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“I fear the word guardianship more than the word cancer” – Lawmakers Take Bold Action to Prevent Elderly Death, Abuse and Fraud Following Rebecca Fierle and Traci Hudson Cases

Statewide Legislation Aims to Reform Guardianship System and Protect Vulnerable Seniors

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In the wake of distressing incidents exposing the demise, neglect, and financial exploitation totaling millions of dollars among elderly Floridians, as revealed through the criminal convictions of former Florida guardians Rebecca Fierle and Traci Hudson, state legislators have introduced comprehensive legislation to overhaul Florida’s guardianship system.

Fierle, arrested in 2019, was charged with causing the death of her ward, Steven Stryker, through the removal of his feeding tube and the signing of a do-not-resuscitate order.

Less than a year prior, Fierle had been granted full authority over Stryker by a judge in less than three minutes, despite Stryker having appointed a close friend to be his durable power of attorney and health care surrogate.

Fierle made nearly $4 million as a guardian, double-billing her wards, patients, and AdventHealth–money she did not report to the courts. Fierle’s case took a shocking and morbid turn when investigators found the cremated remains of nine people in her Orlando office. After a trial concluded with a hung jury, Fierle ultimately opted for a plea deal, accepting a reduced charge of neglect of an elderly person.

Traci Hudson, another former Florida professional guardian, was sentenced last year to 8.5 years in prison for 11 counts of grand theft, five counts of exploitation of an elderly or disabled person and four counts of perjury. Hudson, a former president of the Guardianship Association of Pinellas County, obtained power of attorney and guardianship over multiple Tampa Bay seniors, then stole money from them.

Shocking revelations during the investigation uncovered Hudson was writing herself checks from her ward’s accounts, billing wards for more than 24 hours of work in a day, paying excessive commissions to realtors, and altering inventories. Hudson pleaded guilty to the felony charges following a three-year investigation.

These high-profile cases underscore systemic issues within the guardianship system, compelling Florida lawmakers to propose legislative reforms aimed at preventing future abuses and protecting vulnerable individuals.

Proposed legislation, Senate Bill 48 by Senator Garcia (R) and House Bill 887 by Representative Harris (D), represents a critical response to the urgent need for reform within the guardianship system. Key reforms in the bill include increased oversight, safeguards, and court monitoring processes, aligning with recommendations from the Guardianship Improvement Task Force. The legislation aims to address the systemic issues that allowed individuals like Traci Hudson and Rebecca Fierle to exploit vulnerable wards.

Ken Burke, Pinellas County Clerk of Court and Comptroller, and Chair of the Guardianship Improvement Task Force, emphasized the broken state of the guardianship system in letters of support for the legislation. “Better protections are desperately needed for these vulnerable wards,” Burke wrote.

The urgency for change is evident in the bipartisan efforts of these lawmakers, as well as with the growing grassroots coalition Floridians for Guardianship Reform who support the legislation. The coalition includes dozens of individual advocates and organizations such as Florida National Organization for Women (NOW), Center for Estate Administration Reform (CEAR), Families Against Court Travesties (FACTs), and Florida Alliance for Retired Americans (FLARA).

“I fear the word guardianship more than the word cancer,” said advocate Hillary Hogue. As Hogue recently told WP, she became an unpaid citizen watchdog after her own horrible guardianship experience. To get her father released from one, she paid over $100,000 in legal fees. Hogue is one of the dozens of advocates working in coalition to support the legislation.

“With over 4 million residents over the age of 65 in Florida, the need for urgent reform is undeniable,” said Kat Duesterhaus, Legislative Director of Florida National Organization for Women. “Our imperative is clear – to prevent ongoing abuse, safeguard lives, and uphold the fundamental rights, dignity, and autonomy of those who find themselves incapacitated.”

The coalition provides the following resource for Floridians who want to support the reform: www.linktr.ee/GuardianshipReform.

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Note: Due to a drafting error, Garcia and Harris’ bills are titled “Karilyn’s Law,” and are to be renamed “Doris’ Law,” as Harris confirmed to Florida Politics. Read more about Doris’ story here as covered by ABC’s Action News I-Team, who in their own words have been “covering Florida’s broken professional guardianship system for more than a decade, uncovering instances of isolation, exploitation and abuse of Florida’s most vulnerable seniors by court-appointed guardians in our ongoing series ‘The Price of Protection.'” We thank all local, state, and national media for your steadfast coverage of guardianship victimization and proposed reforms.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Kat Duesterhaus, Legislative Director
Legislative@flnow.org / 772-267-6353

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Florida National Organization for Women (NOW) Sounds Alarm as Bill to Criminalize Abortion Advances in Legislative Process

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
 
**Florida National Organization for Women (NOW) Sounds Alarm as HB 651 Advances in Legislative Process**
FLORIDA – The Florida National Organization for Women (NOW) expresses deep concern as HB 651 passes favorably out of the Civil Justice Committee, signaling a dangerous trajectory towards the potential criminalization of abortion in the state. This legislation poses a serious threat to reproductive rights and women’s health.
HB 651’s advancement in the legislative process is a cause for alarm, as it opens the door to unsettling possibilities. The language within the bill has been used in other states to criminalize abortion providers, patients seeking care, and individuals offering support. The specter of fetal personhood looms large, and Florida NOW urges residents to recognize the urgent need to protect reproductive freedom.
Florida NOW calls on all Floridians to take immediate action by contacting their lawmakers to voice opposition to this perilous and inhumane legislation. The potential consequences of HB 651 are far-reaching, affecting not only women’s rights but also privacy, autonomy, and access to essential healthcare services.
President Debbie Deland emphasizes, “This legislation poses a direct threat to the hard-fought rights of women and all individuals seeking reproductive health care. Florida NOW urges residents to make their voices heard by contacting their lawmakers and expressing their opposition to this dangerous and regressive measure.”
Florida NOW shares the following resource for individuals to contact their lawmakers:
Florida NOW stands steadfast in its commitment to defending reproductive rights, advocating for the autonomy of individuals, and opposing any legislation that undermines these fundamental principles.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Katrina Duesterhaus
Legislative Director, Florida NOW
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About Florida National Organization for Women (NOW):
Florida NOW is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing women’s rights and equality. With a focus on reproductive justice, gender equality, and social justice, Florida NOW works tirelessly to protect and promote the rights of women in the state. For more information, visit www.flnow.org.

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Florida Lawmakers Aim To Reform The State’s Guardianship System

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After several problematic guardianship cases in Florida received national attention (1) (2) (3), elected state officials Representative Rita Harris and Senator Ileana Garcia are taking aim to improve the state’s guardianship processes. This is a pressing issue for Florida, a state that currently has 2 million residents age 75 or older — more than the entire population of 14 other states.

A guardian is a person who has been appointed by a court, or otherwise has the legal authority to make decisions relevant to the personal and property interests of another person who is deemed incompetent, called a ward. Strokes, traumatic brain injuries, mental illness, intellectual and developmental disabilities, Alzheimer’s and other dementia, can make financial exploitation of these persons a lucrative and voiceless crime.

House Bill 887 and Senate Bill 48 are identical bills that would provide several reforms to Florida’s current guardianship processes. If enacted, the legislation would permit a jury to decide the validity of a ward’s trust, amendment, power of attorney, or will when necessary. Advocates argue this won’t burden the courts, given that 99% of cases settle before reaching a jury trial. The legislation would also secure family visitation rights unless there is clear and convincing evidence that visitation is not in a ward’s best interest.

Kat Duesterhaus, the Florida NOW Legislative Director and personal advocate for guardianship reform, supports the proposed legislation: “The proposed legislation is not just a legal remedy; it’s a lifeline for vulnerable individuals, preventing the kind of isolation, neglect, and abuse that led to my grandmother’s tragic demise last year,” said Duesterhaus. “Let our collective call for guardianship reform echo loud and clear – it’s time to protect the voiceless and ensure that no one else suffers as my grandmother did.”

“The goal of this bill is to alleviate several concerns with the guardianship system that we have been hearing from parents, grandparents, and concerned family members. Countless advocates have come to me with personal stories of how this system has failed them, so I am proud to file this bill to clean up those problems. This bill codifies into law the practice of doing what is best for a child, incapacitated person, or elder if they require legal guardianship,” said Representative Harris in a recent press release.

The legislation also includes a provision to increase guardian transparency, requiring the verified inventory of the ward’s property be shared with the ward’s family, next of kin, and beneficiaries of the valid will. Furthermore it would require that public guardians be appointed on a rotating basis, and establish the rights of the ward to have a full reevaluation every three years of the need for guardianship.

The legislation has already drawn support from Pinellas County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, Ken Burke, CPA. “Please count me as a supporter of your legislation and any action to improve the Guardianship system in the State of Florida. Your initiative here is very meaningful. It keeps the focus on how the many flaws in the Guardianship system are allowing victimization of wards to continue. Your legislation is an important step to provide needed safeguards,” wrote Burke in letters addressed to Representative Harris and Senator Garcia.

If passed, this new practice would take effect on July 1, 2024. Florida’s next legislative session is set to begin on January 9, 2024.

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For more information contact:
Kat Duesterhaus, Legislative Director
Legislative@flnow.org / 772-267-6353