After Decades of Little Change, a Lawsuit Looks to Shake Up Probate Court System
The suit describes probate court as a system designed to maximize payments to court while keeping tight control of those under court-ordered guardianship.
Mark and Sandi Cobianchi look through files and photographs obtained over the last decade detailing the alleged elder abuse pertaining to Sandi's mother in Lake Forest, Calif., on Nov. 27, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times
John Hartman said he was a 23-year-old janitor with no legal, medical, or psychological training when he was hired as a professional guardian in 1976. He found a system with practically no oversight.
A decade later, Hartman testified before a U.S. Congress committee in a hearing titled “Abuses in Guardianship of the Elderly and Infirm: A National Disgrace.” Hartman, a tavern janitor-turned-guardian and convicted thief, testified that the probate court’s guardianship system almost encouraged abuse.
