Most older people understand, by experience, the adage that “old age doesn’t come alone.” And, as people live longer, old age often comes with a legal guardian.
In Pennsylvania, more than 18,000 people are under legal guardianships, and about half are older than 60. Guardians oversee more than $1.7 billion in personal assets.
More than 2.2 million Pennsylvanians are older than 65, according to the Census Bureau, fifth-highest nationally by number and seventh-highest in terms of population percentage, 17.8%. The bureau also has projected that 27.5% of the state population will be 60 or older by 2030, a nearly 28% increase from 2012.
Prompted by many individual cases of failed guardianships, a bipartisan group of state legislators has introduced legislation in both houses to ensure that guardianship is a last resort, and that guardians have mandated basic qualifications and truly work for the client.
Spotlight PA recently reported on a guardianship case that began in 2010, when a Montgomery County nursing home filed a court case seeking to declare an elderly patient incapacitated and then filed a debt collection action against her.
When the first case was filed, the county orphans’ court quickly appointed a guardian — a lawyer recommended by the nursing home. That lawyer then appointed another lawyer, who did not defend the collection case. The court entered an $81,651 default judgment against the woman, who had to sell her home to cover it.
In a pending lawsuit later filed by her daughter, lawyers called the guardianship appointments a “conspiracy” that “shocks the conscience, makes a mockery of this commonwealth’s guardianship statutes … and callously exploits and abuses some of the most vulnerable members of society — all in a relentless, rabid pursuit of money.”
The new legislation would mandate training and state certification for prospective guardians, require legal representation for individuals in proceedings to appoint guardians, and require steps to preclude guardians’ conflicts of interest.
Even in a polarized political environment, everyone has the common bond of growing old. Lawmakers should improve the system.
— The Citizens’ Voice, Wilkes-Barre via TNS
