About the Guardianship Report Monitoring Project

Under the recently adopted Massachusetts Uniform Probate Code (MUPC), the guardianship provisions of which took effect on July 1st, guardians of adult incapacitated persons must file an initial Care Plan/Report with the court within 60 days after the guardianship appointment.  In subsequent years, the guardian must file an Annual Report within 60 days after the anniversary of the appointment.  The Court has an obligation to review these Care Plans and Reports for compliance with the requirements of the MUPC. 

The Probate and Family Court is committed to implementing the MUPC’s reporting requirement in a meaningful way.  Faced with dwindling budgets and staff resources, the Court has turned to Senior Partners to help with this important work.  Specifically, the Court is seeking volunteers from Senior Partners to serve as Judicial Designees to assist in the review of these Care Plans and Reports for incapacitated adults.  You can see the Guardian’s Care Plan/Report online. As experienced practitioners dedicated to access to justice, Senior Partners are in an ideal position to fulfill this role. 

We are looking to staff the Project with attorneys, social workers, and other professionals who have some relevant experience.  At this time, we don’t know what the demand will be, so we will be starting slowly and adding volunteers as needed.  This Project is limited in scope and the work can be done in discrete, pre-scheduled blocks of time (e.g., 3 hours in the morning or afternoon).

A training for this project was held in Boston in August 2009.  A recording of the training and written materials are available online.  We expect to hold additional trainings in the Central and Western parts of the state this fall. 

If you are interested in this Project, please email Senior Partners Project Manager Barbara Siegel and indicate your relevant experience, if any, and in which counties you are able to volunteer.  We will pair more experienced volunteers with less experienced volunteers.  The court has designated staff in each courthouse who will be available to answer questions.  The court is seeking volunteers for all Probate & Family Courts in the Commonwealth. 

To volunteer, please contact Barbara Siegel at bsiegel@vlpnet.org or 617-423-0648 x123.