Guardian bill advances in the Senate and gives a flavor of the battle ahead

Posted on March 10th, 2009 – 9:06 PM
By James Shiffer

This afternoon, in the circular chamber known as Room 15 in the state Capitol, I watched the first round of what’s likely to be a spirited tussle over proposed restrictions on the power of guardians and conservators in Minnesota. Granted sweeping powers over the finances and lives of others, these court-appointed caretakers face little regulation in Minnesota. Motivated by tales of abuses of the vulnerable, advocates for seniors, the mentally ill and disabled want to change that.

They were buoyed by my Feb. 15 story about Peggy Greer, whose guardian and conservator spent $672,000 before she regained her rights. Those urging caution include professional guardians and conservators and attorneys who represent them in probate court.

Presented to the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, Sen. Mee Moua’s bill would set up a statewide registry of guardians and require professional guardians and conservators at for-profit ventures to be certified. It would also codify a bill of rights for wards and protected persons, and provision 10 of that list of rights consumed much of the discussion Tuesday. It involves the right to “unimpeded communication and visitation with persons of the ward or protected person’s choice”

That’s an open invitation to meth dealers, swindlers and abusers who want to prey on vulnerable people unable or unwilling to keep them out of their lives, said Robert McLeod, an attorney representing the Minnesota State Bar’s probate section.

“This bill of rights would give bad people the unrestricted right to the ward or protected person,” McLeod said. His conclusion was echoed by Eric Jonsgard, senior director at Lutheran Social Service, whose employees are frequently appointed as guardians and conservators.

Sitting in between McLeod and Jonsgard, Moua shook her head. Her bill, after all, is about amending the law to protect people from unscrupulous guardians and conservators, some of whom have barred concerned family members from contacting their aging or incapacitated loved ones.

“Just because we’ve given somebody a guardianship or conservatorship doesn’t mean we have the right to completely restrict people they speak to,” Moua said, her voice rising. “That’s the whole reason for this whole bill, because we’re dealing with people who don’t have ability to protect themselves.”

Moua, DFL-St. Paul, said she had met with critics of her bill and tried to satisfy their concerns, but she was clearly frustrated by their comments Tuesday. Nevertheless, with a few other technical concerns addressed, the committee voted to move the bill forward. Now it’s in the Senate Finance Committee. The House is considering a companion bill sponsored by Rep. Paul Thissen, DFL-Minneapolis.

2 Responses to “Guardian bill advances in the Senate and gives a flavor of the battle ahead”

  1. Debba99 Says:

    Thank you Senator Mee Moua, DFL-St Paul. Probate Courts across the Country
    are scandalized by the plundering of ’stranger’ court appointed Guardinas
    typically Attorneys that are cronies of the Judges in these courts. Probate Courts
    Family Courts and Juvenile Courts operate without Transparency. The ONLY
    courts with transparency are Adult motor vehicle/criminal
    courts. Do not think that your experience in traffic court
    is similar to these other courts that operate in ’secrecry’
    Secrecry promotes unscrupulous conduct.

    Judges are no more than mere mortals plaqued by temptations
    and bias like everyone else. They are ATTORNEYS politically appointed
    by the Executive Branch and politically approved by the Legislative
    Judicial Branch (all Attorneys) and they ARE
    politically influenced. This is a political system of
    cronyism. Vulnerable people with MONEY are being exploited
    and plundered by the legal loopholes afforded
    Guardians appointed by the court to have absolute control
    over their ‘wards’ rights and MONEY. Selling their homes
    right out from under them, displacing them into
    WAREHOUSE long term care facilties and billing
    the exhorbitant fees as if these funds were their
    personal ‘residual income accounts’ for services
    that are done FREE by volunteers!

    It has become so profitable in Probate Courts (the
    little State of CT has 117 Probate Courts!) this
    legal scamming has spilled over into Family Courts
    and Juvenile Courts stripping kids of their
    college funds and inheritances all under the guise
    of “proctecting them’ from fabricated documenation
    by the State Governments’ “Protective’ Agencies
    because these Government Agencies get between
    $40 and $65,000 per kid it ’snatches’ from their
    parents. They don’t want kids from ‘crack’
    environments………that’s why there are so
    many deaths with these children and complaints
    that DCF ignored warnings……..they want YOUR
    kids…..the good kids need fewer services and
    produce better ‘results’……makes their figures
    look good for Government Tax Dollars…..YOUR
    tax dollars!

    This ’snatching’ of vulnerable citizens and
    their assets is only projected to RISE with
    the aging of the baby boomers. Once you
    are ’snagged’, you are medicated to conform
    to the facilitys’ schedule, rules and regulations.

    State Legislators across the country have changed
    the law from ‘incompetent’ which is difficult
    to prove and temporary confusion, etc. must be
    ruled out by a Medical Doctor….TO: ‘incompacitated’
    we are ALL incompacitated with the flu! Imagine
    how EASY your Attorney/Legislators have made
    it for the courts (their crony Judges and Attorneys
    to ’snag’ you for profit)

    These Judges give automatic ‘integrity’ to
    ‘professionals’ by virue of their ‘titles’ where
    as the family member is easily depicted as
    uncaring, negligent, pilfering their loved
    ones finances (when they were simply paying
    their expenses). Believe it! These ‘attorneys’
    and ‘judges’ supress REAL evidence by family
    members and their testimonies as ‘not credible’
    because these Judges are gives ‘broad
    discretionary authority’ by their Attorney/Legislators
    rewritten and new Laws.

    This stripping of ALL rights and assets from
    vulnerable people as grown to ‘epidemic’ proportions
    perhaps due to the economic crisis (apparently,
    it has affected the rich and powerful as well)

    The is a new bill sweeping across the country
    called the Universal Act to allow the courts
    jurisdiction to ’snag’ victims while visiting
    other states. CT tried to ’snag’ an elderly
    wealthy woman from another state while on
    a trip to CT. The ‘jurisdiction’ laws between
    states allowed her family to fight the courts
    (at tremendous expense) to have her brought
    back to her home state. These laws are being
    ‘dismantled’ across the Country and Internationally
    with this Universal Act. This new bill was
    enacted under the guise to make ‘trade’ easier
    between states…….but the American Bar
    Association, NAARP, Elder “Protective” Agencies
    have lobbyied and worked in ‘tandum’ with
    State Governments to get “Guardianships/
    Conservatorships” of the elderly included/
    slipped into this bill……as everyone will
    be profiting quite hansomely off the baby
    boomers.

    Protect your assets……..remove your name
    and add your ‘hiers’/children/your intended
    to your bank accounts, deeds, titles, with
    the stipulation you have lifetime rights.
    The Government, the Probate Courts, Attorneys
    Judges, healthcare facilties don’t want you
    if you have no money.

    Familys, put your money, house deeds, titles
    under TRUST so Guardians/Judges and courts
    can’t legally steal it from you when they
    take ‘guardianship’ over your kids or when
    you divorce.

  2. Whistleblower » Blog Archive » Guardian reform bills advance in the Legislature as time runs short Says:

    […] previous dispatches on the guardian reform efforts are here and here. My original story on the bill introductions is […]