State lawmakers are taking steps to protect seniors from guardian abuse. Sen. Nancy Detert (R-Venice) says it’s too easy for private guardians to take advantage of their wards.
“Once they run through your liquid assets the guardian can then sell your home and continue to pay themselves and if you don’t like it we have no recourse,” Detert says. “We don’t have an 800 number. We don’t have anything.”
“And if you don’t like it, you have to hire your own lawyer, and the guardian uses your mother’s money to pay themselves for their lawyer,”
The state already regulates publicly appointed guardians, but there’s no oversight for private operators. Detert says the governor and elder affairs secretary support her efforts change that. The bill is headed for the Senate floor and a similar version has two stops left in the House.
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