Perhaps the best reason for every American to consider comprehensive estate planning is to reduce and control, to the extent possible, the threat of guardianship. The threat of guardianship is so profound that twice, within the past ten years, the United States Senate has conducted hearings exposing the systems of guardianship and conservatorship as threats to seniors, their liberties, their rights, and their families.
Every year, millions of elderly Americans lose virtually every freedom we hold dear in this country to guardianship. Every year, millions of dollars in assets are lost, countless millions of families torn asunder, and untold millions of lives literally stolen, legally, through living probate. The Senate and investigative reporters throughout the U.S. have exposed a system that threatens the rights of every citizen.
Many have concluded that the archaic systems of guardianship and conservatorship afford a senior citizen fewer rights than if he or she were accused of murder. The result is devastating to those whose lives are stolen from them. Many have begun to fight from their guardianship imposed nursing homes to attempt to regain their freedoms. Their consistent testimony, their enduring legacy is that guardianship is an unimaginable threat and that only careful, comprehensive, and skilled planning can protect you.
To fully appreciate the threat, read carefully. Study the images carefully. But perhaps more importantly, watch the videos of those affected directly, and indirectly, by this incredible threat to personal rights and liberties. There are videos on most of the pages to the right. The video on this page summarizes the risks of guardianship. The video available on the next (“What is Guardianship?”) page warns, appropriately, that “this could happen to someone you love.” You might ask yourself as you watch: does Mrs. Varon sound incompetent and in need of a guardian??!! Similar videos can be found on the pages that follow, including a gut-wrenching tribute authored by the child of two senior citizens whose lives and assets were “legally” confiscated. Because a driver got lost on trip….
