The Legal Checkup Blog

RE: H1366, Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act (UAGPPJA)

The Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (MassNAELA) asks for your immediate advocacy to help get the UAGPPJA passed.  On July 10th, it passed the Senate, and it is currently being considered by the House Ways and Means Committee.  This bill is poised to pass the House, but we need your support NOW because July 31st marks the end of formal sessions for the 2013-2014 session.

We can get this important legislation passed, but we need YOUR help NOW.  Every phone call is critical!

PLEASE 1) call your representative and ask him or her to contact Speaker DeLeo in support of Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act.

2) Then call Speaker DeLeo's office yourself and urge him to support passage of this bill.   The main number at the State House is (617) 722-2000.

Following is a summary of why this legislation is so important:

While the UAGPPJA provides much needed clarity and a mechanism to establish the most appropriate forum for each case, it also provides significant discretion to the Massachusetts Courts to accept or reject jurisdiction of any matter based on the specific facts.  Judges may exercise temporary orders as appropriate for the protection of respondents pending transfer to or acceptance by another jurisdiction.   

The UAGPPJA will enable communication and cooperation between courts, simplify procedures for guardians and conservators to act in multiple jurisdictions when necessary (for example, if the protected person has real estate to be sold in another state), and facilitate acceptance and enforcement of guardianship and conservatorship orders in other states.  The UAGPPJA even authorizes the courts to decline jurisdiction or impose other appropriate remedies if jurisdiction is acquired by unjustifiable conduct, an issue of growing concern among elder law attorneys who see elders being improperly subjected to the guardianship process as the result of family disputes.

The UAGPPJA provides real solutions with no budget attached.  It will minimize the financial and emotional burden on elders and their families who would otherwise have to initiate a second court proceeding simply to satisfy a Registry of Deeds, a care facility, or a financial institution that refuses to honor an out-of-state guardianship or conservatorship order.  The UAGPPJA would be a win for our clients and their families, as well as the Commonwealth.

PLEASE HELP US TO ADVOCATE FOR PASSAGE OF THE UAGPPJA!!  THANK YOU!