COLLITON: ‘Anti-Granny Snatching’ law passed in Pa.

Editor's note: Alice R. Gore Estate value about 1 million dollars is reminiscent of this "Granny Snatching" article below. Alice was, however "snatched" by the court.  Alice R. Gore, deceased, a disabled 99 year old ward of the Probate Court of Cook County, Judge Kawamoto’s courtroom was hours away from ending up in the Cook County Morgue. Alice's estate was depleted by probate court parasites and there were reportedly no funds to bury her. Her loving family paid for the burial expenses so that Alice would not have to suffer the indignity of being stacked like an Auschwitz inmate in the Cook County morgue. The judge allowed an easily manipulated, court documented, mentally disabled granddaughter to be appointed as Alice’s guardian and yet no sanctions were instituted against the judge or court officers for this blatant infraction of the law.



Strangely, 16 of Alice’s annuity checks, two of which show forged endorsements, disappeared. Alice’s daughter has a copy of a check with her signature possibly forged. The daughter’s attorney has been trying to obtain copies of the 16 other annuity checks for two years without success. Even more puzzling is a $150,000 life insurance policy owned by Alice and not inventoried into the estate by the court. The Probate Court of Cook of Cook County refuses to investigate these blatant infractions of the law. Lucius Verenus, Schoolmaster, ProbateSharks.com

COLLITON: ‘Anti-Granny Snatching’ law passed in Pa.


By JANET M. COLLITON

Guest ColumnistPosted: 07/23/12 02:10 pm Share on twitterShare on facebookShare on stumbleuponShare on pinterestMore Sharing ServicesLaws, 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.

CONTRIBUTE

Story IdeasSend CorrectionsIn 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 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.

Decisions made in one jurisdiction might or might not be enforced in another. Each state could have conflicting orders. This was an issue already dealt with in custody matters where the concern was that an order entered in one state granting custody to a parent could be nullified when the other could simply take the child to another jurisdiction and have a conflicting order entered. The result there was the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, which has been passed in almost every state. Similarly, the model Uniform Guardianship act is being considered throughout the country to make the system consistent throughout the United States.

Here is some background.

Guardianship, which in some states, is referred to as conservatorship, involves the appointment of someone or some entity to make decisions for an incapacitated person. This is different from a Power of Attorney. In simple terms, a Power of Attorney gives authority to act with the approval of the person giving it. With a guardianship, where the person is determined to be “incapacitated,” the guardian can act even without the initial approval of the person who is under consideration. If personal decisions are involved such as where the person might live or what kind of medical treatment he would receive, the appointee is “guardian of the person.” Financial and money decisions are handled as “guardian of the estate.” The same person or entity could serve as both. The appointment is made by court order after a petition is filed alleging incapacity and a hearing is held.

Frail incapacitated seniors can be especially at risk where there is conflict among relatives, heirs, and associates involved in their finances. Seniors may own properties in more than one state. They may travel from one residence to another such as those who own winter homes in Florida or a southern state and spend the summer in Pennsylvania or they could live with different family members and friends in different jurisdictions as sons, daughters and others care for them.

As one example, prior to adoption of the act in these states, in Guardianship of Loyce Juanita Parker (2008), Parker, a lifelong resident of Oklahoma, went to Texas to be near her daughter and wait for an assisted living opening in Oklahoma. While her daughter filed for guardianship in Texas, her son filed in Oklahoma. After much time and expensive litigation, the Oklahoma Court took jurisdiction.

Cases can be complicated also where parents of incapacitated older children try to move. One state might be willing to close the file if the new state accepts the case. The new state may be unwilling to open a new file if the parties have not already moved. These can be handled through the new law.

Under the new Uniform Guardianship law, there would be a “home state” for proper jurisdiction initially which can significantly reduce confusion.

For more, listen on Wednesdays at 4:30p.m. to radio WCHE 1520, “50+ Planning Ahead,” with Janet Colliton and Phil McFadden, Home Instead Senior Care. Live streaming is available at that time on www.wche1520.com.

Janet Colliton, Esq., limits her practice, Colliton Law Associates, to elder law, Medicaid, life care, special needs, and estate planning and administration with offices at 790 East Market St., Suite 250, West Chester, Pa., 19382, 610-436-6674, colliton@collitonlaw.com. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and, with Jeffrey Jones, CSA, co-founder of Life Transition Services, LLC, a service for families with long term care needs.


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