Meeting Public Comments

Len Sandler [University of Iowa Law and Policy in Action Clinic]

March 27, 2023Representatives Bill Gustoff, Sami Scheetz, and Charley ThomsonHouse Judiciary CommitteeSubcommittee on SF 295RE: Proposed Amendments to SF295 and Comments from Parents, Guardians, Conservators, and ProvidersI am writing to provide you with a few redacted email messages from families who are guardians, conservators, and payees, about the realworld burdens they endure now, and the negative consequences of enacting SF295 in its current form. Parents of children with disabilities describe the difficulty they have completing and filing the paperwork and finding or paying lawyers to represent them and or their vulnerable child. Providers have the same problem trying to find a guardian or conservator. The comments underscore the need for simplified financial reporting for lowasset estates, and for allowing lawyers for protected persons to withdraw when a judge appoints a guardian or conservator and approves initial plans and reports. I have also attached a revised amendment that no longer includes having a government payee as a sole basis for simplified reporting. Social Security regulations require every conservator for a person who receives SSA benefits to become a representative payee whether or not the individual has limited income and assets.I am the parent of a special needs young adult. My husband and I were appointed coguardians and coconservators for our son, (age 25), in 2016 when he reached the age of majority. Many of my welleducated, intelligent friends avoid the entire guardianship/conservatorship process for their adult children because the entire process is expensive (at the outset), and burdensome (throughout the process). I find the annual reporting requirements to be incredible timeconsuming, with ponderous and duplicative forms, and I have a juris doctorate. I respectfully request to learn more about how/why you introduced this legislation in the first place. Kindly explain Thank you very much for caring for specialneeds population and brokenhearted families. My son currently in group home. MYEP is his SSA designated payee. They spend my son's SSI according to the law and regulation. They also filed annual report to SSA. I am his guardian and conservator. I don't control his spending for SSI. I feel anxious and frustrated for the due date each January for court reports. They are so complex for me although I completed college education in USA. I have to hire an attorney to handle it. The court reports filed by lawyers are easy and simple compared to Iowa Court Electronic Filing reports which are complex and time cost for most guardians/conservators, even more difficult than Tax return. I strongly support the appeal for simplifying reporting for guardians and conservators.We are just overwhelmed with just trying to get our 25yearold with Down syndrome to sleep at night, wear CPAP, not guzzle caffeine drinks, and eat regularly. And my wife is a doctor, and we have Ivy League undergrad degrees. Upon review of the proposed legislation, it is readily apparent to me that the members of the committee do not understand the real world needs and burdens of parents and other conservators and guardians with limited means, education, technology, etc. The current, required annual paperwork for our 39yearold son with autism is already daunting and burdensome. In the past, the judge was able to allow us to file every 35 years and the forms were easier to complete. The annual requirement and necessary paperwork is extremely challenging and near impossible for lay persons without accounting experience to complete. Is this new, additional level of detail necessary, beneficial, and does it serve its intended purpose? I think not! It is already painful enough to confront the cold, harsh reality of our son's condition and lack of independence on a regular basis. Additional, onerous, unnecessary requirements acutely sharpen the pain that we already feel. Please consider this when discussing the bill(s).I got your information from the Arc. My son is turning 18 next month. He has Cerebral Palsy and is considered severe and profound. I went to the courthouse to file a petition for guardianship, but no one was able to help me. Can you give me some guidance on how I can file this petition?SOS to Parent and Special Education Advocacy Network: I am writing to you and other members of the Transition Services Center Community Group, Community Inclusion Group, Ask Resources, and advocacy groups to ask for your help. Jane Doe of Iowa City has given me permission to contact you and share this personal, sensitive information because she wants to become the legal guardian of her 18yearold son. He attends City High School and needs someone to make decisions about his medical care, living arrangements, benefits, education, programs, and other matters. As you know, my Clinical Law Program does represent parents, children, or others in guardianship proceedings. We wont do so until Iowa law changes, which is the works, I hope. She would like more information and help about guardianship and how the process works. In my opinion, you know more than anyone about how things work because you serve are guardians and conservators or have assisted them or their children. I have included her on this email so you can contact her directly. I recommended that she talk with you and other parents, take a look at some of the chapters of the Iowa Guardianship and Conservatorship Guide at https://www.iowaddcouncil.org/guardianshipandconservatorshipiniowa and check out the Iowa Legal Aid website at https://www.iowalegalaid.org/search?q=guardianship&contenttype=Resource&channel=legal%2Dinformation&topic=individual%2Drights&page=1 I have attached the table of contents to the DD Council materials and a fact sheet of resource about these issues. She might also be interested in knowing which local lawyers will represent her. Result of SOS to Network: Many people helped her, but she could not find a lawyer to represent her or her son. I wanted to see if you have any advice or guidance for a patient who is stuck on our inpatient unit. This is the second time we have had the same patient on the unit for very extended lengths of time (around 8 months). The patient doesnt have a guardian as his family is not involved in his life. We have contacted agencies who provide guardianship, but no one is accepting. We contacted Department for Aging, but they dont have funding to pick up new people until at least July 1. If they dont get state funding then they wont take any new people from the guardianship waitlist. Weve exhausted all our options and are working with HHS leadership. Do you have any suggestions about how to help someone get guardianship? He is severe ID, ASD, severe challenging behavior, and nonverbal. Is there anything you can think of?SF295 Sec. 29. Section 633.670, Code 2023, is amended by striking the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 633.670 Reports by conservators.Amend 633.670 by adding new paragraphs 1.d and 3.b and renumbering other sections:d. Unless the court orders otherwise, a conservator is not obligated to file a financial management plan pursuant to this section if the protected person 1) is indigent as defined in 633.561.3.,or 2) receives Supplemental Security Income benefits, Medical Assistance benefits, or other meanstested benefits, or 3) the entire conservatorship estate is worth $10,000 or less.b. Unless the court orders otherwise, a conservator is not obligated to file an annual report pursuant to this section if the protected person 1) is indigent as defined in 633.561.3., or 2) receives Supplemental Security Income benefits, Medical Assistance benefits, or other meanstested benefits, or 3) the entire conservatorship estate is worth $10,000 or less.Amend 633.561.6. by adding subsection b. and renumbering using 6.a and new 6.b633.561 Appointment and role of attorney for respondent.b. When the court approves the initial care plan or initial financial management plan, the attorney for the respondent shall be permitted to withdraw from representation and be discharged from all duties. If the court determines that it would be in the respondents best interest to have legal representation with respect to any further proceedings in a guardianship or conservatorship, the court may appoint an attorney to represent the respondent at the expense of the respondent or the respondents estate, or if the respondent is indigent the cost of the court appointed attorney shall be assessed against the county in which the proceedings are pending.Thank you for your consideration and commitment to helping families across Iowa protect their loved ones and preserve access to our judicial system. Regards,Len SandlerClinical Professor of LawDirector, Estate Planning Clinic and Law and Policy In Action ClinicUniversity of Iowa College of LawClinical Law Programs380F Boyd Law BuildingIowa City, Iowa 5224211133193359030 (phone)3193535445 (fax)Pronouns: he, him, his