NY: UAGPPJA Bill Would Ease Guardianship of Out of State Elderly Relatives

The AARP is urging state lawmakers to pass a bill that would make it easier and cheaper for New Yorkers to care for elderly relatives located in another state.

Sen. Kemp Hannon, R-Nassau County, said during a news conference Tuesday that the bill would simplify the process for individuals who act as legal guardians to family members across state lines.

The Senate passed the bill later in the day.

“Right now, if somebody has a guardianship and goes to another state, you have to go through the process all over again,” said Hannon, who is also chairman of the Senate Health Committee. “It’s the same as if you come in to New York or if you go to another state.”

New York would become the 37th state to adopt the measure. Current law dictates that state residents comply with other states’ court systems for elderly care.

Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein, D-Brooklyn, said New Yorkers often move to another state while their parents remain home, needing help with health-care management.

“It allows the guardianship to travel with the individual instead of a new procedure having to be started,” Weinstein said. “It is one of these proposals that makes so much common sense, you kind of wonder why we haven’t had this in place before.

AARP said it is pushing the measure nationwide in order to create a uniform standard that allows individuals to file a registration form in other states where their relatives live.

AARP said the person’s home state would have primary jurisdiction.

Full Article and Source:
Bill Would Ease Guardianship of Out of State Elderly Relatives

MADDEN BILL TO RECTIFY ADULT GUARDIANSHIP ISSUES BETWEEN STATES SIGNED INTO LAW

TRENTON – Legislation sponsored by Senator Fred Madden (D – Gloucester, Camden) that will establish uniform procedures to address interstate conflicts regarding adult guardianship issues has been signed into law.

“For too long confusion has reigned regarding this issue. Arguments and questions over which state had jurisdiction have simply delayed the more important issue of establishing guardianship and protective orders. This law will remedy all of that and is, frankly, long over due,” said Madden.

The bill, known as the “New Jersey Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act,” (S1755) will establish that a New Jersey court will have jurisdiction to appoint a guardian or issue a protective order for a person if: New Jersey is that person’s “home state”; on the date the petition is filed New Jersey is a state with a “significant connection”; or if the home state and all significant connection states have declined jurisdiction.

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MADDEN BILL TO RECTIFY ADULT GUARDIANSHIP ISSUES BETWEEN STATES SIGNED INTO LAW

Pennsylvania Passes UAGPPJA

Laws, even popular and necessary ones, take some time to travel through the system. This fact became apparent again when Pennsylvania passed its version of a model uniform law for guardians with the jaw breaking title of the Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act (UAGPPJA). The law will go into effect on Sept. 5, 2012.

In a model of cooperation, Pennsylvania’s law passed the House last year 196-0 and the Pennsylvania Senate this year 49-0. It was supported by the Pennsylvania Association of Elder Law Attorneys (PAELA) to which I belong and by the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
I first wrote about the need for uniform guardianship laws on May 4, 2009. See http://www.dailylocal.com under search for Colliton and 2009. Why the law is important to average people is because one of the specific problems it deals with is the issue popularly referred to as “Granny snatching.”

Suppose, for instance, you apply for guardianship in Pennsylvania for your mother who has lived here all her life. Another relative or acquaintance, without your knowledge, signs her out of a personal care home or takes her from homeand makes arrangements to transport her out of state. That person files for guardianship in another state. Without a uniform act where each state recognizes the other state’s proceedings, the result could be a nightmare.

Full Article and Source:
COLLITON: ‘Anti-Granny Snatching’ Law Passed in Pa.

Pennsylvania Poised to Adopt UAGPPJA

In the United States each state has developed its own distinct system of protecting adults who need the assistance of a guardian. The multiplicity of potential state jurisdictions means that confusing issues and conflicts frequently arise when an incapacitated person has some presence in more than one state.

There is a path to simplifying the multi-state issues that arise when an adult needs a guardian. The Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act (UAGPPJA) has been enacted in a majority of states (but not in Pennsylvania as of May 5, 2012). UAGPPJA addresses the many problems relating to multiple jurisdiction, transfer, and out of state recognition. It establishes a roadmap for communication, uniformity and reciprocity between states. It includes a requirement to recognize guardianship decisions that occur in a different state and provides direction on how courts should handle guardianship cases that span state boundary lines. But it can only work when all the states involved have adopted the uniform law.

Now Pennsylvania appears poised to enact UAGPPJA. House Bill 1720 will adopt the uniform jurisdiction law in Pennsylvania. It passed the House by a unanimous vote (196-0) on October 26, 2011. The bill is now awaiting concurrence by the Pennsylvania Senate.

Full Article and Source:
Pennyslvania Poised to Adopt Uniform Guardianship Jurisdication Legislation

See Also:
House Bill 1720

Uniform Law Commission