NASGA was formed as a public interest/public benefit/civil rights advocacy organization in 2006 by several individuals, each of whom were involved in state guardianships[1] conducted under color of law. Our membership consists of victims - family, friends and associates - all across the country, who have experienced lawlessness, exploitation, and/or injury in the state courts. Court-appointed fiduciaries - total strangers - claiming to be operating in the “best interests of the ward,” control the life, liberty, and property of their wards in the guardianship system. Without adequate restraints, they are free to engage in lawlessness. NASGA advocates on behalf of those individuals deprived of due process of law in overburdened, uncaring, or corrupt courts where lack of monitoring and oversight permit such abuse.
We share a different perspective from those who have addressed the issues in the past. We address the guardianship problem with the unique insight of experience as victims, not as detached professionals.
Our main goal is national reform of guardianship law in order to return it to its original intent:
* GUARD the protected person from harming him/herself or anyone else;
* CONSERVE the person's assets (with prudent investments); and
* PROTECT the taxpayers against he ward becoming a public charge.
NASGA has found that many state courts are not complying with their own existing state law and are also clearly in violation of federal law.
In 2009, NASGA submitted its first white paper, “Protecting Our Citizens From Unlawful and Abusive Guardianships and Conservatorships”[2] to over 200 members of the House, Senate,[3] and the White House.
The Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) conducted a forensic investigation and issued its report in 2010 – “Guardianships: Cases of Financial Exploitation, Neglect, and Abuse of Seniors,”[4] corroborating our complaints of exploitation by fiduciaries – the subject of our paper.
This is the first of a series of NASGA papers focusing on individual problems in these “protective” proceedings – today, non emergency “emergencies” which contribute to the taxpayers’ Medicaid problem.
We share a different perspective from those who have addressed the issues in the past. We address the guardianship problem with the unique insight of experience as victims, not as detached professionals.
Our main goal is national reform of guardianship law in order to return it to its original intent:
* GUARD the protected person from harming him/herself or anyone else;
* CONSERVE the person's assets (with prudent investments); and
* PROTECT the taxpayers against he ward becoming a public charge.
NASGA has found that many state courts are not complying with their own existing state law and are also clearly in violation of federal law.
In 2009, NASGA submitted its first white paper, “Protecting Our Citizens From Unlawful and Abusive Guardianships and Conservatorships”[2] to over 200 members of the House, Senate,[3] and the White House.
The Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) conducted a forensic investigation and issued its report in 2010 – “Guardianships: Cases of Financial Exploitation, Neglect, and Abuse of Seniors,”[4] corroborating our complaints of exploitation by fiduciaries – the subject of our paper.
This is the first of a series of NASGA papers focusing on individual problems in these “protective” proceedings – today, non emergency “emergencies” which contribute to the taxpayers’ Medicaid problem.
Volunteers do not necessarily have the time;
they just have the heart.
~ Elizabeth Andrew
they just have the heart.
~ Elizabeth Andrew