3 Reasons Florida Guardianship is Broken: Sarasota Herald Slams Florida Guardianship

Florida Guardianship was on the minds of many as the Sarasota Herald  has just put out a rather troubling piece. EntitledElder Guardianship:  A well-oiled machine the report outlines how Florida is pretty good at getting you a guardian and not so good at ensuring you are actually guarded. The report broke my heart as so much of it was spot on as you will soon see.

• Although I do not like to use direct quotes, I feel the Herald summed up the problem better than I could, “The idea behind guardianship is to protect older citizens. But Florida has become a place where quiet, desperate disasters happen daily, often touched off by a single phone call. In the middle of an unprecedented national longevity trend, half of all Americans 85 and over are believed to experience significant cognitive decline. Many of them wind up in sunny Florida, far away from sons and daughters — some with enough assets to make them attractive to scammers and cheats, others outliving their savings and utterly dependent on the state. In response to a pressing need, Florida has cobbled together an efficient way to identify and care for helpless elders, using the probate court system to place them under guardianship. But critics say this system — easily set in motion, but notoriously difficult to stop — often ignores basic individual rights. Most of it plays out in secret, with hearings and files typically closed from the public.”

Here are some of the reasons it is how it is:

1. Florida Probate Courts are overworked. Probate cases are growing and faster than the state judicial budget is allotting for so more cases are handled by less judges each year. Guardians become aware of this and are able to take advantage as they see fit.
2. Those who have the power to make a change have little incentive. The rich and powerful movers and shakers hire good attorneys, experienced Palm Beach Probate attorneys know how to avoid courts through arbitration agreements, and properly worded trusts. This means those who have the power to expose the issues and actually make a difference usually prefer to just steer clear of the broken system rather than being an example of its flaws.
3. Florida has an uphill battle given how many seniors there are its not hard to see why Florida’s guardianship system would be horribly over worked and overburdened.

I blogged a couple weeks ago about how the Florida Legislature has proposed a number of bills to overhaul the guardianship system, if its something you are passionate about, tell them. Change does not happen over night and it does not happen if you do not make it happen.