Nov. 05, 2018
HARRISBURG – Rep. Frank Ryan (R-Lebanon) today announced that his legislation to increase protections available to some of our most vulnerable citizens by ensuring that their guardians comply with current provisions has been signed into law by the governor.
“Under current law, guardians of incapacitated persons are required to file annual reports on the finances and the well-being of the wards for which they are responsible, and the courts are tasked with the enforcement and monitoring of the guardians filing these reports,” Ryan said.
“Unfortunately, current law does not provide a mechanism for this enforcement. While annual reports are filed with the Clerk of the Orphans’ Court, the court is often not aware of guardians who are delinquent in their filings. Also, many counties do not have an established procedure for reviewing the annual reports.”
Ryan’s measure,
House Bill 1886, now Act 114 of 2018, would address this shortfall by requiring Clerks of the Orphans’ Court to transmit to the Court of Common Pleas at least once per quarter a list of guardians who are delinquent in filing required annual reports.
The legislation also places the burden on developing a process to review the filed reports on to the courts. The courts will have flexibility to determine how such procedures are followed, allowing counties of different sizes, with different caseloads and resources to determine the best manner to review the reports.
“This new law is supported by the Registers of Wills and Clerks of the Orphans’ Court Association,” Ryan said. “We need to be vigilant in ensuring protections for those who depend on the proper operation of our court system to advocate on their behalf.”
Representative Frank Ryan
101st Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Charles Lardner
717.260.6443
clardner@pahousegop.com
RepFrankRyan.com /
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