Bills aiming to make it harder for allegedly incapacitated Pennsylvanians to get taken advantage of through the guardianship system are moving swiftly through the state General Assembly. Practitioners in this area of law are largely supportive of the changes and say the new guardrails are likely to lead to increased litigation in these cases, which are estimated to deal with more than $1.6 billion in assets within the Keystone State.

The proposals—one of which was passed by the Senate (Senate Bill 506) and the other which now sits in the state House Judiciary Committee (House Bill 1397)—seek to strengthen the state’s guardianship practice by changing the laws in three main ways. First, they mandate for counsel to be appointed for all alleged incapacitated people subject to a guardianship petition. Second, they require professional guardians be certified. And third, they require that petitions for guardianships demonstrate that there are no other less restrictive alternatives for the individual.