Courts Aren’t Monitoring Guardians Successfully

The Senate Special Committee on Aging requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on how well the courts are monitoring guardians to prevent abuse of the elderly. Undercover GAO investigators were able to gain guardianship certifications using two fictitious identities: one with the Social Security number of a deceased individual and one with bad credit.

The GAO concluded “that courts failed to adequately screen potential guardians, appointing individuals with criminal convictions or significant financial problems to manage large estates; did not oversee guardians once they were appointed, allowing the abuse of vulnerable seniors and their assets to continue; and failed to communicate effectively or at all with federal agencies to stop the abuse.”

Some Courts Could Allow the Dead to Become Guardians of the Living, ElderLawAnswers, Nov. 1, 2010.