Note: The views expressed in this public statement
represent only those of the Estates, Trusts and Probate Law Section
of the District of Columbia Bar, and not those of the District of Columbia
Bar or of its Board of Governors.
Summary
The Estates, Trusts and Probate Law Section[1]
of the District of Columbia Bar, voted on February 10, 2009 to endorse
the proposal of an ad hoc committee to completely revise Chapter 1 of
Title 21 of the District of Columbia Code, governing guardianships of
minor children and for law governing supplemental needs trusts in the
District of Columbia.
The views expressed in this Public Statement represent only those of the Estates, Trusts and Probate Law Section and not those of the District of Columbia Bar or of its Board of Governors.
The current law governing guardianships of minor children has been in place for over one hundred years, employs antiquated language and concepts, and causes administration of guardianships of the property and estate of minors to be needlessly cumbersome and unduly expensive.
An ad hoc committee of attorneys who are active in the practice of law regarding the assets and property of minor children have drafted a complete revision of the law governing guardianships of minor children. The proposed law replaces the existing law with a comprehensive system of protective arrangements which include formal court-supervised guardianships and cost-effective alternatives to formal guardianships which still protect the property of minor children. The proposed legislation clarifies the law regarding testamentary guardians appointed by the Will of a deceased parent, allowing for official recognition of testamentary guardians, as desired by a parent, as well as clear procedures in the event that there is no testamentary guardian or a testamentary guardian would be inappropriate.
The proposed law also includes provisions governing the
establishment by the court of supplemental needs trusts. As there is
currently no District of Columbia law governing supplemental needs trusts,
this badly-needed legislation will bring clarity and consistency to
this subject.
[1] Steering Committee
of the Estates, Trusts and Probate Law Section: Kimberly K. Edley, James
Larry Frazier, Kate K.H. Kilberg, Morris Klein, Anne M. Meister, Paul
D. Pearlstein, Catherine Mary Rafferty, Andrea J. Sloan, and Edward
G. Varrone. (Anne M. Meister has recused herself from all matters relating
to this Public Statement.)
Public Statement of the D.C. Bar Estates, Trusts and Probate
Law Section on Revising the Law Governing Guardianships of Minor Children
in the District of Columbia
Adopted by the Steering Committee on
February 10, 2009. [2]
The Estates, Trusts and Probate Law Section of the District of
Columbia Bar is made up of over one thousand attorneys who actively
practice estate planning; administration of decedent’s estates;
and cases involving arrangements protecting the property and assets
of minor children and disabled adults, such as trusts, guardianships
and conservatorships.
The views expressed in this Public Statement represent only those of the Estates, Trusts and Probate Law Section and not those of the District of Columbia Bar or of its Board of Governors.
The existing law governing guardianships of the property of minor children in the District of Columbia has been in place, without substantial revision, for over one hundred years. As a result, the law is cumbersome, expensive, and inefficient, and it does not adequately provide for full protection of the rights of minors and their parents or effective asset management. Existing law requires the establishment of formal guardianships in all cases in which a minor becomes entitled to property or assets, even when other, less expensive, protective arrangements would be more suitable. Also, existing law makes it unreasonably difficult for parents to act as guardians for their own children.
Recognizing that the antiquated law governing guardianships of minor
children was in need of a complete overhaul, the Steering Committee
of the Section encouraged the formation of an ad hoc committee of attorneys
active in the practice of law regarding the assets and property of minor
children. That ad hoc committee has met over many months and has produced
a proposal for a comprehensive revision of Chapter 1 of Title 21, as
well as legislation governing supplemental needs trusts. The committee
members were Steven Weinberg (chair), Robert A. Gazzola, Evan J. Krame,
Anne M. Meister, Barbara R. Miller, and Edward G. Varrone. (Anne M.
Meister resigned from the committee upon her appointment as Register
of Wills of the District of Columbia.) The attorneys
who participated in committee discussion from time to time include C.
Hope Brown, Stephanie Grogan, Suzanne V. Richards, Kimberly Martin Turner
and Joel C. Weingarten. The committee also received input from representatives
of the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington D.C., Quality
Trust for Individuals with Disabilities (an advocacy organization for
people with developmental disabilities and mental retardation in the
District of Columbia), and Shared Horizons, Inc. (a pooled special needs
trust in the D.C. Metropolitan Area), and the committee’s proposed
legislation was also reviewed by Sandy Bernstein, legal director of
University Legal Services.
The proposed legislation makes many important improvements to existing law, including the following:
