Guardianship Corruption in Ocean County Courts. Tell Us Your Story.

As a reminder, group of residents have begun spreading the word of the questionable guardianship practice that is exclusive to Ocean County. You may have seen some signs in local businesses or participated in one of the hundreds of conversations that have been struck up while out and about. An email address was set up to make it easier to relay your information.

To explain, a deposition taken during a lawsuit uncovered what can be considered a questionable, if not unethical, practice that occurs in the Ocean County Surrogates office when families fight. The attorney giving the deposition is a previous employee of the Surrogates office and had written "I had strongly suggested they move to a different county which would give them the potential to at least not have the jurisdiction of APS which is Adult Protective Services, or the likelihood of an Ocean County guardianship which traditionally means that when a family fights nobody gets appointed. It's a neutral." "The court looks for a neutral and (on) a temporary basis and then the Office of the Public Guardian on a permanent basis. There's no other county in this state that follows that same model. There's 21 counties, but Ocean is the only one that follows that model. But most people don't know that unless you work down here, so."

When families are at odds, the office steps in and appoints temporary guardians and court appointed attorneys resulting in additional, lucrative incomes that are received atop of their existing salary. A typical undisputed case of declaring someone incapacitated takes between 30 days and 4 months. The case that that brought this practice to light had been ongoing for about two and a half years. Also in the case that was cited, the judge unceremoniously erased the rights of the individual. His Living Will, Durable Power of Attorney and Medical Power of Attorney were revoked by the judge after permanent guardianship was given to his son. This individual secured these documents several years prior to the onset of Alzheimers. He did not want his sons to have any power over his person or possessions. His decision was made due to almost ten years of mistreatment by his sons and after careful thought and a few revisions. That right was taken away without a trial.

Temporary guardians are to maintain status quo. They are responsible for making decisions and taking actions necessary to protect the individuals well-being and property during a temporary period, usually while a full guardianship is being determined. This temporary role is often established when an individual is at risk of harm or cannot meet their basic needs, and the court needs to act quickly. In the cited case, the individual was safe, in a secure memory care facility being well cared for by a full staff of trained workers.

A temporary court appointed attorney represents the individual. They investigate allegations of incapacity, ensure due process, advocate for the individuals rights and interests. They are to remain impartial to either feuding party.

If you feel you were misled or treated unfairly in an Ocean County guardianship case, we are interested. This can include the temporary guardians and appointed attorneys shutting out, or attempting to shut out a family member from plans and decisions. Having information withheld from family members about the care and treatment of an individual. It doesn’t matter how old the case is or if the person under the guardianship is still alive.

Items of note are the names of the assigned temporary guardians, court appointed attorneys, the judges that were involved, and length of time that the appointments lasted. If a home care agency was involved, the name of the agency, and the name of the case manager. The docket number and any court records that can be legally shared. (Court records are public.) If you call the Surrogates office to obtain records, get the name of the individual that you speak with. The best way to share this information is by email to oceancountycomplaints@gmail.com. If you have already forwarded information through another platform, there is no need to submit it again.

We would like to thank you for the overwhelming responses we've received so far. We regret that only guardianship issues are being addressed, by us, at this time. Hopefully this will lead to ridding Ocean County of all corruption.