Dependent on the kindness of strangers: professional guardians for older adults who lack decisional capacity

This study examines the role of the professional guardian in two counties in Florida, Hillsborough and Pinellas. For older adults who need a guardian and do not have family or friends to act as such, professional guardians fill this role in both counties. Recent cases of financial exploitation by professional guardians have sparked criticism of this profession, but these criticisms have not been informed by empirical data. In a study of 406 court files opened in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties between 1983 and 1996, we examined the characteristics of wards, guardians and guardianship practices to determine whether having a professional guardian negatively impacted the wards, in terms of the number of rights removed, the amount of assets spent and the restrictiveness of the residential placement.We found no significant differences between the number of rights removed, or depletion of assets, but findings did indicate that wards with family guardians were more likely to be living in the community than those with professional guardians. Further research is needed to determine whether these findings can be replicated in a wider forum.