PRESS RELEASE
ADVOCATES PETITION FOR U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND SENATE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON AGING TO INVESTIGATE PREDATORY GUARDIANSHIP INDUSTRY
Calls for more aggressive prosecution and the acceleration of federal reform
March 3, 2021 – Flagler County, FL - The number one Netflix movie this past week was I Care a Lot and its star Rosamund Pike just won a Golden Globe. The fictional film exposes exploitative aspects of the guardianship industry which may give you chills, but the real-life...
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aging
Aging America [Video]
The aging of our globe will affect every aspect of our existence requiring new models, ways of being and legislation. Learn more in this video from Coming of Age in Aging America, a PBS documentary broadcast, multi-platform media and public engagement project that urges a national conversation about our new reality.
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“Ensuring Trust” Senate Hearing
On November 28, 2018, Elder Dignity Co-Founder Teresa Kay-Aba Kennedy attended the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Hearing, "Ensuring Trust: Strengthening State Efforts to Overhaul the Guardianship Process and Protect Older Americans" at the Senate Dirksen Office Building in Washington, DC.
Watch the Hearing
Aging Committee Report:
https://www.aging.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Guardianship_Report_2018_gloss_compress.pdf
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“Trust Betrayed” Senate Hearing
On November 28, 2016, Elder Dignity Co-Founder Teresa Kay-Aba Kennedy attended "Trust Betrayed: Financial Abuse of Older Americans by Guardians and Others in Power" U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging Hearing in Washington, DC.
Watch the Hearing
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$36 Billion Piggy Bank
Richard Cordray, Director of Federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, called elder financial exploitation the “crime of the 21st century.”
Approximately 36.9% of seniors are affected by financial abuse in a given five-year period. According to The True Link Report on Elder Financial Abuse 2015, $36.48 billion a year is lost by victims of elder financial abuse — more than twelve times what was previously reported. $6.7 billion is stolen through Trust Abuse, when friends, family, or paid h...
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Guardians At The Gates
The final gatekeeper in the Guardianship system is the judge. However, court-appointed guardians are given great power.
Professional guardianship has been called a “growth business” in Florida, with the number increasing from 12 registered professional guardians in 2003 to 456 in 2015, according to the state’s Department of Elder Affairs. The Florida State Guardianship Association describes guardianship as “a process designed to protect and exercise the legal rights of individuals whose funct...
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