Public Administrator "learning all the time"

By MIKE MCCOY

Statesman Staff Writer

"I like that no two days are the same," says Stoddard County Public Administrator Pam Lape. "I am learning all the time."

The office of the Public Administrator is located in the old courthouse in Bloomfield, in an office formerly assigned to the county recorder. She currently has 89 open cases. She works daily with people who are in need of assistance, both physically and with managing money.

Lape serves as court appointed personal representative in decedent's estates, and as guardian and/or conservator for individuals who are unable to care for themselves or their property when there is no one else to serve. She also serves as an advocate for the mentally ill, developmentally disabled, individuals with brain injury and advanced age individuals with dementia and Alzheimer's. These individuals are usually referred by an agency, such as the Department of Mental Health, the Division on Aging or behavioral units in area hospitals. The cases can also be referred by family members who are unable to provide the needed service. The cases of these individuals are brought before Judge Stephen Mitchell, Division 3 Probate Court, at which time Lape may be appointed to assist.

While decedent estates are part of Lape's job, it is erroneous to think they constitute most of her cases. She says most of her clients are between 25 and 40 years of age, and have learning or behavior disabilities.

"They are truly functioning people who are unable to make positive decisions," says Lape.

Lape starts by taking an inventory of their assets and their debts. This inventory is filed with the court. She also has to make decisions about their well-being and care.

"Our priority is making sure they are safe," says Lape.

Many are placed in residential care facilities, independent living homes or sometimes a home of their own. She is put in charge of recording income and paying bills for these individuals. Many receive Medicaid or Medicare, disability or Social Security, but often these funds are not enough. She has a checking account for each of the people she serves.

"Many are poor," says Lape. "I know one instance where a person receives only $30 per month from SSI."

These people have failed to make it on their own. They work through the system until they finally reach the office of the public administrator.

Those she serves as guardian are called wards, and those to whom she is granted conservatorship are called protectees. She can be appointed as both guardian and conservator.

"These people are living near the edge," Lape relates.

Their needs are great when they are referred to her office.

"I need socks, I need shoes, I need dentures.l..." these and other requests are made to Lape frequently.

There are dentists who provide services with no fees or reduced fees for these kind of cases. There are other charitable organizations that can help with other material problems, and Lape has a list of contacts to assist her clients.

"I try to use their money for something that will make a difference in their lives," says Lape. "I am close to the people I serve. They become dependent upon my office."

Does she encounter problems with those who are turned over to the administrator's office by the court?

"Usually by the time I am appointed to become a guardian or conservator, their life has bottomed out," says Lape. "They are usually receptive because they know they have to have help."

In the case of the elderly, family members may feel they need help in making decisions about guardianship. The administrator files a "consent to serve," which just means they are willing. Family members or an outside agency, doctor or mental health provider may file a recommendation through a legal procedure in Probate Court. The court can then appoint the administrator to be the guardian, conservator or both.

Lape places a priority on getting a client some sort of pre-burial insurance. She says she shops around just like if she were looking for a policy for herself. She also files taxes for the individual and tries to use tax credits wherever possible to get money back for them.

Of course decedent's estates is another part of her job. Many times these are cases where the person does not have a will, although that may not always be the case.

A regular problem she encounters when appointed to a case, is when an elderly person enters a nursing home or residential care facility. Medicare may be paying for some of the stay, but these people may wind up owing the state hundreds of thousands of dollars when they die. If they have property or investments, the estates goes into probate court where the estate is ordered to be liquidated to pay these bills.

That's where the public administrator comes in. Once again an inventory of the assets is compiled by the administrator's office. Lape says she contacts auctioneers, brokers, dealers and anyone else that might help establish an estimate of the worth of both the personal and real property. The estate, or part of the estate, may be sold at public auction or by sealed bids.

The proceeds from the sale are then used to pay of the debtors. MOHealth, the state Medicaid provider, files a lien and they are the first to be paid from the proceeds after burial expenses. If there are any funds left, it goes to the heirs.

In some instances, the decedent may leave behind a considerable estate. In these cases there may not have been any estate planning, meaning there may not be an executor for the estate. The public administrator, through the Probate Court, becomes involved. The administrator may also become involved if there is conflict among surviving heirs.

Lape was an Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) for 25 years before becoming the Public Administrator. She started working in Advance, and also worked in other places including the Sikeston hospital and Sikeston elementary school as nurse. She wrote a grant while at Sikeston to pay the salary for a school nurse at Bell City and Oran, and became school nurse at Bell City. It was her first exposure to government work.

"I wish I had started working as public administrator when I was younger," says Lape. "I love getting closer to the people I assist in my work."

At one time the public administrator worked out of her house. Lape was given an office in the old courthouse. The first office was upstairs, but it was moved to the northwest corner downstairs in the space formerly occupied by the county recorder.

For two years she appeared before the commission to ask for a full-time employee. She was working with two part-time employees. She notes that there is a lot of casework involved and annual reports on each case must be filed in the Probate Court. Rhonda Wyatt is a full-time employee and Cyndy Duckworth is a part-time employee. Duckworth has a background in banking, which is a big help to Lape.

"The rewards of this job are that I get to help people," says Lape. "I sometimes get to help them move from a restricted living plan to a less restricted circumstance."

"You get to see them improve, and that is enjoyable."