Retirees move to Florida to live out their golden years in the Sunshine State, but for those who become vulnerable in their old age, there are serious concerns.
An Action News Jax investigation uncovered that the Department of Elder Affairs’ guardianship program has come under serious criticism for a lack of oversight, leaving the people they are supposed to protect unguarded.
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Guardianship is a legal process where a judge takes away a person’s rights and appoints someone to manage their finances and other aspects of their lives. That person is often a family member, but sometimes it’s a professional, and a scathing state audit found the office created to make sure guardians are doing their job is failing those it’s supposed to protect.
That is exactly what Rey Contreras said happened to his family.
“My stepfather’s wishes were denied and revoked,” he told Action News Jax’s Emily Turner.
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Contreras’ stepdad was a huge part of his life, but once the court placed him in the care of a professional guardian, neither Contreras, who lives in Ponte Vedra, nor his mother was able to be there when his stepdad needed them most.
A judge in Polk County threw out the family trust documents, power of attorney, and everything else, instead appointing a professional guardian to the case.
“My mother and I could never speak or see my stepfather again,” he says. “We were even barred from going to his funeral … and today, it’ll be close to five years and he’s still in an unmarked grave in Plant City because the people that took over this estate have failed to even build a tombstone for him.”
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Guardianship nightmares like Contreras’ have made headlines across the state: in Miami, elected officials received probate houses for pennies on the dollar, $150 million disappeared from a special needs trust, and a Central Florida guardian was in charge of 700 people when one of them died in her care.
When it comes to how rampant that kind of malfeasance is, Ken Burke, who chaired the state’s task force that looked into issues with guardianship, said, “We have no idea. That’s the problem. “
The Department of Elder Affairs doesn’t do enough to monitor the program or the people in it.
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“There’s not enough rules to keep people honest,” Burke said. “It’s just too wild, wild west out there in guardianship, and it makes the availability of malfeasance way too easy.”
An audit of the Office of Public and Professional Guardians backs that up. It says OPPG received 174 complaints in two years against the state’s 566 professional guardians, but rarely took action.
It also said the OPPG hasn’t “developed and implemented an effective monitoring tool” to make sure guardians complied with state law, making sure “wards receive appropriate care and treatment, are safe, and their assets are protected.”
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In his presentation to a state senate committee the Deputy Auditor Matt Tracy said things aren’t getting better.
“This is actually a follow-up audit we did,” he said. “And to be honest, in some respects, it was worse the second time around.”
That’s why Contreras is working with State Representative Clay Yarborough to tighten up laws regulating the industry and Burke helped created a state registry of guardians so judges will know how many wards they have and where. But until sweeping change and tougher oversight are in place, they say Florida’s most vulnerable are at risk.
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