Senate Bill Could Help Protect Clients From Bad Guardians

A new bill could improve U.S. guardianship programs for older clients and clients with disabilities.

S. 1148, the Guardianship Bill of Rights Act bill, would create a Guardianship and Other Protective Arrangements and Supported Decision Making Council.

The national council would promote use of arrangements less restrictive than guardianships, collect data on guardianship practices at the national and state levels, and fund organizations that protect the rights of people with guardians and people who are facing guardianship need evaluations.

Sen. Bob Casey Jr., D-Pa., chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, introduced the bill last week at a hearing on guardianships.

What It Means

Many clients who need long-term care services also eventually need guardians.

S. 1148 could shine more light on guardianship arrangements and provide some support for organizations that try to defend people like your clients against abusive guardians.

The Background

Casey noted in his opening remarks that at least 1.3 million U.S. residents have guardians, but that current numbers are hard to find, and that reports of financial abuse and other forms of abuse by guardians are common.

“Guardianship is a blunt legal tool that transfers all decision-making power about the life of a person to someone else,” Casey said. “Guardianship can put a person at risk for neglect and exploitation.”

Dr. Tina Paone, a professor at Monmouth University in Pennsylvania, testified that problems with guardians for her mother led to bill payment problems and cost her mother’s estate about $116,000.

“That’s money that could have been spent on her care but instead went to fund a system that seems driven to pay professional guardianship attorneys and others motivated by greed and power,” Paone said. “In my experience, when an incapacitated person has a larger estate, they are more likely to have frequent involvement with the courts, which increases payments to lawyers, guardians and services hired by these guardians.”

S. 1148

In the past, both Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Aging Committee have introduced guardianship improvement bills.

S. 1148 started out with three cosponsors: Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa.; Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

The U.S. Capitol. (Image: Shutterstock)