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Revisiting The Visitor: Maine's New Uniform Probate Code & The Evolving Role Of The Court-Appointed Visitor In Adult Guardianship Reform, Lisa Kay Rosenthal Mar 2022

Revisiting The Visitor: Maine's New Uniform Probate Code & The Evolving Role Of The Court-Appointed Visitor In Adult Guardianship Reform, Lisa Kay Rosenthal

Maine Law Review

A judge may appoint a guardian for an adult who does not have the capacity to make decisions affecting their own health or welfare. However, the power of the guardian—while intended to serve a protective function—potentially invites financial, physical, and emotional abuse of the most vulnerable members of society. To help a probate judge understand the circumstances of a guardianship and the need for protection, probate courts in Maine appoint a “visitor” to interview both the person allegedly in need of a guardianship and the proposed guardian. The visitor submits a report to the court which contains the visitor’s observations, …


Exploitation And Abuse Of The Elderly During The Great Recession: A Maine Practitioner's Perspective, Denis T. Culley, Hannah Sanders University Of Maine School Of Law Oct 2017

Exploitation And Abuse Of The Elderly During The Great Recession: A Maine Practitioner's Perspective, Denis T. Culley, Hannah Sanders University Of Maine School Of Law

Maine Law Review

The practitioner often cringes on first exposure to elder abuse. Beating, cheating, or cynically misusing a parent or other beloved elder not only shocks and disheartens those who stumble upon it, but often leaves the practitioner, like the poet, with “a tighter breathing and Zero at the bone.” Nothing in our culture prepares us to behold the abused elder. The elder herself is often similarly shocked and ashamed. Many times, an abused elder is in denial and may feel that she has somehow allowed the abuse to occur. Or the elder may feel that the abuser—oftentimes a family member, trusted …