Family Members Say Wards of the State Lost Rights and Assets Under Guardianship

Probate Court judges and the guardians they appoint have wide-ranging authority over a ward’s life and can even ignore a ward’s advance directives.

Marian Kornicki looks through old family photos at her home in Roslyn Heights, N.Y., on Dec. 6, 2024. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

NEW YORK—Marian Kornicki turned to the state after her sister stole $3.5 million from her parents, Manny and Bertha Kornicki. She hoped state officials would stop the theft, perhaps even get some of the money back.

More than six years after her parents died and her sister pled guilty to misdemeanor theft as part of a plea agreement, Kornicki is fighting to keep what’s left of her family’s estate.