Sunday, Jun. 14, 2009

New rules for adult guardians likely on the way

Expert: Bill doesn't address fraud

Legislation that would require certification of some guardians of impaired adults is expected to be signed by the governor, but one lawyer involved in Illinois guardianship reform efforts said it doesn't address the biggest problem.

Mark Heyrman, a clinical professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School who led a task force that in 2001 came up with recommendations for guardianship reform in Illinois, said he supports the new bill and thinks it'll provide needed training for some guardians who don't know how to do their job.

However, he doesn't believe good training will stop someone who wants to steal a person's money.

"I think it's a nice, interesting piece of legislation," he said. "I don't think it will address the primary problem, which is fraud."

News-Democrat stories published last month revealed that little accountability in guardianship of adults unable to manage their affairs has caused problems.

Attorney John F. Pawloski, who claimed to be St. Clair County's public guardian and administrator, has refused to account for his use of more than $50,000 of wards' and deceased people's estate money, but the court only asked him to do so after the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission accused him of stealing more than $6,000 and not cooperating with an investigation.

Pawloski has appealed a judge's demand he provide an accounting, and that appeal is pending in the 5th District Appellate Court in Mount Vernon. No one knows how he was named public guardian. The governor makes the appointment, and a former Gov. Rod Blagojevich spokesman said that office never did appoint Pawloski, but local clerks and judges thought he was the appointee.

Another guardian, Sharon Mehrtens, who runs a private business serving as guardian of those unable to manage their affairs and executor of deceased people's estates, hasn't accounted for her spending in several years in some cases but continues to collect professional fees from the wards and their estates.

Pawloski's lawyers have advised him not to talk to reporters. Mehrtens has said she doesn't always know when reports are due because previous judges had her on three-year filing schedules.

House Bill 2539 would mandate certification of the public guardians appointed by the governor to serve in individual counties. It would not apply to professional guardians, such as Mehrtens, or the Office of the State Guardian, which represents wards who have less than $25,000 to their estates. That agency already internally requires certification of those acting as guardian, and professional guardians need no certification under Illinois law.

The bill would also allow a governor-appointed public guardian to serve in more than one county. According to the Web site for Quinn's office, there are 29 counties, including St. Clair County, with vacancies.

Erica Wood, the assistant director of the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging who also participated in the Illinois guardianship reform study in 2001, said she thinks the bill is a "step in the right direction."

Aside from the public guardian certification bill, none of the 2001 task force's recommendations, including creating a statewide monitoring system or requiring certification of all guardians, have been implemented. Those who completed the study said the cost of change is standing in the way.

Wood said she thinks there are some low-cost things courts could do, such as training guardians and using volunteers to monitor guardians.

The bill was drafted by the Guardianship and Advocacy Commission, a state division that frequently advocates for legislative change. The bill passed both houses last month and Quinn is expected to sign it.

Representatives of the Guardianship and Advocacy Commission, at their quarterly video conference meeting in Springfield, Chicago and Carbondale last week, said they're not yet ready to recommend additional guardianship changes to the General Assembly.

John Wank, general counsel and director of programs for the commission, said such recommendations are typically made in the fall. As to whether the commission may recommend anything this fall, he said, "it's too soon to offer an opinion on that."

He said he has provided the commissioners with copies of guardianship reform recommendations from the 2001 Illinois task force, recent articles from the News-Democrat, and a 2005 national review of public guardianship around the country.

When it comes to discussion of guardianship reform, the commission's executive director, Mary Milano, said, "we are very, very happy to become engaged."