Saturday, May 26, 2012

New Jersey Considers UAGPPJA

The New Jersey Legislature is considering a new law to prevent an elder abuse known as “granny snatching” by joining a multi-state network that protects adults who need the assistance of a guardian when families feud.

“There has been one case after another where we have venue challenges and jurisdictional challenges that have caused a lot of problems,” said Sen. Fred H. Madden (D-Gloucester), co-sponsor of the legislation.

Typically, a NJ court appoints a daughter as guardian for an elderly mother incapacitated by Alzheimer’s. The mother then visits another daughter in Florida, who goes to court seeking to overturn the New Jersey guardianship order and be named the new legal guardian.

The bill now under consideration in Trenton -- the New Jersey Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act -- would allow New Jersey’s guardianship orders to be recognized by other states with the law.

The bills, S1755 and A2628, establish uniform procedures for addressing interstate conflicts regarding adult guardianship issues, and brings New Jersey into an national guardianship reciprocity network that includes more than 30 states.

Full Article and Source:
New Jersey Considers Law to Prevent Granny Snatching

2 comments:

StandUp said...

Let's face it, it won't prevent granny snatching. One of the main problems with guardianship abuse is the courts don't follow the law. Why then would the courts follow UAGPPJA?

Thelma said...

While we need uniform law, there is one scary feature in UAGPPJA -
ex parte communication between judges in the different states.