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

Ohio Pondering UAGPPJA – Uniform Guardianship Legislation

State Senator Capri S. Cafaro (D-Hubbard) introduced bipartisan legislation (SB 355) with Senator Mark Wagoner (R-Ottawa Hills) to update Ohio’s adult guardianship laws.

“As our population continues to age, it becomes increasingly more important to ensure that our laws accommodate families with out-of-state members and guardians in order to provide the protection and guardianship so desperately needed for our most vulnerable population,” said Senator Cafaro.

Provisions within Senate Bill 355 would allow Ohio’s probate courts to communicate and coordinate with other state courts regarding adult guardianship and protective proceedings when applicable. It will also ensure that the appointed adult guardian is subject to the jurisdiction of the Ohio probate court, and establish rules for Ohio probate courts in deciding how and whether to proceed with a case when a proceeding is also filed in another state.

The bill has bipartisan support and awaits committee assignment in the Ohio Senate.

Representative Tom Letson (D-Warren) introduced companion legislation (HB 27) in the Ohio House of Representatives.

Full Article and Source:
Senator Cafaro Introduces Uniform Guardianship Legislation

New Jersey Considers UAGPPJA

The New Jersey Legislature is considering a new law to prevent an elder abuse known as “granny snatching” by joining a multi-state network that protects adults who need the assistance of a guardian when families feud.

“There has been one case after another where we have venue challenges and jurisdictional challenges that have caused a lot of problems,” said Sen. Fred H. Madden (D-Gloucester), co-sponsor of the legislation.

Typically, a NJ court appoints a daughter as guardian for an elderly mother incapacitated by Alzheimer’s. The mother then visits another daughter in Florida, who goes to court seeking to overturn the New Jersey guardianship order and be named the new legal guardian.

The bill now under consideration in Trenton — the New Jersey Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act — would allow New Jersey’s guardianship orders to be recognized by other states with the law.

The bills, S1755 and A2628, establish uniform procedures for addressing interstate conflicts regarding adult guardianship issues, and brings New Jersey into an national guardianship reciprocity network that includes more than 30 states.

Full Article and Source:
New Jersey Considers Law to Prevent Granny Snatching

Interstate Conservatorship

The case of an elderly city woman who apparently was taken to Florida by her daughter, in violation of a court order, shows the limitations on state Probate Courts, officials say.

Dolores Gray, 81, is in Florida with her daughter, Jeryl, despite an order by Probate Judge Beverly Streit-Kefalas that Gray, who suffers from dementia, not be removed from the state.

But there is no clear mechanism in place for a Connecticut judge’s orders to be enforced in another state, said Vincent Russo, spokesman for the state Probate Court system.

“We’ve tried for a few years to get a law passed dealing with interstate conservatorships,” Russo said. “The Legislature adjourned without passing it this year.”

The law, similar to one in effect for child-custody matters, would establish a uniform policy among the states for handling adult conservatorships that may involve more than one jurisdiction, said Paul J. Knierim, the state’s Probate Court administrator. “Of course the efficacy of the law depends on the number of states that enact it. But this was first proposed in 2009 and it takes a few years to get something like that passed.”

Full Article and Source:
Case of Elderly Woman Taken by Daughter Shows Limits of Probate Orders

POA Measure and Revised Guardianship Laws

SB314 erases limited power-of-attorney laws and replaces them with a much broader act proposed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. The power-of-attorney measure is aimed at protecting Nevada seniors from abuses by caregivers and, in some cases, their own children.

Lora Myles of the RSVP CARE Law Program, which assists seniors, called the passage and approval of the measure “a major accomplishment.”

Myles: “Before SB314, Nevada was rated as one of the worst states in the union as far power of attorney legislation. Now we have precise, wonderful protections for seniors and anyone who executes a power of attorney.”

Key provisions of the uniform law include a clear statement of duties for an elderly person’s representative, and stringent standards for selling property or altering an estate plan.

SB313, another approved bill, revises Nevada’s laws on guardianships, in line with suggestions from the uniform law commission, the National Guardianship Association and Nevada Guardianship Association.

Myles said the measure addresses interstate jurisdiction over guardianships, and referred to it as “the granny kidnapping law” because it applies in cases such as seniors being taken across state borders.

Full Article and Source:
Senior legislation considered

See also:
National Guardianship Association – Certified Guardians

>POA Measure and Revised Guardianship Laws

>

SB314 erases limited power-of-attorney laws and replaces them with a much broader act proposed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. The power-of-attorney measure is aimed at protecting Nevada seniors from abuses by caregivers and, in some cases, their own children.

Lora Myles of the RSVP CARE Law Program, which assists seniors, called the passage and approval of the measure “a major accomplishment.”

Myles: “Before SB314, Nevada was rated as one of the worst states in the union as far power of attorney legislation. Now we have precise, wonderful protections for seniors and anyone who executes a power of attorney.”

Key provisions of the uniform law include a clear statement of duties for an elderly person’s representative, and stringent standards for selling property or altering an estate plan.

SB313, another approved bill, revises Nevada’s laws on guardianships, in line with suggestions from the uniform law commission, the National Guardianship Association and Nevada Guardianship Association.

Myles said the measure addresses interstate jurisdiction over guardianships, and referred to it as “the granny kidnapping law” because it applies in cases such as seniors being taken across state borders.

Full Article and Source:
Senior legislation considered

See also:
National Guardianship Association – Certified Guardians

UPC Takes Effect July 1

A new law will take effect in Massachusetts on July 1 relative to guardianships. This issue has been debated and discussed for more than 20 years, and this law is intended to create uniformity among all states across the country; 13 states enacted the law in 2008.

Until now, in Massachusetts, most issues regarding the administration and legal requirements of guardianships were decided on a case-by-case basis. The new law is more than 100 pages long, and one article applies primarily to the protection of disabled people and their property.

Over the past year, changes have been made to both the ‘petition for guardianship of a person’ and the medical certificate required to be filed with the court for a finding of incapacitation.

The court has redefined the requirements to determine that a person is incapacitated when they are unable to attend to their own affairs and are in need of a guardian. In addition, some of the terminology that was utilized for many years is now going to be changed. As an example, in the past, a person who was determined by the court to be incapacitated was referred to as a ‘ward.’ This term is now reserved solely for the guardianship of a minor. Any other person who needs a guardian is determined as an ‘incapacitated person,’ a ‘person in need of services,’ or a ‘protective person.’ Court personnel, attorneys, and the public will have to learn the new terminology as well as, potentially, new forms, procedures, and standards.

Full Article and Source:
The Uniform Probate Code – Enhanced Protection Available for Those Needing Guardianship

More information:
Massachusetts Adopts Uniform Probate Code

See also:
Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code

Probate Reform After 20 Years

Surety Firms Stall Reform

Dangerous Guardianship Petition

>UPC Takes Effect July 1

>

A new law will take effect in Massachusetts on July 1 relative to guardianships. This issue has been debated and discussed for more than 20 years, and this law is intended to create uniformity among all states across the country; 13 states enacted the law in 2008.

Until now, in Massachusetts, most issues regarding the administration and legal requirements of guardianships were decided on a case-by-case basis. The new law is more than 100 pages long, and one article applies primarily to the protection of disabled people and their property.

Over the past year, changes have been made to both the ‘petition for guardianship of a person’ and the medical certificate required to be filed with the court for a finding of incapacitation.

The court has redefined the requirements to determine that a person is incapacitated when they are unable to attend to their own affairs and are in need of a guardian. In addition, some of the terminology that was utilized for many years is now going to be changed. As an example, in the past, a person who was determined by the court to be incapacitated was referred to as a ‘ward.’ This term is now reserved solely for the guardianship of a minor. Any other person who needs a guardian is determined as an ‘incapacitated person,’ a ‘person in need of services,’ or a ‘protective person.’ Court personnel, attorneys, and the public will have to learn the new terminology as well as, potentially, new forms, procedures, and standards.

Full Article and Source:
The Uniform Probate Code – Enhanced Protection Available for Those Needing Guardianship

More information:
Massachusetts Adopts Uniform Probate Code

See also:
Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code

Probate Reform After 20 Years

Surety Firms Stall Reform

Dangerous Guardianship Petition

>Power-Of-Attorney Measure

>

A state Senate panel was urged to approve a power-of-attorney measure aimed at protecting seniors from abuses by caregivers and, in some cases, their own children.

SB314, reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, would erase limited power-of-attorney laws and replace them with a much broader act proposed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

Proponents of SB314 included Lora Myles of the RSVP CARE Law Program, which assists seniors: “the existing Nevada laws make it tough on seniors in dealing with banks or with authorities when seniors become victims of exploitation.”

Myles described a case in which a woman confessed to using a power of attorney “to rip her mother off for a very large sum of money” but police and a district attorney wouldn’t prosecute the case, saying they lacked the authority under existing state law.

Full Article and Source:
Bill focuses on power-of-attorney abuse against seniors

Power-Of-Attorney Measure

A state Senate panel was urged to approve a power-of-attorney measure aimed at protecting seniors from abuses by caregivers and, in some cases, their own children.

SB314, reviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, would erase limited power-of-attorney laws and replace them with a much broader act proposed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

Proponents of SB314 included Lora Myles of the RSVP CARE Law Program, which assists seniors: “the existing Nevada laws make it tough on seniors in dealing with banks or with authorities when seniors become victims of exploitation.”

Myles described a case in which a woman confessed to using a power of attorney “to rip her mother off for a very large sum of money” but police and a district attorney wouldn’t prosecute the case, saying they lacked the authority under existing state law.

Full Article and Source:
Bill focuses on power-of-attorney abuse against seniors