LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) — Sparks flew during a Senate committee hearing today in Lansing as probate judges pushed back on proposed guardianship reforms. Local families have been demanding changes to Michigan’s laws after 7 Investigator Heather Catallo’s years-long investigation into the state’s guardianship system.
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Catallo has been exposing abuses in the system since 2017, and advocates for the elderly have been trying to get new legislation passed since 2021.
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On Thursday, the head of Attorney General Dana Nessel’s Elder Abuse Task Force announced that they have had to drop the bill that would have formed an Office of the State Guardian, at least for now.
“They took my mom before I knew it,” said Chandra Drayton during a 2021 interview with Catallo, about her family’s experience with a professional guardian in Detroit.
“It's disgusting. Our elderly people shouldn't be a commodity and shouldn't be able to be trafficked by these people,” said Gretchen Sommer, whose aunt and uncle were separated from family members by a guardian who erected a 6-foot privacy fence around the elderly couples’ home in Macomb County.
Sommer and Drayton are just some of the family members across our community demanding change. And so are the members of the Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Task Force as they fight to get four bills passed in Lansing.
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“A system that ignores the rights of vulnerable adults and dehumanizes them and ignores the concerns of family members doesn’t do justice and it must be changed,” said Financial Crimes Division Chief Scott Teter during testimony in front of the Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary & Public Safety. Teter is the head of the Elder Abuse Task Force.
The task force has worked for years to increase protections in Michigan’s guardianship laws for vulnerable adults. If you’re placed under guardianship, you’re declared legally incapacitated and no longer have any rights.
“They determine whether or not you can marry, whether or not you can divorce, whether or not you can live in your own house,” said Rep. Kelly Breen (D-Novi). Breen is one of the sponsors of the bills.
“The bills come from one simple truth, which is there are too many adults across the state who have been taken advantage of,” said Rep. Graham Filler (R-St. Johns). Filler has sponsored legislation twice, trying to make changes to the guardianship laws.
During Thursday’s testimony, the head of the Elder Abuse Task Force announced they’ve had to drop a bill that would have established an Office of the State Guardian and require certification of professional guardians.
“We will be coming back with it next year. It’s not going anywhere. Certification has to happen in the state of Michigan,” said Teter.
But the bills still provide several protections, including making sure probate judges put their reasons on the court record if they choose a professional guardian over a family member who wants to take care of their own loved one.
“How do you appeal a non-record? The answer is you can’t,” said Teter.
The changes to the law would also expand the responsibilities of someone called a Guardian ad Litem (GAL). The GAL is supposed to inform a potential ward of their rights. That’s something that never happened in Rodrick Gordon’s case because his GAL never found an interpreter to communicate with Gordon, who’s Deaf-Blind.
RELATED VIDEO: Detroit man who is Deaf-Blind freed after spending more than 2 years under guardianship
“Do you consider yourself incapacitated,” Catallo asked Gordon in a 2021 interview.
“No! Absolutely not,” said Gordon.
But the bills have powerful opponents. Three different probate judges, including the head of the Michigan Probate Judges Association, testified Thursday that they oppose the bills.
“I think the consequences of the legislation would be to reduce the number of professional guardians available to serve the community,” said Kent County Chief Probate Judge David Murkowski.
“The system is not supposed to be designed to protect the interests of judges, lawyers, and guardians. It’s supposed to serve and protect vulnerable adults,” said Teter.
In a press release, the Attorney General said the bills will also:
- Require the court to make findings of fact if a person with priority for appointment, such as a family member, is passed over in favor of a professional guardian;
- Establish a clear asset and income threshold above which the appointment of a conservator is required;
- Require guardian and conservator letters of authority to expire after 15 months;
- Clarify and expand the guardian ad litem’s responsibilities;
- Improve protections for wards when professional guardians seek to remove them from their homes;
- Require professional guardians to file petitions seeking court authority to move wards;
- Require courts to appoint guardians ad litem or, where appropriate, counsel for wards and to schedule hearings before authorizing moves to new residences;
- Improve basic standards for medical reports that are used in guardianship and conservatorship hearings;
- Refine the process for emergency petitions for guardianship/ conservatorship to ensure an actual emergency exists; and more.
There will be another hearing Thursday, June 20, 2024. Family members who lost loved ones to professional guardians plan to testify at that hearing.
If you have a story for Heather, please email her at hcatallo@wxyz.com
