Reforming Iowa's Guardianship and Conservatorship System
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Reforming Iowa’s Guardianship and Conservatorship System IOWA GUARDIANSHIP AND CONSERVATORSHIP REFORM TASK FORCE FINAL REPORT AUGUST 2017 Justice Bruce Zager Chair, Task Force Steering Committee Josephine Gittler Task Force Coordinator & Reporter Jerry Foxhoven Task Force Coordinator & Reporter TASK FORCE MEMBERS TASK FORCE STEERING COMMITTEE Judge Craig Block Judge Cynthia Danielson Jerry Foxhoven Josephine Gittler Gregory Kenyon Molly Kottmeyer (ex officio) Judge Jeffrey Larson Benjamin Ullem (2015‐2016) Justice Bruce Zager (Chair) TASK FORCE WORK GROUPS Jerry Foxhoven* (Coordinator & Reporter, Work Groups One‐Five) Josephine Gittler* (Coordinator & Reporter Work Groups One‐Five) WORK GROUP ONE: ESTABLISHMENT OF ADULT GUARDIANSHIPS AND CONSERVATORSHIPS Kathleen Buckwalter Anthony Carroll Tyler Eason Jane Hudson Gregory Kenyon* Thomas Lawler Judge John Linn Dave Mason Wendy Rickman Chantelle Smith Frank Tenuta Judge Patrick Tott Judge Stuart Werling (Chair) i WORK GROUP TWO: GUARDIANS AND CONSERVATORS Chris Even Judge Myron Gookin (Chair) Jim Holter Lee Ann Logan Janet Martinson Michel Nelson Judge David Odekirk Barbara Orzechowski Judge Thomas Reidel Philip Seidl D. Thomas Smith Tony Vola Suzanne Watson WORK GROUP THREE: COURT MONITORING OF ADULT GUARDIANSHIPS AND CONSERVATORSHIPS Rhonda Bentley Teresa Bomhoff Judge Craig Block* Carroll Edmondson Kathy Good Judge Marlita Greve Judge Kellyann Lekar (Chair) Judge Jeffrey Neary Roxann Repstien Judge James Richardson Judge Joel Swanson Margaret Van Houten ii WORK GROUP FOUR: ADMINISTRATION OF GUARDIANSHIP AND CONSERVATORSHIP SYSTEM Judge Steve Andreasen Judge Cynthia Danielson* Kathy Gaylord Judge Patrick Grady Judge Jeffrey Larson* (Chair) Joshua Miller Judge Kurt Stoebe Jennifer Webster Rebecca Zoll WORK GROUP FIVE: MINOR GUARDIANSHIPS AND CONSERVATORSHIPS Judge Susan Christensen Sara Haas Jim Hennessey Mary Hodapp Kelli Johnson Judge Kathleen Kilnoski (Chair) Evelyn Ocheltree Wendy Rickman Judge Colin Witt Breanna Young RESOURCE COMMITTEE ON CLINICAL EVALUATIONS Robert Bacon Kathleen Buckwalter Robert Bender Josephine Gittler* (Chair & Reporter) Kenda Jochimsen Jan Jordan June Klein‐Bacon Paul Mulhausen Mary‐Beth Roskens Catherine Stack Mary Stevens * Denotes member of Steering Committee. iii PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As of 2016, more than 22,000 vulnerable Iowans―both adults and minors―were subject to guardianships and conservatorships. The Iowa Supreme Court established the Guardianship and Conservatorship Reform Task Force to address the challenges that the Iowa guardianship and conservatorship system faces now and will face in the future in meeting the needs of vulnerable Iowans who lack the ability to make decision for themselves and are in need of care and protection. This Final Report of the Iowa Guardianship and Conservatorship Task Force presents 232 recommendations to reform the Iowa guardianship and conservatorship system. These recommendations provide a comprehensive roadmap for future directions of the system. The Task Force recommendations are the product of the efforts of more than 70 individuals who served as members of the Task Force Steering Committee, the five Task Force Work Groups, and the Task Force Committee on Clinical Evaluation. The Task Force brought together representatives of the many stakeholders in the guardianship and conservatorship system―judges, other judicial branch personnel, attorneys, guardians and conservators, advocates for individuals with disabilities, mental illnesses and brain injuries, advocates for older individuals with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, staffs of state and local agencies, clinicians and service providers, and legal academics. The Task Force benefited greatly from the knowledge, the experience, and the diversity of perspectives that individuals who served as members of the Task Force brought to its deliberations and the development of its recommendations. Judges Myron Gookin, Kathleen Kilnoski, Jeffrey Larson, Kellyann Lekar, and Stuart Werling, who served as Work Group chairs, are to be commended for their commitment to the work of the Task Force and the leadership they provided to the five Work Groups. Justice Bruce Zager, who served as Chair of the Task Force Steering Committee, likewise is to be commended for his commitment to the work of the Task Force and the leadership that he provided to the Task Force as a whole. Finally, we wish to acknowledge the contribution of the University of Iowa College of Law and the Drake University School of Law to the work of the Task Force. The support of these law schools made possible our participation in the Task Force. Additionally, and most importantly, the University of Iowa College of Law made funding available for the Task Force’s Iowa Guardianship and Conservatorship Summit and its Final Plenary Meeting. Josephine Gittler, Task Force Coordinator and Reporter Jerry Foxhoven, Task Force Coordinator and Reporter August 12, 2017 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................ 1 I. OVERVIEW: IOWA GUARDIANSHIP & CONSERVATORSHIP SYSTEM ......................................................... 1 II. OVERVIEW OF THE IOWA GUARDIANSHIP & CONSERVATORSHIP REFORM TASK FORCE ....................... 2 A. Establishment of the Task Force ....................................................................................................... 2 B. Task Force Organization and Membership ....................................................................................... 3 C. Task Force Activities ......................................................................................................................... 4 III. TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................................................................... 5 IV. TASK FORCE FINAL REPORT ..................................................................................................................... 7 PART ONE: ESTABLISHMENT OF ADULT GUARDIANSHIPS & CONSERVATORSHIPS ............................... 11 I. REVISION OF IOWA CODE PROVISIONS REGARDING ESTABLISHMENT OF ADULT GUARDIANSHIPS AND CONSERVATORSHIPS ............................................................................................ 11 II. TERMINOLOGY ........................................................................................................................................ 13 III. GUARDIANSHIP/CONSERVATORSHIP ALTERNATIVES AND LIMITED GUARDIANSHIPS ......................... 14 A. Use of Less Restrictive/Intrusive Alternatives to Guardianships and Conservatorships ................. 14 B. Use of Limited Guardianships and Conservatorships ....................................................................... 15 C. Minors with Intellectual Disabilities Transitioning to Adult Status .................................................. 19 IV. VOLUNTARY GUARDIANSHIPS AND CONSERVATORSHIPS .................................................................... 19 V. PETITION AND NOTICE ............................................................................................................................ 21 A. Petition ............................................................................................................................................. 21 B. Notice ............................................................................................................................................... 24 VI. HEARING REQUIREMENTS ..................................................................................................................... 25 VII. COUNSEL FOR RESPONDENT AND COURT VISITOR (GUARDIAN AD LITEM) ........................................ 27 A. Distinction Between Counsel for Respondent and Court Visitor (Guardian Ad Litem) ................... 27 v B. Counsel for Respondent ................................................................................................................... 28 C. Court Visitor ..................................................................................................................................... 29 VIII. STANDBY PETITIONS AND EMERGENCY PETITIONS ............................................................................. 32 A. Standby Petitions for Appointment of Guardians and Conservators .............................................. 32 B. Emergency Appointment of Temporary Guardian or Conservator ................................................. 33 IX. ORDERS OF APPOINTMENT AND GUIDANCE FOR NEWLY APPOINTED GUARDIANS AND CONSERVATORS ....................................................................................................... 34 PART TWO: ESTABLISHMENT OF MINOR GUARDIANSHIPS & CONSERVATORSHIPS .............................. 39 PART ONE A: ESTABLISHMENT OF MINOR GUARDIANSHIPS ...................................................................... 39 I. STATUTORY CRITERIA FOR MINOR GUARDIANSHIPS .............................................................................. 39 A. Specification of Statutory Criteria ................................................................................................... 39 B. Termination of Parental Rights, Death of Parents and Nomination of Guardian by Will ............... 40 C. Appointment of a Guardian with Parental Consent ........................................................................ 40 D. Appointment of Guardian without Parental Consent .....................................................................