Massachusetts joined 37 other states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in streamlining adult guardianship rules when the Governor signed into law S.2249, the Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protected Persons Jurisdiction Act.
According to advocates, including Deb Thompson of the PASS Group, this new law addresses the difficulty of coordinating guardianships where two or more jurisdictions are involved. If an individual in need of a guardian lives in one state and the potential guardian lives in another state there is currently no way to coordinate guardianship proceedings in those separate jurisdictions.
This legislation-turned-law creates criteria for determining which jurisdiction is appropriate as well as to allow courts to request the assistance of other courts in filing motions, taking depositions and determining the appropriateness of a potential guardian or conservator. It would also avoid the costly and time-consuming requirement of litigating guardianships in multiple jurisdictions.
For more information on this issue, visit the National Center for State Courts’ Center for Elders and the Courts webpage on adult guardianship and the Uniform Law Commission.
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