Archive

• Challenging Assumptions in Incompetency Proceedings: Ideas for Guardians ad Litem

  This entry was contributed by Timothy Heinle on February 15, 2023 at 11:10 am and is filed under Guardianship, Incompetency.

  Recently, the School of Government hosted its biennial Guardianship Proceedings for Appointed Counsel program, co-sponsored by the Office of Indigent Defense Services. The program brings together attorneys who serve as guardians ad litem (GALs) in incompetency and guardianship proceedings – a unique role in our judicial system if ever there was one.

  During the program, we discussed the reality that in every proceeding, assumptions get made—by the parties, doctors, social workers, clerks, and GALs themselves—and we brainstormed how GALs can turn those moments into opportunities for more effective representation. I thought it could be useful to share some of the ideas discussed by the group and to welcome folks who were not in attendance to reach out and share their own ideas. Continue Reading

• Ongoing Support for Adult Protection Multidisciplinary Teams Now Available Through the School of Government Help Desk

  This entry was contributed by Meredith Smith on November 11, 2022 at 2:56 pm and is filed under Social Services.

  Over the past few years, faculty and staff at the School of Government collaborated with public officials across the state to develop resources and tools related to the growth and development of adult protection multidisciplinary teams (MDTs).  An adult protection MDT is a group of professionals in a geographic region who work together toward common goals related to preventing and responding to abuse, in any of its forms (physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; self-neglect and caretaker neglect; and exploitation, including financial exploitation).

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• New Ethics Opinion on Dual Role GAL–Attorney Advocates in Juvenile Proceedings

  This entry was contributed by Timothy Heinle on August 17, 2022 at 10:45 am and is filed under Child Welfare Law, Juvenile Law, Social Services.

  This post was updated on September 6, 2022 in response to helpful reader feedback regarding the nuances that exist when determining whether there is a conflict of interest for a GAL program and, if so, the possible options available to cure that conflict. The amended portion can be found in the Conflicts of Interests section below. 

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• More on Single Protective Arrangements and Single Transactions under G.S. Chapter 35A

  This entry was contributed by Timothy Heinle, Meredith Smith on April 20, 2022 at 1:21 pm and is filed under Clerks of Superior Court, Guardianship.

   

  Recently, the School of Government offered a webinar on single protective arrangements and single transactions under G.S. 35A-1121, which was enacted into law by Session Law 2021-53 and applies to proceedings initiated on or after October 1, 2021. Meredith Smith and Timothy Heinle of the School of Government joined Catherine Wilson, an attorney with McPherson, Rocamora, Nicholson, Wilson & Hinkle, PLLC, and Matt Kraus, legal counsel with the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts, to discuss some of the key questions and issues raised by this new law. Clerks of superior court, guardian ad litem attorneys, private attorneys, and directors, attorneys, and social workers from various departments of social services across the state participated in the webinar.

  A recording of the webinar can be found here, where the presentation can be viewed for free. In the coming weeks, the video will be added to the online training library  for the SOG’s Public Defense Education group, which will offer the option of purchasing access to the webinar for CLE credit.

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• Single Transactions and Protective Arrangements: A New Tool in Guardianship Proceedings and a Lot for GALs to Consider

  This entry was contributed by Timothy Heinle on February 3, 2022 at 9:45 am and is filed under Guardianship.

   

  Effective for all incompetency and guardianship proceedings filed after October 1, 2021, S.L. 2021-53 (S 50) created a new statute, G.S. 35A-1121, that enables clerks to authorize a single transaction or protective arrangement—without appointing a guardian. I have received a lot of consults on the new law since it passed. It is not intended to be a magic wand. The law is a tool—one that may prove effective when used in the right situations. To make sure their clients remain protected, GALs need to understand what the law is and is not.

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• The Conservatorship of Britney Spears and a Ward’s Right to Petition for Restoration of Competency

  This entry was contributed by Timothy Heinle on July 7, 2021 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Guardianship.

   

  Britney Spears and the details of her conservatorship—the California equivalent of incompetency and guardianship in North Carolina—have recently been front page news, leading people to reach out to me with questions. While the case is remarkable, in part because of Ms. Spears’ fame and the massive amounts of wealth involved, the themes and central issues are familiar to those who handle these types of cases. Allegations of abuses of power, bitter family disputes, and pleas for autonomy and a return to normalcy, are not uncommon in incompetency and guardianship proceedings. Still, there are important lessons in Ms. Spears’ case for attorneys who handle guardianship work in North Carolina, including guardian ad litem attorneys in Chapter 35A proceedings.

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• The Initial Guide in a New Series: The First Seven Days

  This entry was contributed by Timothy Heinle on April 22, 2021 at 5:54 pm and is filed under Guardianship, Uncategorized.

  The UNC School of Government’s Public Defense Education group is excited to announce a new series of practice guides, The First Seven Days, by Timothy Heinle, Civil Defender Educator. The guides offer practical tips and strategies for respondent’s attorneys in various civil proceedings to use during the first several days of representation. The ideas suggested in the guides are designed to help busy attorneys hit the ground running in ways that reduce stress for the attorney and improve representation for the client.

  The first entry in the series is The First Seven Days as a Guardian ad Litem in an Incompetency Proceeding. It includes ideas on creating files, client outreach, investigation tools, report writing, and more. Guardian ad litem attorneys in Chapter 35A proceedings can obtain the guide in three ways. Continue Reading

• Civil Actions and Financial Exploitation of Older Adults: Who Brings the Action?

  This entry was contributed by Meredith Smith on October 18, 2019 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Civil Procedure-General, Guardianship.

  Financial exploitation of an older adult is a type of elder abuse.  It occurs in many forms.  A door-to-door home repairman defrauds an older adult out of her life savings.  A caregiver gets an older adult who lacks capacity to sign a deed conveying the older adult’s property to the caregiver’s son.  An adult child steals the older adult’s debit card and withdraws significant amounts of money for his own benefit.  (Notably, a recent study suggests that relatives may perpetrate more financial elder abuse than strangers.)

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• Appointment of a GAL Starts the Clock on a Minor’s Med Mal Action

  This entry was contributed by Ann Anderson on March 16, 2018 at 2:51 pm and is filed under Civil Practice, Civil Procedure-General.

  Earlier this month the North Carolina Supreme Court issued its opinion in King v. Albemarle Hospital Authority, holding that a GAL appointment starts the running of the statute of limitations for a minor’s medical malpractice claim. During her birth in 2005, the plaintiff, Desiree King, suffered a severe brain injury. In 2008, just under three years later, a medical malpractice action was filed on her behalf by the guardian ad litem (GAL) who had been appointed for her earlier the same day pursuant to Rule of Civil Procedure 17(b).  A few months later, the GAL voluntarily dismissed the action without prejudice as permitted by Rule 41(a).  Instead of refiling Desiree’s action within one year as Rule 41(a) allows, the GAL refiled in 2015, about six years later.  On the hospital’s motion, the trial court dismissed Desiree’s action as time-barred.

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• New Abuse, Neglect, Dependency, and Termination of Parental Rights Resources

  This entry was contributed by Sara DePasquale on January 23, 2018 at 3:44 pm and is filed under Child Welfare Law.

  I am so happy to announce the availability of the 2017 Manual — Abuse, Neglect, Dependency, and Termination of Parental Rights Proceedings in North Carolina.

  What’s In It?

  This Manual provides easily accessible information about the laws, procedures, and concepts related to abuse, neglect, dependency, and termination of parental rights proceedings in North Carolina. The primary intended audience consists of district court judges, social services attorneys, parents’ attorneys, and guardian ad litem attorney advocates who work in this area of the law.

  This 2017 edition is a significant revision of the previous edition (2015) and contains hundreds of pages of new content. It includes changes made to the Juvenile Code by the North Carolina General Assembly in the 2015, 2016, and 2017 sessions as well as appellate decisions published through October 1, 2017. The new content discusses a variety of topics including mandatory concurrent permanency planning, cessation of reasonable efforts and the elimination of reunification as a permanent plan, medical decision-making for a child placed in DSS custody, the reasonable and prudent parent standard, and Foster Care 18−21.

  There are nine new checklists that supplement the chapter content and incorporate the legislative changes that apply to the various hearings in abuse, neglect, dependency, and related termination of parental rights proceedings. Before you bypass the chapters to get to the checklists, explore the Manual to see what is in there. Continue Reading