Guardianship, Conservatorship and the Law includes everything from overviews of guardianships and conservatorships to an appendix that provides applicable statues, resource directories, and other pertinent information and data. Topics addressed in this publication include guardianship of a minor, guardianship of an incapacitated adult, mental health guardianship and civil commitment, standby guardianship, conservatorship, protecting the property of the ward, alternatives to guardianship and conservatorship. With access to the most current information in this field of law, Margaret C. Jasper assures readers they are up-to-date with the latest developments related to guardianship and conservatorship. This is an ideal resource for anyone interested in learning more about the concepts of guardianship and conservatorship.
The Model Rules of Professional Conduct provides an up-to-date resource for information on legal ethics. Federal, state and local courts in all jurisdictions look to the Rules for guidance in solving lawyer malpractice cases, disciplinary actions, disqualification issues, sanctions questions and much more. In this volume, black-letter Rules of Professional Conduct are followed by numbered Comments that explain each Rule's purpose and provide suggestions for its practical application. The Rules will help you identify proper conduct in a variety of given situations, review those instances where discretionary action is possible, and define the nature of the relationship between you and your clients, colleagues and the courts.
Imagine a system of justice in this country that strips its citizens of their Constitutional rights, voids their existing legal documents, gives others the right to spend their money and sell their assets, isolates them, and has the ability to limit the time they can spend with their loved ones. While you may be thinking of the criminal justice system, the previous description refers to a parallel system that preys on the elderly and is determined to deem them unable to care for themselves. It is a system that allows those in control to take full advantage of their “wards of the state”—legally and under the watchful eyes of judges. It is called guardianship. Guardianship exists in every state, and while it has gone under the radar for many decades, Dr. Sam Sugar’s new book, Guardianships and the Elderly, sheds light on this system, which enables those in-the-know to commit “the perfect crime.” Dr. Sugar, a licensed physician and president of the Americans Against Abusive Probate Guardianship (AAAPG), as well as a victim of the system himself, has written a unique guide that can be used by anyone caught up in the world of guardianship. The book begins by looking at the history of guardianship—from ancient times till today. It then provides a clear overview of how this system is set up to work—from the triggers that set it off to the different groups of people that make up the process: the judges, the guardians, and all their associates. The book goes on to detail the responsibilities given to these players and describes how easily they can manipulate the system to their own advantage. It also presents an accurate picture of just how difficult it is to free a family member from the system. There are things loved ones can do to fight the system, to be sure, but many obstacles and pitfalls await them in the battle. This book is meant to prepare the reader for these eventualities and includes a comprehensive glossary, a helpful resource section, and a number of documents that may prove useful in the pursuit of real justice. While the press has exposed some of the most heinous crimes committed by guardians, for the most part, those who know how to work the system continue to plunder their victims’ estates. Guardianships and the Elderly is designed to explain the guardianship process clearly and make the reader aware of the common violations carried out by court insiders and their affiliates. The information found in this book can serve as a powerful tool when it comes to uncovering their crimes.
More than 7 million recipients of Social Security benefits have a representative payee-a person or an organization-to receive or manage their benefits. These payees manage Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance funds for retirees, surviving spouses, children, and the disabled, and they manage Supplemental Security Income payments to disabled, blind, or elderly people with limited income and resources. More than half of the beneficiaries with a representative payee are minor children; the rest are adults, often elderly, whose mental or physical incapacity prevents them from acting on their own behalf, and people who have been deemed incapable under state guardianship laws. The funds are managed through the Representative Payee Program of the Social Security Administration (SSA). The funds total almost $4 billion a month, and there are more than 5.3 million representative payees. In 2004 Congress required the commissioner of the SSA to conduct a one-time survey to determine how payments to individual and organizational representative payees are being managed and used on behalf of the beneficiaries.1 To carry out this work, the SSA requested a study by the National Academies, which appointed the Committee on Social Security Representative Payees. This report is the result of that study. Improving the Social Security Representative Payee Program: Serving Beneficiaries and Minimizing Misuse (1) assesses the extent to which representative payees are not performing their duties in accordance with SSA standards for representative payee conduct, (2) explains whether the representative payment policies are practical and appropriate, (3) identifies the types of representative payees that have the highest risk of misuse of benefits, and (4) finds ways to reduce the risk of misuse of benefits and ways to better protect beneficiaries.
