Fiduciary Hopefuls Must Meet New Requirements

Spatz, whose investigation produced numerous instances where lawyers or other well-connected individuals received lucrative appointments, continues to monitor the appointment process

The Jan. 1 rules also specified that as of June 1, judges must use new lists compiled by the Office of Court Administration in selecting fiduciaries. Previously, lawyers could have their names added to the list essentially on request. Now, in order to qualify for many types of appointments, lawyers must certify that they have completed OCA-approved training. They also are required to supply information needed to determine whether the new limits bar them from accepting appointments. Judge Lippman said the procedures will assure that “appointments are more evenly distributed,” and “the best-trained people are available to accept appointments.” The new applications, containing certification requirements relating to the new limits on appointments, are avialable at courthouses around the state and from the court system's Web site at www.courts.state.ny.us.

Completion of a certified course is required for those seeking appointments to the following positions: legal guardians; court evaluators who assess whether a person is sufficiently incapacitated to require a guardian; counsel appointed to represent alleged incompetents in proceedings to have a guardian appointed; court examiners who review reports and bills submitted by guardians; receivers; guardians ad litem appointed to stand in the stead of an incapacitated person in litigation where that person is a party; and trustees appointed under the Medicaid program to oversee certain types of assets.

Secondary appointees — those who are appointed by fiduciaries with court approval to perform professional services, including lawyers, accountants, appraisers and property managers — will not be required to take a course. Judge Lippman said that OCA would instead rely on the licensing requirements that govern those professions. Additionally, he said, those appointed to sell off property in foreclosure proceedings would not be subject to the education requirement because their work is routine and compensation is often limited to $550.

OCA has previously certified a wide variety of programs to conduct training for guardians, court evaluators and attorneys for incapacitated persons. Lawyers who have completed those programs will not have to undergo further training. Similarly, for some time the state's surrogates have been running training programs for guardians ad litem. Lawyers who previously completed those programs may qualify for the new list.

To qualify for appointment, court examiners will be required to take a new course being developed by OCA that will be offered under the auspices of the Appellate Division.

With a June 1 due date looming for a new list of eligible fiduciaries, lawyers interested in qualifying for the court-appointed positions must meet the new training requirements announced by Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman in March. Developing new training requirements was one of the recommendations of a blue-ribbon panel appointed by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye to examine the court's system for the appointment of fiduciaries to ensure there is no favoritism.

In December, Judge Lippman implemented the recommendations of the panel, headed by Sheila L. Birnbaum, to bar or limit political leaders, high-level court officials and former judges from accepting fiduciary appointments. The December rules, which went into effect on Jan. 1, also disqualify lawyers who earn more than $50,000 from court appointments in a single year from accepting any appointments in the following year.

Judge Kaye appointed the 17-member Birnbaum commission and Inspector General Sherrill R. Spatz to investigate how judges appoint fiduciaries in the wake of a public fury that erupted in late 2000, when two Democratic party officials in Brooklyn complained about being frozen out of appointment work. The two officials, Thomas J. Garry and Arnold J. Ludwig, in a widely circulated letter that was subsequently quoted in The New York Times, complained that they were not getting appointments despite their “unwavering loyalty” to the Democratic party.

Spatz, whose investigation produced numerous instances where lawyers or other well-connected individuals received lucrative appointments, continues to monitor the appointment process

The Jan. 1 rules also specified that as of June 1, judges must use new lists compiled by the Office of Court Administration in selecting fiduciaries. Previously, lawyers could have their names added to the list essentially on request. Now, in order to qualify for many types of appointments, lawyers must certify that they have completed OCA-approved training. They also are required to supply information needed to determine whether the new limits bar them from accepting appointments. Judge Lippman said the procedures will assure that “appointments are more evenly distributed,” and “the best-trained people are available to accept appointments.” The new applications, containing certification requirements relating to the new limits on appointments, are avialable at courthouses around the state and from the court system's Web site at www.courts.state.ny.us.

Completion of a certified course is required for those seeking appointments to the following positions: legal guardians; court evaluators who assess whether a person is sufficiently incapacitated to require a guardian; counsel appointed to represent alleged incompetents in proceedings to have a guardian appointed; court examiners who review reports and bills submitted by guardians; receivers; guardians ad litem appointed to stand in the stead of an incapacitated person in litigation where that person is a party; and trustees appointed under the Medicaid program to oversee certain types of assets.

Secondary appointees — those who are appointed by fiduciaries with court approval to perform professional services, including lawyers, accountants, appraisers and property managers — will not be required to take a course. Judge Lippman said that OCA would instead rely on the licensing requirements that govern those professions. Additionally, he said, those appointed to sell off property in foreclosure proceedings would not be subject to the education requirement because their work is routine and compensation is often limited to $550.

OCA has previously certified a wide variety of programs to conduct training for guardians, court evaluators and attorneys for incapacitated persons. Lawyers who have completed those programs will not have to undergo further training. Similarly, for some time the state's surrogates have been running training programs for guardians ad litem. Lawyers who previously completed those programs may qualify for the new list.

To qualify for appointment, court examiners will be required to take a new course being developed by OCA that will be offered under the auspices of the Appellate Division.