Léonie, whose mother suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease, struggles with an implacable, court-appointed guardian against the backdrop of centuries-old family myths and miscommunication.
Mama wants their story told but the courts demand that secrecy enshroud all guardianship records–forever.
After years of struggle and Kafkaesque frustration, and with the help of a brilliant, unconventional attorney, Léonie goes to war with the establishment in an attempt to help others find their way through the swamp of legal guardianship.
NOTE: This book is not yet in print. To be added to a notification list when the book is printed, please email the author at the following address: l.rosenstiel1@gmail.com
Attorney General Dave Clark of the 7th Judicial
District and 31st Judicial District Attorney General Lisa Zavogiannis
were in attendance at the October Elder Abuse Task Force meeting to
discuss matters related to legislative reforms, according to a news
release.
Gen. Clark was a guest speaker at the
meeting and addressed the topic of financial exploitation of the elderly
from a prosecutorial perspective.
“We are just
beginning to scratch the surface on this issue, but the taskforce is
taking the right steps to be able to appropriately identify and respond
to these types of issues,” Gen. Clark said. “We need to increase the
public’s awareness on the ease of reporting this issue and the
requirement to report this issue, and that there is a remedy once it is
reported.”
Zavogiannis was voted by her fellow district attorneys to serve on the
Elder Abuse Task Force, which focuses on the matter of financial
exploitation and works to provide a report to the governor and General
Assembly on the impact of financial exploitation and legislative
solutions to the issue. More recently, she was elected by the task force
members to serve as president, according to a release.
“Our goal, first and foremost, is to protect our state’s elderly
population and to make sure they have access to resources and support
should they feel taken advantage of or unsafe,” Zavogiannis said. “A key
element to this is response time. Creating a faster and more efficient
way for authorities to be alerted to a situation can allow for more time
to ensure the appropriate courses of action are being taken.”
The
Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference was created by the
General Assembly in 1961 to provide for a more prompt and efficient
administration of justice in the courts of the state. It is composed of
the elected District Attorneys General from the state’s 31 judicial
districts. www.tndagc.org
The Florida Supreme Court has disbarred an Orlando plaintiffs’ lawyer
after the court said he intentionally deceived a trial court and his
former wife about his income.
Karl Koepke, a practicing attorney since 1965, is known for wrongful
death, injury and medical malpractice suits. He filed false statements
with a trial court, failed to produce subpoenaed documents, then moved
$400,000 to a trust so that his ex-wife could not reach it, the high
court said in an opinion posted Thursday.
The opinion overrides a Florida Bar referee who had recommended a one-year suspension from law practice.
“In reaching the conclusion that Mr. Koepke must be disbarred, we are
mindful that divorce proceedings can bring out the worst in people,”
Justice John Couriel wrote for the court. “Yet even at one’s worst, we
expect a lawyer’s oath to mean something. Indeed, we expect the oath to
mean something then, especially.”
“I have no comment, but I will say that I have ultimate confidence in
our American judicial system,” Koepke said Thursday when reached by
telephone.
Koepke, who was selected for recognition by the Super Lawyers website
in 2009-2011, and his wife divorced in 1990. In 2014, Koepka fell
substantially behind in alimony payments, and his ex-wife filed a motion
for contempt, seeking $88,000 in arrearages, the court explained. While
that was pending, Koepke settled a personal injury case that entitled
him to $400,000 in attorney fees, the court explained.
When his former wife’s attorney got wind of that, he requested
documents about the settlement and fees. Koepke initially refused to
produce them, the court said. After the trial court ordered him to do
so, he filed a fee agreement but not the settlement agreement. Ten days
later, Koepke filed a document stating flatly that there was no
settlement.
After being ordered to appear in court, with the file on the personal
injury case, he showed up – without the file, the high court said.
After a recess, Koepke returned to the witness stand with the file and
the judge found the settlement agreement.
“Undeterred, Mr. Koepke made a series of still more consequential
decisions,” Justice Couriel wrote, referring to a $400,000 trust the
lawyer set up for himself and his grandchildren.
A week later, Koepka offered his ex-wife a settlement of $100,000 if
she would drop all pending court actions, including a contempt-of-court
motion. She refused. The trial judge found Koepke guilty of criminal
contempt and sentenced him to 30 days in jail.
“The trial court found that he was untruthful and intentionally
misleading in his discovery responses to the former wife to delay and
obfuscate the former wife’s discovery of the settlement agreement in the
personal injury case,” the Supreme Court opinion noted.
The trial judge referred Koepka to the Bar for disciplinary review.
After the Bar recommended disbarment, Koepke filed his response to the
Supreme Court four days late. He was directed to file again, but he
again missed the deadline – by 61 days, the court said.
“Disbarment is the appropriate sanction for Mr. Koepke under our case
law and the standards,” the Supreme Court said in its opinion. “His
conduct demonstrated a willful lack of candor with the court and abuse
of the legal process. We focus on the intentionality of his actions, his
selfish motive, and the serious, adverse impact that his actions had on
the parties and underlying case.”
Disbarment, rather than suspension, is appropriate when the attorney
“caused serious, rather than nonserious, interference with a legal
proceeding or when the attorney knowingly violated a court order for his
benefit.”
The lawyer abused the legal process and cost more than 100 hours of
attorney time and “hours upon hours” of court time to resolve the
matter, the justices noted, quoting from the trial judge’s opinion.
The disbarment is effective in 30 days, giving Koepke time to close
out his practice and protect the interest of existing clients.
The court has yet to issue a decision on another attorney that the
Florida Bar has moved to disbar. Scot Strems, of Miami, has been accused
of filing thousands of unnecessary lawsuits against insurers in
property claims disputes, along with other violations.
The court on Thursday did post changes to its rules of civil procedure, available here.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — Pa. Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Thursday his office has filed charges
against a Pa. caregiver for stealing personal information of several
intellectually disabled clients to fraudulently apply for and receive
almost $90,000 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) funding.
The Grand Jury found that Nelson Fornah, of Darby, Delaware County,
used stolen and false information of seven clients under his care across
Delaware and Montgomery Counties to apply for and receive $89,418.82 in
PUA benefits. The jury says he stole thousands of dollars of funds
trying to assist people in Pa. who truly need it.
“As a caregiver, this defendant was responsible for supporting adult
individuals with disabilities in order to help them build trust and
communicate with others. Instead, he used his position of trust to take
advantage of his victims and steal their personal information for his
own gain” AG Shapiro said. “We are working nonstop to track down people
who undermine the public by breaking the law and committing fraud.”
Shapiro says the scheme started in July 2020, and Fornah used fake email
addresses for the victims but used his own phone number. He said when
Fornah would get the loaded U.S. Bank cards, the accounts were quickly
depleted in various locations in eastern Pa.
In December 2020, Pa. Dept. of Labor and Industry requested more
verification for the PUA accounts. The Grand Jury learned the department
utilized ID.me, a third party to reduce fraud. They said the calls had
the victims on the screen but that Fornah was the one talking for them
off-camera. They said the victims looked confused and unaware.
Shapiro says Fornah was denied PUA benefits with his own information
when it was found he was employed. When L&I rejected the
application, Fornah lied to apply for the standard unemployment
compensation and got over $14,000. He said Fornah attempted to use his
victims’ information to get compensation in New Jersey.
The case was investigated by the Office of the Attorney General and
U.S. Dept. of Labor Office of Inspector General, U.S. Postal Service
Office of Inspector General and U.S. Social Security Administration
Office of Inspector General.
The Grand Jury recommended Fornah be charged with Identity Theft,
Dealing in Proceeds of Unlawful Activity, Unlawful Use of a Computer,
Criminal Use of a Communications Facility, Access Device Fraud,
Tampering with Public Records, Theft by Deception and Criminal Attempt
to Commit Theft by Deception.
MARLBORO COUNTY, S.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) – The second-in-charge at
the Marlboro County Probate Judge’s Office is no longer with the office.
A call to Judge Mark Heath’s office Friday morning confirmed Deputy
Probate Judge Tammy Bullock is no longer with the office.
A woman who answered the phone in the judge’s office confirmed
Bullock no longer worked there. The woman did not identify herself and
hung up on FOX 46 Chief Investigator Jody Barr when asked when Bullock
resigned.
Marlboro County Deputy Probate Judge Tammy Bullock points her cell phone
out of the front door of the courthouse on Sept. 24, 2021appearing to
photograph FOX 46 Chief Investigator Jody Barr outside the courthouse.
(WJZY Photo/Jody Barr)
Follow-up calls to the office were not answered.
Bullock is currently the subject of a criminal investigation by the
State Law Enforcement Division and a South Carolina Supreme Court Office
of Disciplinary Counsel investigation after FOX 46 aired an
investigative series titled ‘Final Disrespects’ on Oct. 5.
The series detailed criminal allegations against Bullock and others
who plundered through Hollis Slade’s home in January 2021. Slade died on
Jan. 23 and security camera recordings at his home captured audio and
video of Bullock and the group discussing searching Slade’s home for a
will. The videos showed members of the group walking out of the home
with property.
Bullock is also accused of impersonating a probate judge when she met with Slade’s family on Jan. 24; the day after his death.
This all happened over the course of two days in January while
Slade’s wife, who suffers from severe dementia, was inside the home.
Bullock and the group never responded to multiple requests to
schedule interviews with FOX 46 to explain what happened in those
videos.
On Oct. 18, Judge Heath asked the state Supreme Court to reassign
Slade’s probate case to another county after Heath wanted to recuse
himself from Slade’s estate case. Heath had already spent nearly nine
months presiding over the case despite knowing of the allegations
against his deputy judge since at least Jan. 29.
Slade’s neighbor, Bobby Norris, told Judge Heath about the criminal
allegations against Bullock and the videos during a Jan. 29 phone call.
Heath told Norris he’d investigate the allegations, but Norris said he
never heard anything further from Heath.
Marlboro County Probate Judge Mark Heath gives a “No comment” response
to questions about his knowledge of criminal allegations made against
his deputy probate judge, Tammy Bullock during this Sept. 1, 2021
interview at his courthouse office. (WJZY Photo/Stewart Pittman)
Heath swore Bullock into office seven weeks later, granting her full judicial powers in his absence.
Bullock and Heath attended a South Carolina Association of Probate
Judges conference at a Myrtle Beach resort this week. Our investigation
found Bullock attended the first day of the three-day conference but
left the resort after our arrival. Bullock missed two of the three days
and the resort confirmed Bullock never checked out of her hotel room for
the final two days of the conference.
The conference provided up to 12 continuing legal education, or CLE,
hours for all elected probate and appointed probate judges in the state.
State regulations require all probate judges to earn 15 CLE hours each
year.
We attempted to interview Heath inside the resort at 10:30 Wednesday
morning as he waited on an elevator. “No comment,” Heath said as the
door closed.
About 30 minutes later we video recorded Heath and a woman carrying
luggage through the parking lot and loading it into a vehicle registered
to Heath. We followed Heath as he left the resort and got onto the
highway out of Myrtle Beach.
Heath attended only 30 minutes of the final day of seminars at the
conference. Heath was not in the office Friday morning when we called to
ask about Bullock’s employment status.
On Feb. 5, Bennettsville Police charged Bullock with pointing and
presenting a firearm during an argument with her roommate. Bullock was
never arrested in the case after city police investigators chose to
charge Bullock under a city ordinance instead of the state’s criminal
code.
Bullock was issued a criminal citation on a state traffic summons.
Bullock’s trial on that charge is set for Nov. 16 in Bennettsville.
South
Carolina Secretary of State records show Marlboro County Deputy Probate
Judge Tammy Bullock was issued this oath of office on March 15, 2021.
(Source: South Carolina Secretary of State’s Office)
Following our Final Disrespects series, the South Carolina Supreme
Court’s investigative unit, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, sent
subpoenas to the Bennettsville Police Department seeking records in
Bullock’s prosecution. The unit also sent subpoenas to the Marlboro
County Probate Judge’s Office; sources familiar with that office told
Barr.
The ODC acts as a “screening and investigating” arm for the South
Carolina judicial system for investigations involving misconduct
allegations against lawyers and judges in the state. The agency has the
authority to prosecute misconduct complaints.
The Supreme Court would not confirm the existence of an investigation
in an emailed response to FOX 46 received Oct. 13, “Court rules
prohibit us from confirming the existence of disciplinary investigations
while they are ongoing, so I will not be able to respond to your
request,” South Carolina Judicial Branch Public Information Director,
Ginny Jones wrote in the statement.
Court rules prohibit members of the Supreme Court and its employees
from confirming such investigations and violating the confidentiality
rule could result in a contempt of court charge for those state
employees.
“We have received a subpoena for records pertaining to the case and
we have fulfilled those particular subpoena needs, wants, and questions
regarding this case and that has been forwarded to our city attorney so
they can properly go through the channels to ensure that information is
given to that state agency,” Bennettsville Police Chief Kevin Miller
told FOX 46.
We asked Bullock multiple times for an interview throughout our
investigative series, but Bullock would not respond to any of our
requests.
Following our investigation into the Bullock weapon charge, Chief
Miller asked the State Law Enforcement Division to “review” his
department’s prosecution decisions. SLED declined Miller’s request.
Tammy Bullock posted this image to her Facebook account on March 15,
2021 celebrating being sworn into office as the Marlboro County Deputy
Probate Judge by elected Probate Judge Mark Heath. (Source: Facebook)
“At this time no information or evidence has been obtained to warrant
SLED opening a new criminal investigation into this matter. There is no
evidence to indicate anything improper was done by the arresting agency
or officers. Any cursory review of the initial arrest would be handled
by the City Attorney or Solicitor’s Office,” SLED spokesman Tommy
Crosby wrote in a response to FOX 46 seeking clarification on the
agency’s decision.
Fourth Circuit Solicitor Will Rogers said since his office performs
legal work for the county probate office it would not “be proper” for
his office to be involved in any investigation of Bullock. Rogers
directed the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office to send a separate
criminal investigation into Bullock to SLED in June citing a potential
conflict of interest between his office and the probate court.
The separate criminal investigation was presented to SLED in June and
it took the agency more than two months to officially open that
investigation into Bullock. In that case, Bullock is accused of
impersonating a judge, rummaging through a dead man’s home, and
participating in the removal of property from the man’s home in January
2021.
That man, Hollis Slade, died on Jan. 23. Security cameras outside
Slade’s Joyce Drive home captured Bullock and others searching the man’s
home looking for his will. The cameras also captured discussions
between Bullock and the group about keeping financial information they
found inside the man’s home from his family.
That investigation is still open at SLED.
Chief Miller is the only law enforcer in Marlboro County to agree to an interview regarding Deputy Probate Judge Tammy Bullock.
“This interview was important to me because let’s face it, I could
have hid behind a desk, I could have hid behind a phone; that’s very
easy to do is to hide. I’m out here in the open. I want people to know
this is the truth, these are the facts. The Bennettsville Police
Department is 100% acting in good faith with everything we’ve done,”
Miller told FOX 46.
Miller submitted the case to the city’s attorney’s office for review
and has requested the city attorney prosecute the case during the
scheduled Nov. 16 trial, “I will not hide behind a desk or a door or a
phone from anyone who has questions about anything pertaining to this
case. That is not who I am and that is not what this police department
represents,” Miller said.
Bullock will be tried in the Bennettsville municipal court. Her trial
date is currently set for Nov. 16, 2021. We will continue to follow the
prosecution and update our reporting.
The Alabama State Capitol.
Julie Bennett/Getty Images
An Alabama judicial ethics court unanimously voted to remove a
probate judge from office after he was accused of making racist and
sexist comments in the workplace.
Randy Jinks, 65, was elected to a 6-year term as a Talladega County probate judge in 2018. According to NBC News, he does not have a legal background, which is not necessary to become a probate judge in most counties in the state.
The
Alabama Court of the Judiciary said on Friday that Jinks violated the
state's "Canons of Judicial Ethics" in part by "failing to uphold the
integrity and independence of the judiciary and "failing to conduct
himself at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the
integrity and impartiality of the judiciary."
Jinks was first suspended from his position in March after a nearly 80-page document of allegations against him was released by the Judicial Inquiry Commission who evaluates complaints against Alabama judges.
The complaint against Jinks details several racist comments allegedly
said by Jinks at his office, none of which occurred in the courtroom.
One
incident, recorded by an employee, demonstrated Jinks talking about a
racist cartoon while on the phone that referenced the 2020 Black Lives
Matter protests.
"Y'all got to quit burning shit down," the
recording of him shows him saying, "You son of bitches are going to need
something to burn down after Trump gets re-elected for a second term,
son of bitches."
Another complaint against Jinks alleges he
accused the sole Black employee at his office, Darrius Pearson, of
selling drugs to pay for the car.
"I seen that car. I'm the judge and I can't even afford a Mercedes,"
Pearson alleges Jinks told him. "What are you doing? Selling drugs?"
While
the judicial ethics court found that some of the allegations against
him were not a violation, such as asking an employee if they
participated in a Black Lives Matter protest, its ruling said that other
comments were "completely inappropriate."
"Although the
complaint alleges 'racially insensitive behavior,' this Court is of the
opinion that Judge Jinks's conduct rose above racial insensitivity," the
court's ruling said.
Additionally, Jinks was accused of showing
coworkers a video of topless women along with allegations that he made
numerous sexual comments in the workplace, including a time when he said
he liked the way a woman "burnt his sausage."
Jinks was officially removed from office on October 29 . The court ruled he must also pay for the costs of the proceeding.
Police said Craig and
Keith Chapman's mother was found in an upstairs bedroom of their home
covered in various bodily fluids in March.
by Emily Rosca
Craig and Keith Chapman (left to right) were arrested and charged with
criminal abuse or neglect of an elderly person on Tuesday. (Plainfield Police Department)
PLAINFIELD, IL — Almost seven
months after the death of an elderly Plainfield woman who was covered in
bodily fluids when police found her in her bed, her two sons were
arrested on outstanding warrants Tuesday and charged with criminal abuse
or neglect of an elderly person, Plainfield police said.
On
March 28, Plainfield officers responded to a report of an elderly woman
in need of medical attention at a home in the 15300 block of South
Route 59. When they arrived, police said they noticed an "overwhelming"
smell of urine and feces coming from inside the house. In an upstairs
bedroom, they found a 73-year-old woman lying in various bodily fluids.
Police
said Wednesday the woman, identified as MaryEllen Chapman, appeared to
be malnourished and unable to care for herself. She was taken to St.
Joseph Hospital in Joliet, where she later died.
Her sons, Craig and Keith
Chapman, lived with her at the house and identified themselves to the
police as their mom's primary caregiver. Officials said they interviewed
the brothers, who both said she had been in that condition for "an
extended period of time" and had not received medical care in several
months.
The Will County State's Attorney's Office approved two
counts of criminal abuse or neglect of an elderly person against the
Chapman brothers, officials said. They were arrested Tuesday.
Craig, 43, and Keith, 42, were taken to the Plainfield Police Department
for booking. They were unable to get the necessary bond of $25,000 per
person to post bail, police said, and were taken to the Will County
Adult Detention Facility.
A physician who sued a state probate judge has filed her first brief
with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals alleging that the court subjected
her elderly mother to torture and isolation while she was under
guardianship and simultaneously drained her estate.
Dr. Sheila Owens-Collins, who works as a pediatrician, sued Judge
Michael Newman in federal court last year after her mother, Mrs. Hattie
Owens, died while under court supervision in 2019 after allegedly being
forced into hospice.
“The problem with the guardianship program in Texas that I personally experienced
is that it is solely in the legal domain when many of the issues an
elderly individual faces are medical and social,” Owens-Collins told Dallas Express.
In Owens-Collins V. The Honorable Judge Michael Newman, the
doctor is appealing U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes’ decision to adopt
Magistrate Peter Bray’s June 17 recommendation that dismisses her
complaint with prejudice, which disqualifies the grieving daughter from
suing Newman again in federal court.
“The dismissal is a reflection of the lack of transparency in the
current system and what I believe is a predisposition for judges to
provide cover for their fellow judges,” Owens-Collins said in an
interview. “Judge Bray was dismissive of my grievances and loathed to
admit that the behavior in the courtroom and in many courtrooms are
consistent with estate trafficking.”
In her appeal brief, Owens-Collins’ allegations against Newman
include willfully ignoring the terms of her mother’s Last Will and
Testament, unilaterally altering her mother’s Last Will and Testament,
and allowing money from the estate to be paid to court officers without
addressing documented deficiencies in their performance.
Newman’s deadline for filing a response to Owens-Collins’ appeal brief is set for Nov. 8.
Recently, guardianship programs nationwide have been under fire as
Britney Spears’ conservatorship garnered international media attention.
According to media reports, the pop star was allegedly illegally forced
to use contraception against her will by her father, who was appointed
guardian by a Los Angeles Superior Court.
The next Free Britney rally is scheduled for Nov. 12 in front of the
Los Angeles Superior Court. Spears’ upcoming court date will determine
whether her guardianship, also known as conservatorship, should be
terminated.
In Owens-Collins’ case, an attorney unrelated to Mrs. Hattie Owens
was placed in charge of her care even though she named her daughter
power of attorney.
“I am a physician,” Owens-Collins said. “It is unfair for the
guardian to be required to visit the ward once per month, and the family
and friends are severely restricted from visiting daily. Dignity,
connection with families, autonomy, and self-reliance should never be
restricted or taken away.”
As previously reported in USA Today,
Mrs. Hattie Owens and her husband Emiel Owens amassed a modest fortune
that included two student housing properties in Prairie View, a 5,000
square foot home worth half a million dollars, two Mercedes Benz
vehicles, and a Porsche.
“Judge Newman was grossly negligent in allowing the unnecessary
depletion of my mother’s estate by $93,000,” Owens-Collins added.
The
Britney Spears proceeding has brought new attention to the power of
attorney. This is a legal arrangement that affects many people but is
not tracked at the national level.
Britney Spears and her ongoing legal drama on the power of attorney introduced the concept of the power of attorney to many.
The
definition of the power of attorney, also known as guardianship, varies
from state to state. In general, the power of attorney is a legal
arrangement in which a judge decides that he or she cannot control a
person’s health or finances and appoints a third party, often family or
friends, to handle those responsibilities.
People on social media in response to talk about adult guardianship involving Britney Spears Asked How many people are in the guardianship system?
question
Is the number of US power of attorneys tracked?
Source of information
answer
No,
the number of US power of attorneys is not tracked. Experts and groups
studying the power of attorney say that some states can provide reliable
data on the power of attorney, while others cannot.
What we found
Diane
Robinson, a senior court researcher at the National Court, said one of
the most common situations in the power of attorney system is when older
people have memory problems such as dementia. She also said that young
adults may be subject to adult guardianship.
“They
are usually due to severe mental illness, and sometimes severe
substance abuse disorders, which also applies to people with
intellectual disabilities,” Robinson explained. “And what else can
happen can be the result of traumatic brain injury. Therefore, if young
people participate in a guardianship or guardianship system, that is
usually one of these reasons. ”
The
guardianship system is permanent or temporary, depending on the
situation. And they can be limited. That is, parents focus on specific
areas where it is difficult for a person to make a decision. Persons
subject to adult guardianship may terminate the arrangement and petition
the judge to present their case.
There
is no national database to track the number of US power of attorneys
and guardianship. Naomi Khan, a law professor at the University of
Virginia, said the federal government did not require the state to
report the number of powers of attorneys.
“Some
states may have that information, but not all states,” Khan said. “And
there are very different estimates about the amount of money managed by
the power of attorney and how often the power of attorney is signed, as
well as how often the power of attorney ends. is.”
The National Center for Courts (NCSC), a non-profit organization focused on improving judicial administration, announced in 2016 Proceedings of approximately 1.3 million adult guardians or guardians
In the United States, we had a total of at least $ 50 billion in
assets. The group said the estimates are based on data given from nearly
one-third of US states.
“16 states have provided reliable data on the cases of adult guardians or guardians used to make national estimates.” NCSC said..
According
to Robinson, many states do not have a state-wide power of attorney,
and some data exists at the county level, so there is another challenge
to tracking the number of power of attorneys.
so 2018 report“There are often no data standards in the state that need to be collected and reported,” NCSC said.
That same year, the US Senate Special Committee on Aging Concluded with a report
“Few states can report accurate or detailed guardianship data, and few
figures related to the number of individuals subject to guardianship are
available.” One recommendation made by the Commission is that all
states are state-wide. Was to create a data registry for.
The lack of information on the total number of parents has been documented for over a decade. NS 2010 report
A study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a nonpartisan
parliamentary observer, found that there was no group in the United
States to track the number of power of attorneys.
“Our
investigation did not identify the total number of parents or public,
private, or non-governmental organizations that systematically track
allegations of parental abuse, neglect, or exploitation.” Report said..
“GAO has previously found that many of the courts investigated did not
track the number of parents in charge of surveillance.”
Kahn said the guardianship oversight requirements vary from state to state. In California,
Investigators will consider a guardianship system a year after it
begins. After that, the investigator visits the parents at least once
every two years.
While
the total number of power of attorneys in the United States is still
only estimated, Robinson said the state is improving the way it collects
information on the power of attorney.For example, she is in
Pennsylvania Guardianship tracking system..
“It’s
an area where many states are doing a really good job trying to do a
better job of collecting and maintaining that information,” she said.
