Breaking news: Florida Gov Scott vetoes appropriation to Lutheran Services

Governor Elect Rick Scott poses for portraits at the Hilton Marina Hotel on Thursday, November 4, 2010, in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Photo by Shealah Craighead Governor Elect Rick Scott poses for portraits at the Hilton Marina Hotel on Thursday, November 4, 2010, in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Photo by Shealah Craighead

Florida Gov. Rick Scott vetoed the $750,000.00 appropriation going to Lutheran Services Florida.

Lutheran Services Florida (LSF) is the company holding several Floridians hostage under Guardianship laws, including AAAPG member Julie London Ferguson’s mother, Marise Ferguson.

Ferguson states that Gov Scott’s veto “sends a message that Florida is recognizing that the Guardianship system was created to help indigents in need, not our wealthier sector who had their advanced directives in order and have willing and capable family. LSF lets indigents go, yet hangs onto Marise London, a homeowner on Siesta Key. FL.”

Additional statement from Julie London Ferguson:

I was informed last night by a Tampa Television Investigative Reporter that Florida Governor Rick Scott VETOED an appropriation of $750,000.00 to Lutheran Services Florida (LSF). LSF is the Guardianship corporation that has held my Mother for two and a half years, despite her having a willing and capable family member to care for her. They have had to let go of indigent elders in need, because of the time they spend ‘in her best interest’. (Time which is aggressively charged to her estate to the tune of $85.00/hr for basically secretarial work). She is also being charged by LSF’s attorney for a lot more than that every time I fight them to restore her legal wishes. Mom had a durable power of attorney, but when family members are blindsided in probate courtrooms across Florida (and the entire nation), these POA’s are easily nullified within a 15-minute time span with the ease of writing a traffic citation. Here’s hoping our truly needy elderly get the help they deserve from a Guardianship system that is presently so broken they go after a vulnerable woman who owns a home on Siesta Key who has family. Thank you, Governor Scott for paying attention.