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AARP AARP States Rhode Island Caregiving

In Support of Caregivers

When Caregivers Cross State Lines

 

family caregiving
Dean Mitchell

AARP is fighting to remove the barriers that prevent guardians in our state from providing for their loved ones, regardless of where they live. Below is submitted testimony on a bill before the General Assembly that makes it easier for out-of-state caregivers to focus on supporting loved ones rather than navigate current law.

This is one aspect of AARP Rhode Island's ongoing campaign to support caregivers and improve the state's caregiving environment. Learn more.

 







AARP Rhode Island Testimony
H 6034
UNIFORM ADULT GUARDIANSHIP AND PROTECTIVE PROCEEDINGS JURISDICTION ACTHouse Committee on Judiciary

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

 

Good afternoon Chairman Keable and members of the Committee. My name is Gerry McAvoy. I represent AARP.  Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

On behalf of our over 130,000 members in Rhode Island, we are pleased to offer AARP’s support for House Bill 6034, that adopts the Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceeding Jurisdiction Act (UAGPPJA).

Recognizing that we are a mobile society, AARP strongly supports this bill to remove barriers that prevent guardians in Rhode Island from providing for their loved ones, regardless of where they live. We believe that House Bill 6034 is a step in the right direction to help protect the interests of vulnerable incapacitated adults who need guardians and to make the guardianship system function more efficiently, fairly and cost-effectively nationwide.

Court-appointed guardians step into the shoes of at-risk adults who can no longer make their own decisions, and make judgments about property, medical care, living arrangements, lifestyle and potentially all personal and financial issues. As a judicial proceeding, guardianship can be expensive, time-consuming and combative. It can remove fundamental individual rights. It can prevent or redress elder abuse – or can create an opportunity for exploitation or abuse of vulnerable adults.

UAGPPJA is a uniform act aimed at addressing several critical issues that arise frequently:

  • initial jurisdiction over a guardianship case;
  • recognition of one state’s guardianship orders by another; and
  • interstate transfers of guardianship cases when such transfers would benefit the incapacitated person.

 

Forty (40) jurisdictions plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have adopted the UAGPPJA with scarcely any opposition. Also, the Act is currently being considered in Michigan, New Hampshire (where it passed the Senate on March 5 and has a hearing on Thursday in the N.H. House Judiciary Committee), Texas and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The UAGPPJA has a broad range of support from organizations including the National College of Probate Judges, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, National Guardianship Association, Conference of Chief Justices and the Alzheimer’s Association.

One key reason AARP supports the bill is our concern over elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. The Act can reduce the incidence of elder abuse in a myriad of ways. These include:

  • reducing granny-snatching — removing or enticing a vulnerable person to another state ― to gain control over a vulnerable person’s assets or life decisions through forum shopping;
  • permitting a court to consider which jurisdiction can best protect a person subject to abuse;
  • facilitating communication between courts in different jurisdictions about allegations of abuse; and
  • transferring cases between jurisdictions to remove individuals from abusive situations.

The absence of an effective inter-jurisdictional system promotes forum-shopping; hurts vulnerable adults and their families; and costs money and time for state court systems and the individuals involved in the cases. Rhode Island must join the other states by recognizing the burden that guardians face in trying to provide care across state lines and by adopting a common-sense approach to jurisdictional battles.

AARP supports the adoption of this uniform act and encourages Judiciary Committee members to favorably support House Bill 6034.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Submitted by Gerry McAvoy
AARP Rhode Island @TheStateHouse Legislative Volunteer

#AARPRI

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