Massachusetts Guardianship Association

Information and resources for individuals, family members, and professionals about Guardianship and Conservatorship

Events

2022 MGA Annual Meeting Thursday, January 20th at 8:00 A.M.

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Featuring Ellen M. DiPaola, JD, President and CEO of Honoring Choices Massachusetts

Ellen M. DiPaola, JD, is the President and CEO of Honoring Choices Massachusetts. She chairs the Guardianship-Serious Illness Advisory Group, co-sponsored by Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association. Ms. DiPaola is the co-chair of the MOLST to POLST Advisory Group, MA Coalition for Serious Illness Care. Ms. DiPaola is the state representative to National POLST, chairing their Patient-Consumer Education Workgroup.

Ms. DiPaola will review the significant challenges in our current MOLST program, and review the proposed MA adoption of the National POLST Program, which includes a new National POLST form and a MA ePOLST Registry. She will ask for your feedback on proposed recommendations to improve the legal-medical-court alignment to ensure due process protections and the delivery of timely, equitable care for all seriously ill adults under guardianship.

MGA and SLL Annual Guardianship Conference Webinar: GUARDIANSHIPS, CONSERVATORSHIPS AND ALTERNATIVES THERETO

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DATES & TIMES: September 23 & September 30, 2021 from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
PROGRAM FEE: $125 to attend both sessions. $75 to attend one day.
REGISTER FOR BOTH SESSIONS (September 23 and September 30)
REGISTER FOR SESSION ONE ONLY (September 23)
REGISTER FOR SESSION TWO ONLY (September 30)

MGA members will receive a coupon code to get a $25 discount off either of these prices. For information on joining MGA visit: http://www.massguardianshipassociation.org/membership/
CPCS has approved this program for 3.0 credit hours per day for MHLD panels and for 1.5 hours for CAFL for Day 2 only.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Day 1 Webinar: Thursday, September 23, 2021, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

  • Opening Remarks by Chief Justice John Casey, Chief Justice of the Probate and Family Court Division
  • What We Can Learn from Britney Spears: When Guardianships and Conservatorships Go Wrong, Moderators: Marlee Cowan, Esq. & Seth Urbanoski, Esq.
  •  Panelists TBA
  • Navigating the interplay between Health Care Proxies, Powers of Attorneys and Court Appointed Individuals, Moderators: Meredith Havard, Esq. & Lisa Judkins
  • Shelly Oaks, professional guardian & conservator
  • Erin Bradbury, Esq., Law Office of Erin Bradbury
  • Joan Legraw, Esq., CPCS

Day 2 Webinar: Thursday, September 30, 2021, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

  • Keynote Address by Patricia Keane Martin, Esq., and Lisa M. Neeley. Esq.: Case Law update.
  • Issues involving minors, grandparents, custody, and parental contact – Moderators: Michelle Sikes, Esq. & Michelle Mulvena, Esq.
  • Hon. Claudine T. Wyner, Associate Justice, Probate and Family Court
  • Robert Fuster 
  • Disputes in guardianship: to litigate or mediate? Moderators: Amy Kisby Mullen, Esq. & Virginia Connolly, Esq.
  • Julie Kefi, Jewish Family Services
  • Hon. Susan Ricci, (Ret.)
  • Angelina Stafford, Esq., Doherty Wallace Pillsbury & Murphy PC
  • CPCS attorney TBA

Online registration is encouraged. For assistance, questions on group discounts, accommodations requests, special billing, program content, out-of-state CLE credits, and general CLE information contact Michael Saporito by email at msaporito@socialaw.com. Registrations accepted in order of receipt. Registration fees are non-refundable. Most Social Law Library CLE events are recorded. The recording is available by digital download, generally within a week after the program date. Most downloads include print material and are $19.95 each. This product purchase is separate from CLE registration and is not included in the price of a CLE registration. CLE credit, when applicable, is only granted when the live webinar is attended.

MGA Virtual Annual Meeting and Networking Event

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“Caring for the elderly amid the coronavirus pandemic. What we knew before, what we learned and how we plan to move forward.”

Thursday, January 14th | 8:00am – 10:00am

Please join us for our annual meeting on January 14th as we hear from a panel of professionals and a family member discuss the challenges and experiences of caring for the elder population during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Panel Members:

  • Dr. Ginette LaFleche, PhD Clinical Neuropsychologist
  • Kate Granigan, MSW, LICSW, C-ASWCM, Chief Executive Officer of LifeCare Advocates
  • Sharon Kreder, PhD Psychologist, and family care giver

Who should attend: Guardians, Lawyers, Case Managers, Social Workers, Clinicians, Geriatric Case Managers, Trustees, Financial Planners, Family Members.

Free for members! $10 for non-members.

To register to attend, please email massguardianshipassociation@gmail.com

MGA End of Year Virtual Networking Event

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Dec 2, 2020, 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM

Join the MGA for a night of virtual networking and to hear year-end financial planning tips for 2020.

Due to the signing of the CARES Act, Required Minimum Distributions have been suspended for the year. This has made some strategies more appealing. Tune in for some quick year-end planning tips and to connect with other members of the guardianship community.

Guest Speaker: Affinia Financial Group

Contest: The MGA will be giving away a free year MGA Membership to the participant with the most unique cocktail recipe!

To join our virtual event, email MassGuardianshipAssociation@gmail.com and we will send you the Zoom meeting information!


 We look forward to speaking with you in December!

WEBINAR: “In the Year 2020: Challenges, Obstacles, and Opportunities in Guardianship”

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We are thrilled to host this year’s MGA Guardianship Conference in collaboration with the Social Law Library. This year’s conference is entitled, “In the Year 2020: Challenges, Obstacles, and Opportunities in Guardianship,” and will take place virtually over two, separate three hour sessions.

Date: Thursday, September 17th and Thursday, September 24th
Time: from 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM 
Location: Webinar

Some highlights of the Conference include:
DAY 1 | Thursday, September 17, 2020 from 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM

  •  Welcome & opening remarks by Chief Justice of the Probate and Family Court Department, the Hon. John D. Casey
     
  • Two dynamic panels
    • TBI/ABI and Substance Use: The impact of co-occurrence – challenges, realities and resources for individuals with a traumatic or acquired brain injury and substance use disorders. 
      PANELISTS:  Denise Permatteo, LICSW, MRC, Helen Stewart; Survivor, Adam Nessenbaum, Esq.; Private Attorney and Professional Guardian, Sergio Carvajal, Esq.; CPCS Counsel

    • Agency Resources:  Tips for accessing and maximizing programs available through MassHealth and DDS
      PANELISTS:  Deborah Hill Stevens, Esq.; CPCS Counsel, Lee Rachel Jurman; Disability Advocate of Personal Disability Consulting, Inc., Kerry Mahoney; Director from The Arc of MA

DAY 2 | Thursday, September 24, 2020 from 2:00PM- 5:00 PM

  • Keynote address by Sandy Hovey, CCM – Executive Director of Public Guardian Services. Public guardianship has arrived in Massachusetts and is being implemented as a pilot project in conjunction with the Probate Court in Suffolk and Plymouth counties.
     
  • Two dynamic panels
     
    • Commitments and Guardianship: Navigating the challenges of the civil commitment process and how it differs from guardianship clinically and procedurally.
      PANELISTS:  Lt. Kristin Daley; Belmont Police Department, Community Services and Training Division, Jacob C. Holzer, M.D.; McLean Hospital, District Court Judge, TBD, Valerie Rust, Esq.; CPCS Counsel

    • Nursing Home Response to COVID-19: Advanced directive expansions with the Probate Court in the midst of the pandemic – Challenges and Triumphs.
      PANELISTS:  Hon. Roxann C. Tetreau, Associate Justice of the Probate and Family Court, David McNair, Esq.; Private Attorney, Senior Solutions, LLC, Michelle Moucharite, Esq.; CPCS Counsel, Kim Archambault, NHA; Executive Director of Sterling Village Nursing Home   

CPCS approved for 3.0 hours of CLE credits per each day for the Mental Health Litigation Panels. The Adult Criminal Trials has approved 1.5 credit hours per each day. To receive credits attendees must be logged on during the program for a minimum of 80% of the conference time. Certificates will be emailed to all attendees who were logged onto the program for at least 80% of the program.

Program Fee: $125 to attend one session. $75 to attend one day. MGA members receive a coupon code for a discount, so please renew your MGA membership today if you want to be sent the discount code!

To register today, click here.

Online registration is encouraged. For assistance, questions on group discounts, accommodations requests, special billing, program content, out-of-state CLE credits, and general CLE information contact Michael Saporito by email at msaporito@socialaw.com. Registrations accepted in order of receipt. Registration fees are non-refundable. Most Social Law Library CLE events are recorded. The recording is available by digital download, generally within a week after the program date. Most downloads include print material and are $19.95 each. This product purchase is separate from CLE registration and is not included in the price of a CLE registration. CLE credit, when applicable, is only granted when the live webinar is attended.

We hope to speak to you soon!