June 12—LANSING — Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee will hear testimony on legislation aimed at reforming Michigan’s guardianship and conservatorship system.
Thursday’s hearing will be public and streamed live on the committee’s website.
In October, the state House passed a package of bipartisan bills that, if signed into law, would prioritize the wishes of vulnerable individuals, support their participation in relevant hearings, prohibit professional guardians from delegating decision-making to support staff and would create a new state office. .
Advocates for the civil rights of older people have long said the system is flawed and doesn’t do enough to protect vulnerable people from fraud and abuse.
“Everyone knows it’s wrong, but no one’s going to do anything about it,” Matt Bush, a services coordinator at a senior apartment complex in Harbor Springs, said previously.
One resident, George Pappas, 97, was the victim of embezzlement by his court-appointed guardian, who made off with about $14,000 in Pappas’ savings and was later prosecuted.
Probate court judges appoint guardians to make medical and housing decisions, and conservators generally make financial decisions, once the court decides that a person can no longer manage their own affairs due to age, illness, or injury.
Family members and friends can fill this role, as can professional guardians. There are currently no regulations governing education, certification, or training, despite sometimes complex court filing requirements.
Elected officials have agreed for decades that reforms were needed, although data shows little substantive legislative action has been taken since the 1970s.
For example, in 1996 a Michigan Supreme Court task force studied child custody and in 1998 published eleven recommended initiatives, many of which mirror similar initiatives supported by Attorney General Dana Nessel’s own task force, which was created 23 years later in 2019 .
The Senate Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary and Public Safety will hear testimony beginning at noon Thursday on four previously passed bills — HB 4909, HB 4910, HB 4911, HB 4912 — and on Senate Bill 656, which would change related financial obligations.
HB 5047, sponsored by Rep. Betsy Coffia, D-Traverse City, to create an office of state guardian, passed the House 74-35 in October and continues to be considered by lawmakers.
A state guardian office would issue professional licenses (not currently required), provide support and training, handle complaints, contract with guardians to serve indigent clients, and handle disciplinary proceedings.
The state in recent years has adopted a streamlined reporting form for incidents involving vulnerable adults, supported law enforcement training, and in 2022 passed the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act, which requires banks to have policies in place to identify and prevent elder fraud and report incidents to authorities report.
