Clark County Nevada has recently been racked by an ongoing scandal concerning oversight of the county’s guardianship system which has sparked calls across the nation for reform. At the heart of the matter is that guardians will often have tremendous power and influence over their ward but not always with oversight. Sometimes the situation is self regulating such as when a ward is in contact with other people that can at least monitor the effect the guardian is having. But in instances where the guardian controls everything and the ward does not have contact, for various reasons, with outsiders then the potential for abuse is high. In Clark County, their efforts at reform have centered around increased funding to allow the court to better monitor the acts of a guardian which is certainly a step in the right direction. However, the most important step that can be taken is better screening of guardians before they are appointed. A careful examination of a guardian’s qualifications, including the ability to put the wards interest over their own, would be the best step to prevent abuse. However, it will ultimately require a grab bag of protections ranging from pre-appointment screening to active oversight, by the court and others relevant parties, to combat abuse in the guardianship system.
See Kyle E. Krull, What are Courts Doing To Avoid “Guardianship” Abuse, Kansas Missouri Estate Planning Blog, December 10, 2015.
