Causes.com
| 11.19.21
Should the Conservatorship System Be Reformed?
Do you support the most recent efforts to reform the U.S. conservatorship system?
What’s the story?
- Britney Spears' 14-year conservatorship ― a case that drew both public and political attention to the conservatorship system ― was officially terminated on Friday.
- The Freedom and Right to Emancipate from Exploitation (FREE) Act was introduced earlier this year by Rep. Charlie Crist (D-FL) and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) at the height of Spears' legal battle to end her conservatorship. The bill, which drew bipartisan support including statements from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), seeks to establish reforms to the current conservatorship system which is largely overseen by states.
What are conservatorships?
- Conservatorships are a form of guardianship that allows someone to assume legal control over an adult, sometimes including authority over financial, medical, and other general life decisions.
- The exact length and scope of a conservatorship varies, but they are meant as a last resort when an adult is ruled legally incompetent to handle their own affairs, such as in cases of extreme mental illness.
What would the FREE Act do?
- Require a government caseworker to be appointed for every adult with a legal guardianship or conservatorship. The caseworker would be an independent party who can assist the conservatee, informing them of their rights and monitoring for signs of abuse or exploitation.
- Guarantee the right for conservatees to petition the courts to have their legal guardian or conservator removed or replaced with a public legal guardian, family member, or private agent.
- Require both conservators and caseworkers disclose their finances to limit financial conflicts of interest.
- Require each state to give annual reports including the number of adults with legal conservatorships, number of petitions submitted to the courts, the number of individuals emancipated, and other information.
- Appropriate $160 million in federal grants for states to hire caseworkers and $100 million for hiring legal guardians or conservators, as well as generally covering related administrative expenses.
What they’re saying
- The bill’s sponsors say that the American guardianship system needs to provide better protection toward conservatees, who may be unable to properly advocate for themselves or understand their rights.
- The bill has garnered support from some elderly and disability rights advocates, such as the Director of the Center for Estate Administration Reform Rick Black:
“If a young vibrant wealthy celebrity like Britney Spears can be exploited for 13 years by a court system anyone can. Most victims lack her voice and too many vulnerable adults, seniors and the developmentally disabled, are being abused by the predatory legal community who routinely leverage the dysfunction of our nation’s equity court to exploit the vulnerable.”
- Supporters say the bill would provide a framework for information gathering as well, since there is currently no set system for states to maintain data on conservatorships.
- Others say the bill doesn’t go far enough in making it easier to end a conservatorship or encouraging guardianship as a last resort option.
- The FREE Act currently awaits a potential vote in the House Judiciary Committee. A similar bill, the Guardianship Accountability Act, failed to move beyond the House Judiciary Committee in 2019.
What do you think?
Do you support the FREE Act?
― Casey Dawson
(Photo Credit: Glenn Francis)
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Reform now please
Conservatives have no voice in this country, the few who have tried are drowned out by communist-leaning, culture-destroying liberals, democRATS. Until we have a voice, White people need to stop voting. White people should never vote democrat, IT IS THE ANTI-white PARTY. All the democRATs care about are violent african criminals and hoards of illegal aliens.
The conservatorship program was mainly used to keep Britney's father supported for the last 14 years, not to protect Britney.
Fix what's broken and move on
I do not know enough about these conservatorships to make a judgement, however, I would like to know who decides on these and what are the requirements. Does it go before a judge? Maybe it should be reviewed.
I fully support thi action. I have seen way too many abuses regarding matters such as these. It is my belief once appointed they should be what is known as bondable and held responsible for their management of any and all funds. Parents are a definite "no-no" as they tend to let such power go to their heads. Good old fashioned, unbiased common sense is what is needed in these situations.
Once Brittney was under conservatorship, there were limited, insufficient options for her, to restore her self determination, despite the fact that she was a highly functioning adult. This is not acceptable, there are several posts on the Marginal Revolution site about this issue.
The current status of conservatorship in this country is broken, and has been for several decades. This country owes a huge debt of gratitude to Brittany Spears for bringing this situation to our attention
People, PLEASE take a long look at what has happened in the past and how people who had control of someone's finances have been abused. NO ONE should have that kind of control and be allowed to steal from someone else.
CAUSES ASKS: "Do you support the most recent efforts to reform the U.S. conservatorship system?" ME: You bet. While the Britney Spears business has brought it into the lime light, I'm definitely aware of "small time" local abuses. Many people -- especially the elderly and disabled -- need greater protection from predatory people and agencies.
there are far too many stories of abuse with the way conservatorships are set up. they should be used only when absolutely necessary and there need to be protections so no one is getting rich off of someone's misfortune.
It's long past time to reform the entire give money to disabled people rhetoric. Money management should be taught in all schools and programs like social security disability should be disbanded until the agency can show itself to be fully responsible for the failures of both medicare and the program at large. Patronizing disabled people with low wages and high costs is a form of eugenics. and I for one am done with this style and type of eugenics.
A system that is enabled to take such personal freedom from an individual for so very long without consistent overview must be better regulated!
Yes it's way over due. it allows people to rip others off & gives them power over others. It needs to go.
yes
By definition, liberal California is perfect in their interpretation of the program.
I’m not well versed on this subject. I cannot offer an opinion . I do know that young stars like Britney are taken advantage of their entire lives. Look back at some of the most famous child stars. Many died young and poor.
This was q bad situation. Ending the system that has worked due to one bad situation is poor thinking. Our Judges must be more Judicial, and Our Lawers must work for th3 best interest of their client, not their bank account.
It is shameful what happened to Brittany Spears--all because others didn't like her decisions. She was an adult and had the right to make her own decisions, regardless of anyone's judgment. What scares the hell out of me is how the California legal system removed all of her Constitutiinal rights (without notice or due process) as an individual and as an American citizen. Reminds me of the German Nationalist Socialist government. No surprise though--California is a Democratic Socialist State. The Brittany experience is why I will resist the Socialist left with my last breath. I didn't defend this country for 23 years to give up our individual freedom to a government controlled society.
I may not know all the details of this but is this not the same as someone who has Power of Attorney and is a Healthcare Proxy for a person? I'm sure the details vary by state but no matter what, shouldn't it be the same across the board? Apparently the Conservatorship System needs some tweaking due to the negligence that seems to run amok in this country because of greed and no one's paying attention to that elderly person or disabled person being taken advantage of. So yes it is long overdue and what gets me is that no one even thought about it until it was brought to our attention and only because it involves a celebrity.