Avoiding Guardianship

Your estate plan needs to designate who will handle your affairs when you aren’t able to. Ideally, you’ll begin transitioning things to this agent (or agents) before you really need the help. That’s because the alternative often is that someone you don’t know petitions a court to be appointed your guardian. States have different rules on this. But some states allow professional guardians to initiate cases to serve as guardians for people who haven’t contacted them or expressed an need for help. This article describes some of the abuses that occur on a regular basis. You should be aware of the guardianship laws in your state and be sure your estate plan has protections in place.

Federal authorities began their investigation of Ayudando in June 2016 after several employees alleged their bosses were stealing money from client accounts. A 28-count federal indictment in July focused mostly on missing federal benefits from clients. Two top Ayudando executives allegedly spent more than $4 million in clients’ savings and other funds to support lavish lifestyles for themselves and their families.

Asked by White what his agency was doing to recoup missing client funds, Block said a claim has been filed on a $1.5 million liability insurance policy required by Ayudando’s state contract. But Block said the insurance company involved has said that “until such time as they’re convicted, we will not pay.”