How To Avoid Being Abused by A Guardian

6. How to avoid being abused by a guardian 6. How to avoid being abused by a guardian

The absolute power of guardians protected by third buddies in the judiciary and the hired guns who protect them seems unassailable.

If judges actually did their job disciplining guardians who abuse and exploit their wards, the answer would be you could avoid being abused by a guardian by reporting them to the judge and expecting the judge to discipline them. We are not aware of a single instance of this ever happening.

Florida statutes currently nominate the Dept. of children and families division of adult protective services as the investigating organization for complaints of Guardian abuse. Physicians are obligated by law to report such abuse to the elder abuse hotline run by the department. Although we are told that as of summer 2015 training for adult protective services agents will emphasize more sensitivity to the needs of the families of wards, to this point complaints to DCF and APS have not resulted in any significant consequences to guardians who are obviously abusing their positions. in fact we are aware of numerous instances in which apparently crooked APS agents arrived by guardians lash out against the victims to protect the guardians misdeeds. This seems to be especially prevalent when complaints are made to the 800 hotline without adequate documentation for details.

AAAPG has created a set of forms on our website, www.aaapg.net, for the written reports of abuse which may be more effective than calling into an 800-number hotline. Further we have created forms for the reporting of Social Security diversion which we believe to be a form of mail and wire fraud and are working closely with the Social Security Administration to investigate.

Reporting guardianship abuse to a judge can result in the replacement of a guardian. While this is not an ideal solution a request for replacement Guardian is often allowed by probate judges. However you should know that there will be no punishment for the original Guardian whether they are replaced or not.

Perhaps the most important aspect of avoiding Guardian abuse is to keep meticulous records and if that all possible video and audio evidence of the abuse. Even in the probate court this can be powerful and lead to some kind of positive action by a judge who would otherwise ignore verbal or even written evidence of abuse.