have been financially exploited by people entrusted with their care. In Mason County, a Scottville woman was convicted on multiple counts of embezzlement from vulnerable adults and caregiver commingling of funds after taking advantage of individuals who depended on her. Cases like this demonstrate why Michigan must be serious about protecting people who may not be able to protect themselves. 

The Michigan Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Task Force has also identified long standing concerns in the guardianship system, including inconsistent practices across the state, limited safeguards, unnecessary or overly restrictive guardianships, and lack of accountability when individuals lose control over major life decisions. Disability Rights Michigan has reported receiving thousands of calls from people with disabilities seeking help, including individuals reporting abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation by guardians. 

“Some of the people impacted by guardianship are seniors with dementia,” Greene said. “Some are adults with developmental disabilities. Some are people recovering from illness or injury. Some are simply in the middle. They are not fully independent, but they are not helpless either. Those are exactly the people who can be overlooked by the system. These bills say their dignity still matters. Their property still matters. Their voices still matter. Their safety still matters.”

 Greene said she will continue working to ensure the legislation protects vulnerable people while also making sure courts, especially in rural communities, have access to qualified guardians when no family member or trusted individual is available.  

“We need to raise the standard without creating a shortage of good people willing to serve,” Greene said. “The goal is simple: remove bad actors, protect vulnerable people, and make sure those who truly need help can still receive it.”

Source:
Rep. Greene supports guardianship reform package to protect vulnerable Michiganders from abuse, exploitation, and neglect

Guardianship Reform Arrives: Judges Must Try Less-Restrictive Alternatives, and Power-of-Attorney Forms Get a Major Overhaul

by Drew Blankenship

A lot of the time, guardianship begins with good intentions. However, it can quickly become a really emotionally draining legal process. A court-appointed guardianship can strip away major personal rights, including financial control, healthcare choices, and even decisions about where someone lives. Now, a growing wave of guardianship reform laws across the country is changing how courts approach these cases. Judges are increasingly being required to consider less-restrictive alternatives before removing someone’s legal independence, while updated power-of-attorney rules are reshaping how families plan for aging and incapacity. Ultimately, this should be good news, but you need to go into the situation knowledgeable.

Why Guardianship Reform Is Becoming a National Priority

Guardianship reform has gained momentum after years of criticism from elder advocates, disability-rights groups, and legal experts. Critics argued that traditional guardianship systems sometimes removed too many rights from older adults and disabled individuals even when less severe solutions were available. Newer laws now emphasize “person-centered” planning, which focuses on preserving as much independence as possible while still providing necessary support.

Several states adopting updated versions of the Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Other Protective Arrangements Act now require courts to explore alternatives before imposing full guardianship

Judges Are Now Being Told to Consider Less-Restrictive Alternatives First

One of the biggest changes in guardianship reform involves requiring courts to evaluate alternatives before approving guardianship petitions. These alternatives can include supported decision-making agreements, healthcare directives, representative payees, trusts, and financial power-of-attorney arrangements. In states adopting updated reform measures, judges must often document why less-restrictive options are insufficient before granting broad guardianship powers.

Some states, including Pennsylvania and North Carolina, now specifically require courts to make factual findings showing why less-restrictive alternatives would not adequately protect the person involved.

Power-of-Attorney Documents Are Receiving Major Attention

Power-of-attorney forms are also becoming a major focus under guardianship reform efforts. Attorneys say many older power-of-attorney documents were written too broadly, too vaguely, or without enough safeguards against abuse.

Updated forms in many states now include clearer language about financial authority, healthcare decision-making, fiduciary responsibilities, and limitations on an agent’s powers. Some newer laws also encourage narrower or customized powers rather than automatically granting blanket authority over every aspect of someone’s life.

Families Are Discovering Guardianship Is More Complex Than Expected

Many families assume guardianship simply allows them to “help out” an aging parent, but the legal reality is far more serious. Guardianship can remove rights involving finances, medical care, contracts, housing decisions, and other deeply personal areas of life, depending on the court order. Online discussions from caregivers and social workers show that families are often shocked to learn that guardianship does not automatically give unlimited control over another adult.

Supported Decision-Making Is Emerging as a Popular Alternative

Supported decision-making is becoming one of the fastest-growing alternatives under guardianship reform laws. Instead of transferring legal authority to someone else, supported decision-making allows individuals to retain their rights while receiving help understanding options and communicating decisions.

This approach works especially well for many older adults with mild cognitive decline or individuals with developmental disabilities who still want to participate actively in their lives. The American Bar Association and several state legislatures now encourage courts to prioritize supported decision-making whenever appropriate before imposing guardianship restrictions.

Guardianship Reform Is Changing How Families Plan for Aging

More often than not, judges have started turning to less-restrictive alternatives to traditional guardianship. The goal is to preserve independence whenever possible. That said, at the same time, updated power-of-attorney laws are encouraging families to create more thoughtful, detailed legal plans before emergencies happen. When it’s all said and done, these reforms should reduce unnecessary loss of rights while still protecting vulnerable adults from exploitation or neglect. 

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Guardianship Reform Arrives: Judges Must Try Less-Restrictive Alternatives, and Power-of-Attorney Forms Get a Major Overhaul 

Johnson’s guardianship reform approved by state Senate

December 18, 2025 

LANSING, Mich. — Sen. Ruth Johnson’s legislation to reform the state’s guardianship laws and help protect vulnerable individuals and their homes from guardians who might not be acting in their best interest was passed by the Michigan Senate on Thursday.

“I have spoken with dozens of families who have watched helplessly as a loved one was removed from their home without a hearing, without notice and without a voice,” said Johnson, R-Holly. “Often their home was then sold for well below market value, and the families had no recourse. The best interests of our most vulnerable residents — not the convenience of their guardians — should drive important decisions like moving someone out of their home and selling their house.”

Johnson’s measure, Senate Bill 586, would ensure that a protected individual’s living arrangements are truly in their best interest. Under the bill, a guardian would not be allowed to change an incapacitated person’s residence without court approval after demonstrating the move is necessary and appropriate for the individual’s needs.

SB 585 would require a licensed appraiser to appraise the value of a protected person’s home prior to any sale of that property.

“We must help protect those who cannot protect themselves,” Johnson said. “There is not enough accountability or oversight in our guardianship system. I will continue to fight for meaningful reform, and this is a great first step.”

The bills now head to the House of Representatives for consideration.

Source:
Johnson’s guardianship reform approved by state Senate

Major Guardianship Reform in Pennsylvania Strengthens Due Process and Oversight

Written by:  Offit Kurman

The law governing guardianship in Pennsylvania has recently seen its most meaningful update in years, truly emphasizing less-restrictive options and ensuring due process protections for adult individuals who may need guardianship over their person and financial affairs. The court may only act after clear and convincing evidence of incapacity and need, and if the person has not retained counsel, the court must appoint an attorney for the initial adjudication and any later proceeding, to modify or terminate the guardianship. Counsel’s role is client-directed advocacy (expressed wishes). Counsel must meet the client promptly and file a short certification of that meeting and counsel may not serve as guardian ad litem.

The General Assembly also codified a robust “least-restrictive alternative” test. A finding of incapacity alone does not justify a transfer of rights; the court must make on-the-record determinations that less-restrictive supports (e.g., supported decision-making, POA authority, representative payee, targeted services) will not suffice. In practice, your petition should document what was tried, by whom, when, and why it failed; otherwise limited relief (or no relief) is likely.

A major structural change is the automatic review hearing. If the evidence at the initial hearing indicates the person’s circumstances may change, the court must set a review date in the order and hold that review within one year; any interested person may also petition later to modify or terminate.

The statute now requires certification for high-volume individual appointees: before accepting a third active appointment, the individual must be certified (with the Supreme Court to prescribe rules, renewals, and proof), and courts may consider waiver requests for equivalent credentials.

Procedurally, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s December 18, 2024, amendments modernized forms and aligned practice with the statute. The practitioner will want to pull the newest packets before filing and calendar post-appointment reporting through the statewide Guardianship Tracking System (GTS).

Finally, remember that Pennsylvania policy favors tailored relief, and the court will seek the least restrictive means when evaluating an alleged incapacitated individual. Propose narrowly drawn powers, preserve rights wherever possible, and build a record showing why specific alternatives won’t meet the person’s needs. Courts and court resources now expressly highlight Supported Decision-Making as part of that analysis, so address it head-on in your petition and at hearing.

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Major Guardianship Reform in Pennsylvania Strengthens Due Process and Oversight 

Why Guardianship Reform Is a Civil Rights Imperative

by James A. Lomastro

Nationally, Mother Jones reports, over one million adults are currently under guardianship. This is an invisible civil rights crisis—hidden in plain sight.

Having a guardian affects a person’s fundamental right to live in a community, make decisions about their life, and remain free from unnecessary confinement. While the “Free Britney” movement briefly made “guardianship” and “conservatorship” household words, most people who are affected have far fewer resources to recover their rights than Britney Spears.

For far too long, our society has tolerated a guardianship system that systematically strips civil rights from those who are most vulnerable—the poor, people with disabilities, the unhoused, and those without adequate legal representation.

The time has come, however, for comprehensive reform recognizing guardianship not as a routine administrative process but as a valued and necessary intervention to be used only as a last resort. Fortunately, more effective alternatives exist that prioritize individual autonomy and community integration.

How Guardianship Fails the Most Vulnerable

The current guardianship system is flawed and carries profound human consequences, as well as straining an already overtaxed healthcare system. A new report by the Massachusetts Guardianship Policy Institute indicates that an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 “unbefriended” or “unrepresented, at-risk” individuals in my home state “face significant risks to their health, safety, and well-being due to decisional incapacity and a lack of financial or social resources.”

In Massachusetts alone, as the new policy institute report details, thousands of medically stable individuals remain trapped in hospitals, nursing homes, and psychiatric institutions not because they require ongoing medical care but because they lack a legal guardian authorized to make decisions about their discharge and future care.

The Bay State’s experience is just one example of the devastating human and financial costs of systemic failure. While guardianship laws are often presented as tools for compassionate interventions, as implemented they frequently result in forced confinement in institutional settings in which patients may lack access to adequate care, housing options, or genuine recovery-oriented services.

Institutional Bias and Its Consequences

However, the root of this crisis lies in the legal system’s overreliance on guardianship to manage complex human needs. Rather than investing in robust community-based supports and social service workers, many jurisdictions default to institutionalization in long-stay residential facilities under the guise of protection and safety.

This approach creates a devastating cycle. Courts often appoint guardians who become risk-averse, are overwhelmed by caseloads, and/or are institutionally aligned with facility-based care providers. Guardians face no legal requirement to prioritize the least-restrictive alternative or to explore supported decision-making models that could preserve individual autonomy. Furthermore, minimal legal accountability or systemic pressure exists to expedite discharges or facilitate meaningful community integration.

These issues arise from four factors: First, deep-seated assumptions equate disability or aging with incompetence. Second, people are often placed under guardianship without adequate legal representation, a full understanding of the proceedings, or a meaningful opportunity to contest the decision. Third, once guardianship is established, ongoing supervision is typically minimal. Finally, perhaps most troubling, is how difficult it becomes to restore rights once guardianship has been imposed. Even when a person’s circumstances change significantly—through improved health, new coping strategies, or enhanced support networks—the legal and practical hurdles to regaining autonomy are high.

Forging a Path Forward That Centers Dignity

Meaningful guardianship reform must begin with a fundamental shift in societal attitudes away from assumptions that equate disability or aging with incompetence. The Massachusetts Guardianship Policy Institute emphasizes the need for “person-centered” guardianship, characterized by understanding the individual, involving them in decisions, utilizing planning tools, spending meaningful time, adhering to court oversight, and seeking continuous quality-of-life improvement. This shift requires recognizing that autonomy and safety are not mutually exclusive. Rather than defaulting to protective custody, policy should seek to preserve individual agency and dignity.

The extraordinary authority granted to guardians over a person demands equally extraordinary accountability, transparency, and responsiveness, including:

• Regular review of guardianship arrangements with a presumption toward rights restoration
• Clear standards requiring guardians to pursue the least-restrictive alternatives
• Mechanisms for individuals under guardianship to easily challenge or modify their arrangements
• Training for judges, attorneys, and guardians on disability rights and supported decision-making

The establishment of oversight bodies like the Massachusetts Office of Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship Oversight represents progress, but more comprehensive accountability measures are needed.

Investment in Community-Based Alternatives

A crucial component of reform involves significantly expanding investment in community-based supports, especially social service workers, and alternatives to guardianship, such as supported decision-making (SDM), which has been used internationally for decades and is starting to be used more widely in the United States. SDM allows people to retain their legal rights while receiving assistance from trusted individuals they choose. This approach recognizes that many people need help understanding information or considering options, but that they can still make their own decisions when provided with appropriate support.

Legal reforms must ensure that guardianship truly becomes a last resort. Achieving this goal includes beginning with less-restrictive alternatives before guardianship can be imposed, ensuring qualified legal representation for all individuals facing guardianship proceedings, providing regular and accessible pathways for individuals to challenge or terminate guardianship arrangements, and offering clear timelines for guardianship reviews and rights restoration procedures.

Finally, the Guardianship Policy Institute’s research shows that increased state funding to eliminate waitlists and ensure timely access to services for all eligible individuals is not just morally imperative but fiscally responsible. Economic analyses by the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute and the American Bar Association in New York support potential annual savings of tens of thousands of dollars per person through effective guardianship programs.

A Nonprofit Role

Nonprofit organizations can also help transform the guardianship system. The success of initiatives like Public Guardian Services in Massachusetts—which operates a privately funded pilot program that offers social-work support for unrepresented individuals—shows the potential for nonprofit innovation in this space.

Nonprofits operating with the disability community could develop and expand guardianship services rooted in person-centered values that demonstrate how transparent and ethical oversight can be provided with a clear commitment to community integration. They are also uniquely positioned to educate service providers, families, legal professionals, and judges about SDM alternatives and help build the infrastructure needed to support the widespread adoption of these approaches.

Nonprofits can also engage in sustained legislative advocacy to reform the foundational assumptions embedded in guardianship law. Perhaps most importantly, they can work to ensure that the people most affected by guardianship are at the center of policy advocacy.

Too often, individuals under guardianship—or who are at risk of it—are excluded from discussions about the policies and practices that shape their lives. Nonprofits can create meaningful opportunities for self-advocates to speak, lead, and codesign solutions. These actions ensure that policy is grounded in lived experience and real-world wisdom rather than abstract discussions.

Toward a Rights-Respecting Future

Guardianship reform is not merely a technical legal issue—it is a fundamental question of how we treat those who are most vulnerable among us.

The current social service and legal system is biased toward institutionalization, which often amounts to the systematic removal of basic civil rights and a profound violation of human dignity. The path forward requires courage to challenge entrenched systems and assumptions. It demands investment in community-based alternatives that many jurisdictions have been reluctant to find. It requires a fundamental commitment to the principle that all people—regardless of disability, age, or circumstance—have the right to live with dignity and independently in their communities.

The policy ideas highlighted here are not merely aspirational but essential steps toward creating a society that truly values autonomy, inclusion, and human rights.

Every day that society fails to adjust guardianship policy, more individuals lose their liberty unnecessarily, more families are separated, and more communities are deprived of their members’ contributions. The Guardianship Policy Institute’s findings show that the current system’s poor outcomes are “unaffordable, both financially and in terms of human well-being,” underscoring the urgency of action.

The time for half-measures and incremental change has passed. Building a model that emphasizes professional, person-centered guardianship; sustainable funding; and comprehensive oversight offers a potential roadmap for transformation. 

Full Article & Source:
Why Guardianship Reform Is a Civil Rights Imperative 

‘Broken system’: AG’s office still pushing for guardianship reform

by: Susan Samples

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The prosecutor who heads up Michigan’s Elder Abuse Task Force says he won’t stop fighting to reform the state’s system for appointing guardians and conservators.

“You can take control over another human being’s life and their property and not have anything regarding certification or licensure,” said Scott Teter, chief of the Financial Crimes Division within the Office of the Michigan Attorney General. “That’s insane. … That system’s broken.” 

Target 8 first sat down with Teter in 2020 after a Grand Rapids woman was charged in Muskegon County with embezzling from the vulnerable adults whose money she controlled as their guardian.

Teter heads up the state’s Elder Abuse Task Force, which was launched by the attorney general’s office in 2019.

“You could be stocking the shelves at Walmart yesterday — no offense to those folks — but today, you could be a guardian if the judge appoints you,” Teter said in 2020. “That’s it. There’s no training required. There’s no certification. There’s nothing.”

At the time, Teter touted efforts underway to reform the state’s system for appointing guardians and conservators by plugging loopholes and beefing up safeguards.

Four years later, after Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker filed a criminal enterprise charge against public guardian Kimberley St. Onge, accusing her of embezzling from two of her wards, Target 8 checked back in with Teter to see if the Elder Abuse Task Force had succeeded in its mission.

“No. We’re not done yet,” said Teter in a Friday morning interview with Target 8 via Zoom. “We’ve presented legislation. I can’t pass legislation. I can draft it. I can consult with the 110 members of that task force to make sure we’ve looked at every possible angle to come up with the best system we can present.”

One such proposal would have required training and certification for guardians and conservators.

Right now, the rules vary from county to county, and the state dedicates no public funding for guardian and conservator programs.

“It’s pretty much been left up to the probate judges to sort of figure that out,” said Teter on Friday. “We proposed the Office of State Guardian (in 2023) that would step into this space and provide certification, oversight of public guardians and public funding at a cost of $10 million and could not get support for that.”

Teter says reform advocates encountered pushback from the guardian and conservator industry, the probate section of the Michigan Bar and probate court judges.

Judge David Murkowski, chief judge of the Kent County Probate Court, was among those who criticized some proposed reforms.

“The current legislation I do not believe, in its current form, provides meaningful, widespread protection to guarded individuals,” Murkowski testified in June 2023 before the Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety. “It overregulates professional guardians, and the legislation, in essence I think, is going to reduce the number of available fiduciaries to serve as guardians.”

Murkowski argued that reform advocates failed to present “empirical evidence to support the premise in the legislation that professional fiduciaries are responsible for — or are the perpetrators of — the lion’s share of exploitation and require additional regulation.”

Murkowski pointed to published statistics showing family members are responsible for substantially more financial exploitation of elders than professional guardians.

“So, when I consider who is committing financial exploitation and review the proposed legislation, things seem a little upside down,” Murkowski testified. “Because the legislation is not focused on who’s committing the lion’s share of the exploitation, which is regrettably family members.”

Murkowski said he fears proposed reforms will make it even harder to recruit public guardians, a task that’s already difficult.

“The need for both family and professional guardians is great, and this need is not going to diminish,” Murkowski told the committee. “Almost every probate court has a waiting list to look for a guardian. … What will be the result if guardianship is more difficult to secure? One, we’re going to have an increase in homelessness. Two, we’re going to have a flooding of missions and shelters.”

There has been some progress made in the reform effort, according to Teter.

“In those five years, we’ve made banks and credit unions mandatory reporters for financial exploitation,” Teter told Target 8. “We redid the entire power of attorney bill. … We also just this past spring got adopted the bill to make financial advisors and security brokers mandatory reporters to try to figure out: Where are the piles of cash, and how do we get alerted if somebody tries to steal it? So those things were big wins.“

Teter says reform advocates plan to reintroduce proposed reforms this legislative session, including the creation of the Office of the State Guardian.

The AG’s office reports that more than 73,000 older adults in Michigan are victims of elder abuse. If you’re seeking resources or if you’ve experienced or witnessed elder abuse, you’re urged to call 800.242.2873 or 855.444.3911.

Full Article & Source:
‘Broken system’: AG’s office still pushing for guardianship reform

Guardianship Reform in The Virgin Islands

Guardianship is a vital legal mechanism designed to safeguard vulnerable adults who are unable to manage their own affairs due to various reasons. Yet, its implementation often poses challenges, raising concerns about the protection of individual rights and preventing potential abuse. The Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act (UGCOPAA) emerges as a beacon of reform, addressing these complexities and ensuring a balanced approach that prioritizes both protection and empowerment.

AARP VI is urging our elected officials to pass the Uniform Guardianship Act. The hearing for the Guardianship Reform Bill presented by AARP is set for hearing on May 24^th in the Virgin Islands Legislature. This bill will protect and empower Virgin Islanders to have greater agency in their individual rights.

Traditionally, guardianships have been characterized by their dual nature—intended to protect while also potentially restricting personal freedoms. The recent spotlight on high-profile cases like that of Britney Spears has underscored the need for comprehensive reform within the guardianship system. UGCOPAA acknowledges this necessity by emphasizing the rights of individuals under guardianship, striving to make it a last resort rather than a default option.

One of the significant advancements brought by UGCOPAA is its focus on alternatives to full guardianship. By encouraging exploration of less restrictive options, the Act aims to empower individuals and preserve their autonomy whenever possible. This approach respects the dignity of those under guardianship and fosters better outcomes while reducing the burden on the judicial system in the long run.

Moreover, UGCOPAA introduces stringent requirements for guardians, ensuring they understand their responsibilities and act in the best interests of those under their care. From enhanced notice to third parties to detailed reporting and decision-making standards, the Act strengthens oversight and accountability within the guardianship process.

Crucially, UGCOPAA embraces modern principles, eliminates outdated terminology, and recognizes the evolving dynamics of familial and support structures. By expanding the pool of potential guardians beyond traditional family ties, the Act acknowledges the concept of "chosen family" and promotes inclusivity in decision-making processes.

Furthermore, UGCOPAA empowers courts to tailor orders to meet the unique needs of vulnerable individuals, providing flexibility beyond conventional guardianship arrangements. This adaptability allows for more nuanced approaches that consider the specific circumstances of each case, promoting greater effectiveness and fairness.

In essence, UGCOPAA represents a significant step forward in guardianship reform, striving to strike a delicate balance between protection and autonomy. By prioritizing the rights of individuals under guardianship, enhancing oversight mechanisms, and embracing modern principles, the Act seeks to ensure a more equitable and respectful guardianship system for all involved.

As communities continue to grapple with the complexities of caregiving and guardianship, understanding and supporting initiatives like UGCOPAA are crucial steps toward fostering a more just and compassionate community here in the Virgin Islands.

Full Article & Source:
Guardianship Reform in The Virgin Islands

Restoring rights — a path towards guardianship reform

by Grace W. Orsatti

Personal autonomy is a right so basic it is often taken for granted. Yet state courts routinely appoint guardians for individuals deemed incapable of making their own personal decisions, stripping them of their personal autonomy. Recently, however, thanks to Brittney Spears, Michael Oher, and other high-profile exposés, the power of court-appointed guardianships to restrict rights and civil liberties has captured the attention of lawmakers who are now positioned to implement much-needed reform.   

Guardianship adjudications do not necessarily require findings that the ward be unconscious or have advanced dementia. A variety of factors along the continuum of mental and physical decline can lead to a judicial determination that guardianship is warranted — even when the ward appears in court and testifies otherwise. Where a full or plenary guardianship is granted, the guardian may be granted complete control over every intimate health and welfare decision. Predictably, unscrupulous guardians have abused this immense and often unfettered power, to the detriment of the susceptible individuals in their control. Investigations have revealed widespread abuse and exploitation among guardians, from failure to properly provide for the ward’s personal preferences and health needs, isolation of the ward from family, disregard of the family’s wishes, and neglect or abuse.

To avoid guardianship, the Uniform Law Commission recently approved a new Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act (2023) that empowers individuals to exercise control over their own health decisions. The new act reaffirms the importance of preparing plans — in advance of a mental or physical health crisis — to retain as much decision-making authority as desired. The act recognizes that individual decision-making should be respected and supported where possible, and that viable, less restrictive alternatives to guardianship exist along the continuum of capacity. To that end, the act authorizes individuals to prepare instructions specifying their own preferences for how care decisions should be made, and makes it easier to prepare health care power of attorney documents appointing a trusted health care agent to make decisions on one’s behalf, where necessary. In so doing, the UHDA recognizes the valuable role of friends, family, or others who support an individual in making care decisions, permitting such supporters and advocates to assist in both preparing and carrying out the care recipient’s wishes and instructions.  

Within a health care power of attorney document, a care recipient may choose to give their agent power to make every health and welfare decision. However, powers of attorney can also be drafted by the care recipient to retain for themself as much autonomy as desired. This can be done, for example, by placing limits on the grant of decision-making authority, or specifying that the agent will assume a supportive role but will not usurp the decision-making authority of a care recipient who is able to make their own choices. Incorporating such supported decision-making options recognizes that lapses or limitations in decision-making capacity do not necessarily prevent all decision-making. Instead, such arrangements allow the care-recipient to maintain some autonomous decision-making where feasible and with appropriate support.  

To account for the possibility of eventual mental or physical decline, a health care power of attorney can also grant progressively increasing decision-making powers to the agent, that are triggered only if the care recipient’s condition deteriorates or declines. For example, within the power of attorney document (or series of documents), the increased grant of power to the agent might take effect only under certain conditions. In such cases, the health care agent need only make decisions when the care-recipient is unable to do so, and can otherwise take on a supportive role when the care-recipient can make their own decisions. Moreover, the new UHDA recognizes the discretion of medical professionals to find that the patient — with support if necessary — may be capable of making some decisions about their care, if not others, and that decision-making ability, even if limited, should be respected. State legislatures would do well to adopt this new act. 

To be sure, health care powers of attorney may be not be effective or suitable for every circumstance, and in some instances other arrangements, including guardianship, are warranted. In such cases, limited guardianships allow the care recipient to retain some autonomy over decisions they are capable of making, and provide a viable alternative to the total loss of liberty and control that comes with a full guardianship. Yet under some circumstances, full decision-making authority must be given to a guardian for reasons of health and safety. In such cases, adequate guardrails can ensure that susceptible people who lack capacity to make decisions for themselves are not unfairly deprived of their liberties, dignity and autonomy, or victimized by unscrupulous guardians. The Guardianship Bill of Rights Act recently introduced by Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), aims to address the problem of guardianship abuse by curtailing unnecessary guardianships, bolstering guardianship alternatives, and protecting the civil rights of those in guardianships.

The UHDA and the Guardianship Bill of Rights Act tackle the problem of guardianship abuse and overuse on two fronts, and together can dramatically increase the scope of protection for those who may need decision supports but not the restrictions of guardianship, and for those in guardianship proceedings whose human dignity must be protected. If enacted, these two complimentary pieces of legislation will help to address guardianship’s shortcomings at the state and federal level, safeguarding the right of each of us to make our own decisions about our health and welfare, for an uncertain future. 

Grace W. Orsatti is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Thomas R. Klline School of Law of Duquesne University where she directs a legal clinic focusing on estate planning, incapacity planning, and alternatives to guardianship.

Full Article & Source:
Restoring rights — a path towards guardianship reform

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Health-Care Decisions Act

ABA Adopts Policy on Guardianship Bill of Rights and Due Process Protections

By, Erica Costello, Senior Attorney, American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging

At the ABA Annual Meeting in August of 2023, the House of Delegates unanimously passed Resolution 506, urging national, state, local, territorial, and tribal law and policy-making bodies to adopt the provisions of the “Guardianship Bill of Rights,” promulgated by the National Guardianship Network (NGN) in 2022, and to protect the right to Due Process in guardianship proceedings. The adoption of this Resolution furthers the ABA’s on-going guardianship reform efforts and recognizes the importance of having meaningful due process protections in guardianship and conservatorship proceedings.

Resolution 506 was co-authored by the ABA Commission on Law and Aging (COLA) and the ABA Section on Civil Rights and Social Justice and is based upon recent recommendations from a taskforce established by the NGN.  The NGN is comprised of representatives from various member organizations that advocate for quality guardianship practices and procedures, including ABA COLA and the ABA Section of Real Property, Trust, and Estate Law.  

In May of 2021, the NGN convened the Fourth National Guardianship Summit, virtually hosted by the Syracuse University College of Law. The purpose of the Summit was to review current guardianship policies and practices and make recommendations for reform over the next decade. At the Summit, 125 delegates adopted twenty-two (22) recommendations for guardianship reform—including Recommendation 1.1, which called upon the NGN to convene a task force to draft a model national Bill of Rights for adults subject to a guardianship.[1]

Following the Summit, the NGN established a task force in 2022 to create the first model national “Guardianship Bill Rights.”  The task force, including members from national disability and aging organizations, individuals at risk or subject to guardianship, and family and professional guardians, created a model document affirming the rights of adults who have a guardian, including the right to an attorney to advocate for the outcome they want, the right to be present and participate in all court hearings, and the right to keep all rights not granted to their guardian.[2] The document also affirmed other access to justice rights, core human rights, and decision-making rights that should be afforded to adults at all times when they have a guardian.

Resolution 506 was drafted and passed following the NGN taskforce’s recommendations, urging law and policy-making bodies to enact the NGN’s “Guardianship Bill of Rights,” as well as take necessary steps to ensure meaningful due process in guardianship and conservatorship cases. All too often stories in the news media report that individuals are placed under unnecessary guardianships because of a lack of fundamental due process protections, including the failure to have counsel appointed to represent the individual, the failure to receive notice of the hearing or be heard by the court, and the failure to confront or cross examine witnesses to the case. It is imperative that individuals subject to guardianship or conservatorship proceedings have the right to present a guardianship defense and be provided with meaningful due protections, even if such protections are not explicitly provided in state statutes.

There are currently only eleven states that have statutory provisions providing a “Bill of Rights” for individuals subject to guardianships or conservatorships, or have language specifying rights retained by persons in guardianship or conservatorship cases.[3]  While these statutes typically recognize basic due process protections afforded to all adults subject to guardianship or conservatorship proceedings, they may not encompass all of the protections recognized by the NGN’s “Guardianship Bill of Rights.” As such, the NGN’s “Guardianship Bill of Rights” provides law and policy-making bodies with an excellent model to consider adopting or take into consideration when amending existing statutes.

The passage of Resolution 506 is a huge step towards improving current guardianship policies and practices across the country.  It encourages the adoption of the NGN’s model “Guardianship Bill of Rights” and provides a template for protecting the rights of individuals subject to guardianship or conservatorship proceedings. It also seeks to ensure meaningful due process protections for anyone whose rights are at risk in such proceedings. The provisions in Resolution 506 are especially important for protecting individuals who have a conservator or guardian appointed by the courts.

[1] Fourth National Guardianship Summit: Maximizing Autonomy and Ensuring Accountability. Recommendation 1.1.  Fourth-National-Guardianship-Summit-Adopted-Recommendations-May-2021-1.pdf

[2] For a complete list of the rights adopted by the NGN: NGA-Bill-of-Rights-rev-11-4-22.pdf (guardianship.org)

[3] Arkansas (Ark. Code Ann. § 28-65-106), California (Cal. Prob. Code § 1835.5), Florida (Fla. Stat. Ann. § 744.3215), Iowa (Iowa Code Ann. § 633.637A), Michigan (Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 700.5306a), Minnesota (Minn. Stat. Ann. § 524.5-120), Missouri (Mo. Rev. Code § 475.361), Nevada (Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 159.327-8), South Carolina (S.C. Code Ann. § 62-5-304A), Texas (Tex. Est. Code Ann. §1151.351), and Utah (Utah Code Ann. § 75-5-301.5).

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ABA Adopts Policy on Guardianship Bill of Rights and Due Process Protections

Guardianship reform being considered in Michigan legislature

Jehan Crump-Gibson, managing partner of the Great Lakes Legal Group, explains the importance of understanding who is overseeing finances within a family and the need for reform for guardianship rules in Michigan

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Guardianship reform being considered in Michigan legislature

WLRN investigation featured in national conversation about guardianship reform

By WLRN NEWS STAFF

WLRN Investigation: Unguarded

When elderly people or those with disabilities or mental illnesses are placed under guardianship, their rights are removed. A legal guardian is appointed to make life decisions for them, including decisions about their personal finances. Without greater transparency and scrutiny on these legal arrangements, vulnerable people can become victims of fraud and abuse.

U.S. senators, attorneys, advocates and people who have been placed under guardianships, as well as their families, are calling for more transparency and scrutiny nationwide. They also recommend the embrace of less restrictive options than guardianships such as supportive decision making, in which people who are considered “incapacitated” or incapable of making decisions independently can do so with the guidance of people they trust.

“Unguarded,” a project from the WLRN News investigations team, along with a recent series from Bloomberg Law, in part prompted the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging to hold a March 30 hearing on guardianship programs, with an eye toward reforms.

Journalists from both news organizations shared their insights Tuesday morning during an hour-long episode of the national radio show 1A, produced by WAMU in Washington, D.C., as well as NPR.

WLRN’s Danny Rivero, who co-reported the project with reporter Joshua Ceballos, appeared on the program. Rivero advised people who might be considering placing a family member under guardianship to think ahead about how the arrangement might affect any real estate holdings the person might have.

If an elderly father comes under guardianship, for example, “all the decision making is removed from father, but also daughter, son, uncle, wife, everyone,” Rivero said on the show. “It's really incumbent on everyone, especially if you're proactively looking to put someone in guardianship, to get your affairs in order before you do so.”

During the show, listeners heard an excerpt from part two of WLRN’s investigation, in which Emma Ladson describes her astonishment when she learned that the Guardianship Program of Dade County sold her then-incapacitated mother’s Liberty City home for $31,000 in 2015.

The sale was to Gallego Homes, one of two real estate companies WLRN has identified as frequent buyers from the Guardianship Program. The other company was Express Homes. Both companies have family ties to City of Miami’s top attorney Victoria Méndez.

When the Guardianship Program took control of the Ladson home, Emma, who was living there with her mother, was evicted.

“Because she did not have her name on that deed, the court could just quickly move to get her out of there, even though the family had owned that home outright for years,” Rivero said. “That was the family home. … Four generations had been through that home. And then, from one day to the next, she was put out on the street. She ended up in a homeless shelter.”

One of the obstacles to reforming guardianship programs nationwide is a lack of transparency about how they operate. According to Bloomberg Law’s reporting, there are an estimated 1.5 million active adult guardianships in the U.S.

In Florida, guardianships have not been tracked statewide — until now. A new law passed last year requires a statewide registry and is slated to be available early next year.

On 1A, Rivero said the lack of a registry has alarmed the advocacy group AARP for years.

“Part of the complaint that they've had for a long time is they just don't know. They don't know how many cases are open in Florida,” Rivero said. “You'd have to go into the guts of local government, to go to each clerk's office. And then each one has its own system. It's just incredibly cluttered and hard to track.

“So, I mean, there is hope that the database will be step one toward enabling people to put more scrutiny on this,” Rivero said.

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WLRN investigation featured in national conversation about guardianship reform

Expert in self-determination for those with disabilities can speak on alternatives to guardianship

by  Mike Krings

LAWRENCE — Without alternatives to guardianship, people with disabilities and older adults and their families can encounter negative outcomes, according to a University of Kansas expert who has spent 20 years studying the self-determination of people with disabilities.

Karrie Shogren, Ross and Marianna Beach Distinguished Professor of Special Education and director of the KU Center on Developmental Disabilities, part of the KU Life Span Institute, offered testimony March 30 before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. U.S. Sen. Robert Casey Jr. (D-Pa.) introduced legislation that would expand access to less restrictive alternatives to guardianships and enhance protections.

“Defaulting to guardianship without considering alternatives sustains societal and institutional barriers rooted in prejudice and antiquated attitudes about the lack of decision-making capacities of people with disabilities that are not supported by research, advocacy or lived experience,” Shogren said.

Shogren is available to speak with reporters about proposed reforms to guardianship — sometimes called conservatorship — and how supported decision-making can serve as an alternative. She has published extensive research in disability rights, self-determination and related topics.

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Expert in self-determination for those with disabilities can speak on alternatives to guardianship

Lawmakers and activists renew fight for guardianship reform

by Anna Liz Nichols

Southfield — Family members who say their loved ones were victimized by predatory guardians in Michigan called for justice Tuesday at a news conference alongside state senators who are seeking to reform the system.

Sisters Chandra Drayton and Olivia McDavid drove from Tennessee to talk about their mother, Ernestine Drayton, who they said was put under a stranger's guardianship in Michigan behind closed doors in 2018.

"It felt like there was a ghost that all of a sudden dropped into our lives and decided the wanted to take our mother from us for no apparent reason," Chandra Drayton said.

Drayton said her mother died just weeks after a judge put her under the care of a guardian with no family members present. She said the guardian changed her mother's end-of-life advance directives to include a do-not-resuscitate order.

"She wasn't even 60 years old," Drayton said. "This is a woman that loved to cook, loved her grandkids. ... My mom was such a strong person."

Several other individuals told stories about relatives' care being usurped and pleaded for the public to recognize that a similar situation could affect anyone's family.

In Michigan, conservators and guardians can be appointed by a judge to manage the property and welfare of those deemed to be incapacitated to act in their own best interest. However, an 18-month Detroit News investigation published in March found evidence that the system, which has little oversight, has failed at offering protections for wards, their property and their families.

At the news conference, GOP state Sens. Ruth Johnson of Holly and Jim Runestad of White Lake detailed their effort to reintroduce bills that stalled and died in the Legislature in 2022. The bills aim to put checks and balances on a system they say has allowed abusive individuals to make money selling off wards' assets and alienating them from family members and proper care.

The bills will incorporate recommendations from the Michigan Attorney General's Elder Abuse Taskforce and address issues raised in The News' investigation, Johnson said.

"I think if these people that are exploiting others taking advantage of stealing their money, stealing their souls, if they can get away with it, they'll continue to," Johnson said. "We have a system that is broken. ... We need accountability. We need transparency. We need to protect our most vulnerable."

The legislation would require courts to have a physician or mental health professional assess a person before a guardian can be appointed and would require a judge's rationale for appointing a professional guardian rather than a family member.

Hearings to appoint guardians or conservators would also have to be recorded by courts and be made available to the public, under the legislation.

The legislation would create requirements for certification for guardians and put limits on the number of wards under an individual guardian's care.

With the proposed certification process, the legislation would ban individuals removed as public administrators by the Attorney General's Office from being appointed as professional guardians or conservators.

At the news conference, families said the reform legislation is critical to helping others avoid what they went through.

After her mother suffered a fall, Christine Abood said she went to an Oakland County courthouse to secure guardianship of her mother, Gloria Sullivan, in 2016, but was advised by an attorney that the judge "never gives guardianship to family."

"The judge did not allow me to speak. It took five minutes. My mother was not allowed to come. They said they didn't want to disturb her," Abood said, recounting the hearing that made a stranger the guardian of her mother.

Abood said her family was allowed supervised visitation with her mother only two times a month as the court-appointed guardian limited her family's ability to visit and call.

"They knew they were doing wrong, and they just would laugh about it, and it was just disgusting," Abood said

Drayton said the laws may not change in time to have an impact on her family, "but there's thousands of more victims and people out here that (are) going through it."

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Lawmakers and activists renew fight for guardianship reform

AARP Florida makes guardianship reform a top priority

Bill advocating major changes withdrawn before hearings

Full Story: https://wfts.tv/3YnXKEM AARP Florida announced in January that reforming professional guardianship is one of the organization’s top priorities during this year’s Florida legislative session.

By: Adam Walser

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — AARP Florida announced in January that reforming professional guardianship is one of the organization’s top priorities during this year’s Florida legislative session. 

But a proposed bill calling for major reforms was withdrawn from consideration Wednesday before it even came to a vote.

This is an issue the ABC Action News I-Team has been covering for nearly a decade in our ongoing series called “The Price of Protection”.

The Rebecca Fierle trial, which involved the death of a man under the care of a professional guardian, ended in a mistrial in September.

WFTS

Then in December, we reported how the Pinellas County Clerk’s Office released a scathing report outlining problems with professional guardian Traci Hudson's cases as she awaits trial on multiple felony charges.  

Those are just two recent examples of problems with Florida’s professional guardianship system. 

Florida AARP, the state’s largest organization, which advocates for people over 50, is hoping state leaders will address the problem.

The organization is making guardianship reform a top priority in this year’s legislative session. 

“The standards for guardians need to be scrutinized. And we need to make sure we’re only letting in the most trustworthy individuals who are going to be in these positions of care and responsibility,” said Karen Murillo, a former prosecutor who now serves as AARP’s Assistant State Director.  

About a hundred trained volunteers lobbied lawmakers on behalf of AARP during the weeks leading up to the session.  

“We need to be prioritizing meaningful reform in guardianship and making sure that we’re putting the protections in place to safeguard the rights and welfare of individuals under guardianship because they don’t always have the opportunity to advocate for themselves,” Murillo said.  

Guardianship is a legal process in which a judge can strip away a person’s rights if they are found to be incapacitated.  

“We’re talking about the right to choose where you live—the right to choose what health care you receive. The right to choose what property you keep or sell,” Murillo said.  

House bill 297, introduced by Florida Representative Mike Caruso, would “establish the visitation rights of the family of the person alleged to be incapacitated” with “presumption in favor of allowing visitation or other contact with the family.” 

Florida House of Representatives

Currently, professional guardians alone have the power to determine who can and can’t visit people under their care. 

“I never thought anything like this could happen,” said Dr. Lillie Sykes White said in a video shot by her niece Teresa Kennedy. 

In 2020, we told you how White’s guardian hid her and prevented her family from visiting her for years.

White died in January 2021 from COVID-19.

“She dies alone without her family knowing. And two weeks later, we find out,” Kennedy said.  

Caruso’s bill would have also required “full reevaluation of need for guardianship after a certain time” And would have reformed petitions for appointed, verified inventory and annual accounting requirements. 

But the bill was withdrawn Wednesday. Records show that no companion bill had been filed in the Florida Senate.

We contacted Caruso’s office Wednesday but have not heard back.

Despite significant reforms no longer being on the legislative agenda, AARP hopes to continue educating its members about how to avoid guardianship altogether.  

 “We want to make sure that when that’s happening it is the last resort. That we are exploring all the least-restrictive alternatives to that process before we ever get to the point of guardianship,” Murillo said.  

Here are links to find free AARP resources regarding power of attorney agreements, living will, health care surrogacy, and other issues that can help you and your loved ones avoid ending up in a court-ordered guardianship.

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

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AARP Florida makes guardianship reform a top priority

Borrello takes up issue of guardianship reform in NY

By Olean Times Herald staff

State Sen. Anthony Palumbo (left) and state Sen. George Borrello sit across from advocates of guardianship reform Thursday. Across the table are (from left) Teresa Kay-Aba Kennedy, Libra Max and Christine Montanti.

State Sen. George Borrello joined fellow Sen. Anthony Palumbo Thursday in hosting a forum in New York City to highlight the need for guardianship reform to protect vulnerable seniors and offer policy proposals for next year’s legislative session.

Earlier this year, Palumbo, R-Long Island, introduced Karilyn’s Law, which is named after Karilyn Montanti, a senior and victim of the guardianship system, whose loved ones have been denied due process rights to be heard and the right to an evidentiary hearing, which would simply allow family and friends to visit.

After the introduction of this legislation, Palumbo’s office received a number of emails and phone calls from throughout the state detailing the hardships families have experienced due to the current guardianship laws.

“It is truly heartbreaking to hear these stories, to talk to families who are unable to visit loved ones, especially older individuals in guardianship who have limited time remaining to see their children and grandchildren,” Palumbo said during the Guardianship Roundtable.

Borrello, R-Chautauqua County, said the government’s first duty is to protect the health and safety of its citizens.

“Guardianships can protect vulnerable seniors and incapacitated adults and children,” he said. “But just as a guardianship can be used as a shield to protect the vulnerable, and it can also be used as a weapon by feuding family members to punish their rivals.

“People deemed ‘incapacitated’ by a judge can have their homes sold and estates drained with complete disregard to whatever end-of-life decisions they made,” he added.

Advocates who spoke at the roundtable included Christine Montanti, daughter of Karilyn Montanti, Teresa Kay-Aba Kennedy and Libra Max, daughter of artist Peter Max.

“We have cases where adult children are being barred from seeing their sick and dying parents by a guardian,” Borrello continued. “Anyone who has sat vigil by the bedside or held the hand of a sick or dying loved one knows that is fundamentally wrong.”

The senator said testimony gathered will help in drafting legislation to reform the guardianship system to ensure accountability and protect vulnerable seniors from being victimized by unscrupulous court-appointed guardians and the system itself.

BORRELLO HONORS DANVILLE MAN

A Livingston County resident whose heroic actions helped save the life of a drowning man in the Niagara River was honored this week.

Sean Needham was presented with a New York State Senate Liberty Medal for the lifesaving assistance he rendered on Dec. 16, despite the risks it involved to his own life and safety. The medal is one of the highest civilian honors that a New York resident can receive and involves a months-long application process and approval by the Senate majority leader.

Needham, a commercial diver, was working with other members of the BIDCO Marine Group diving team repairing supports on the Niagara River’s Bird Island Pier when they heard a group of fishermen yelling and running towards the water with a life preserver.

“As soon as they realized someone was in trouble, Sean Needham and his colleagues didn’t hesitate; they sprang into action, jumping into the rescue boat to find the drowning individual. Upon reaching him, he resisted their rescue attempts,” Borrello said. “Knowing they only had minutes before hypothermia would take the man’s life, Sean dove into the fast-moving, frigid water where he was able to swim to the victim, get his arms around him, and pull him back to the boat.”

Once in the boat, Needham and his fellow divers worked to prevent the man from going into shock and hypothermia by dousing him with hot water to raise his body temperature. When they were back on land, EMS took over and transported the man to the hospital.

“At a time when it can be easy to get discouraged by a steady stream of bad news, Sean is an inspiring reminder that there is still good in the world,” Borrello said.

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Borrello takes up issue of guardianship reform in NY

Advocacy group calls for guardianship reform in PA

by Peyton Kennedy

CENTRE COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — PA ADAPT, an organization advocating for disability rights, is asking for a review of what they call “Pennsylvania’s broken guardianship system.”

When an individual lacks the capacity to make certain decisions, a substitute decision-maker, or “guardian”, can act on their behalf, according to the disability rights of Pennsylvania.

PA ADAPT said they’ve seen too many cases of guardianship being overused and abused. State and local offices, however, said the system is highly monitored to reduce risks of neglect or exploitation. 

“Everybody to the extent possible should have the right to make a decision for themselves,” Pam Auer, a member of PA ADAPT said.

“In a lot of these cases they’re putting people in long-term care facilities or congregate setting institutions where they don’t need that level of care,” Misty Dion, a member of PA ADAPT said.

The group is offering four recommendations, followed by other states:

(1) prohibit guardianships where less restrictive alternatives would meet an adult’s
functional needs;
(2) require specific court findings before certain critical rights (e.g., to marry, vote,
choose visitors) are abridged;
(3) require petitioners to state whether less restrictive alternatives have been tried and
justify any failure to do so;
(4) create mechanisms that adults subject to guardianship and others can use to trigger
modification or termination of an order.

The Centre County Office of Aging said promoting the least restrictive care is a priority already in place.

“Any time that we are providing services we’re looking to support the older adult and eliminate the risk to them and keep them as independent as possible,” Centre County Office of Aging Director Quentin Burchfield said. “We really look at what’s the least restrictive, and that’s required not only by us, by the state, but also by the courts.”

Burchfield said they’re highly regulated by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging.

In early June, PA ADAPT went to Harrisburg, demanding Governor Wolf take action to end the Department of Aging’s practices and develop an enforceable bill of rights.

In a statement to WTAJ, the Department of Aging said:

“The Department of Aging has a responsibility per the Older Adults Protective Services Act to reduce risks to older adults due to abuse, neglect, abandonment and exploitation. There are times when guardianship is one of the ways to reduce that risk; however the Department does not administer or oversee laws concerning guardianship.  The guardianship system and the application of its respective laws are solely under the authority of the Orphans Court.”

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Advocacy group calls for guardianship reform in PA