NGA’s webinars are available in live formats and successful webinars are also offered in recorded formats throughout the year. Details about each webinar are provided below; for complete information, including information about continuing education credits, click on the More Info button to the right.
Recorded webinars are accepted by the CGC, those who are looking for state-specific or other accreditation must check with their state or accrediting body to see if code-verified recordings are acceptable prior to purchasing.
Please order a recorded webinar only when you have time to view it. You will have 30 days from the time of purchase to watch the webinar and verify your participation to receive a certificate of attendance. We cannot accommodate extensions for recorded webinars.
Upcoming Live Webinars
Live – Frauds and Scams Every Guardian Should Watch Out For
Frauds and scams target everyone. Guardians personally may become victims while having the responsibility to protect their clients from scams. You’ll learn tips on how to stop the most common and sneaky scams from reaching your clients, and resources to use if you – or they – get trapped.
Webinar Date/Time – Tuesday, May 15 at 1:00 pm Eastern (12:00 Central, 11:00 Mountain, 10:00 Pacific).
About The Presenter – Sally Hurme
For more than 20 years, Sally Hurme was one of AARP’s key fraud experts. She directed groundbreaking research on the tactics of scam artists, the characteristics of fraud victims, and effective messaging to combat scam approaches. Now retired from AARP, she continues to author award-winning books about the law for older consumers, and she serves as a member of NGA’s board of directors.
Continuing Education Credit
The webinar will last for 60 minutes, and is eligible for one hour of continuing education credit from the Center for Guardianship Certification.
Pre-Recorded Webinars
Guardianship Training for Family Guardians
Family Guardianship – Guardian of the Person
This session details the overall guardianship process, the rights involved in a guardianship, the various hats a guardian of the person must wear, and the initial steps for managing someone else’s care. It also discusses the initial and ongoing court responsibilities of a guardian of the person. The presenter will reveal the steps to take in decision-making for your family member, including residential decisions, what to expect when it comes to court reporting requirements, what you need to document, and how the guardianship ends.
Family Guardianship – Guardian of the Estate
The session includes the initial steps you’ll need to take as a fiduciary, how to manage income and property, budgeting, benefits, selling property, court reporting requirements, conflicts of interest, final arrangements, and how a guardianship terminates, all from the perspective of a family guardian.
NGA Fundamentals Series
Fundamentals: The Basics
The Basics module focuses on preliminary guardianship information, decisional capacity, incapacity, types of guardianships and guardianship process.
Fundamentals: Guardian of the Person
This module identifies the phases of guardianship, lists the initial duties of the guardian, describes the ongoing duties of the guardian, explains the importance of confidentiality and discusses guardianship transition.
Fundamentals: Guardian of the Estate
This module explains fundamental fiduciary principles, lists and explains the responsibilities and duties of the guardian of the estate, defines prudent investment principles and describes the possible indicators of exploitation. In addition, it will detail conflicts of interest and the termination of guardianship.
Fundamentals: Rights and Alternatives
This module discusses the rights of persons under guardianship, the importance of protecting and advocating for the persons’ under guardianship rights, alternatives to guardianship and when they should and should not be used and alternative ways to handle issues related to finances or health.
NGA Review Course
Review Course Module 1: Universal Roles
Summarizing the guardianship process, explaining the main roles of a guardian, outlining the model code of ethics for guardians, etc.
Review Course Module 2: Guardian of the Person
Covering the initial duties of guardian of the person, discussing confidentiality issues, addressing rights of the person, etc.
Review Course Module 3: Guardian of the Estate
Defining the prudent investor rule, identifying situations that pose a conflict of interest, discussing the process of developing a financial plan and budget, etc.
Review Course Module 4: Decision Making
Explaining the informed consent principle, evaluating withholding or withdrawal of medical care in end-of-life situations, etc.
2017
NGA Ethical Principles & Standards of Practice & Fundamentals of Guardianship
Excellence in guardianship is built on the foundation of the Ethical Principles, the support provided by Standards of Practice that elaborate on those principles, and the structure found in the Fundamentals of Guardianship. Sally Hurme, who has been instrumental in developing each of these NGA documents, will explain how guardians can use the documents to uphold excellence in guardianship every day. Electronic copies of the Standards of Practice and the Ethical Principles will be provided.
Note: This webinar is an introductory course, and is geared toward guardians who are newer to their responsibilities, or for those needing a refresher.
Original Presentation Date – June 13, 2017
About The Presenter – Sally Hurme
During multiple terms on the NGA board of directors, Sally has served on the committees that developed and updated the Standards of Practice, Ethical Principles, and Fundamentals of Guardianship.
Continuing Education Credit
This webinar has been approved by the Center for Guardianship Certification for 1.0 credit.
Burial Customs
Since time immemorial, death has been both celebrated and feared. This training covers burial customs of different cultures and faiths. The purpose is to provide conservators and guardians with information which may be useful as they make burial arrangements for their clients who die. The training is a survey of the different ways we dispose of our dead and how culture and faith affect our actions.
Original Presentation Date – May 18, 2017
About The Presenter – Chris Fierro
Chris Fierro worked for a guardianship/conservatorship agency from 1975 to 2008, in various positions, including the last 19 years as the deputy director in charge of the County of Los Angeles, CA, Office of the Public Guardian, the state’s oldest and largest. LA County Office of Public Guardian has thousands of cases; and approximately 20 clients die each month. Because the county is diverse in ethnicities and religions, a familiarity with how burial customs differ among the various groups is critical in making appropriate burial arrangements. After retirement, Chris continued working as a consultant, developing policies and training modules.
Continuing Education Credit
This webinar has been approved by the Center for Guardianship Certification for 1.0 credit.
2016
Caring for Someone with Alzheimer’s and Dementia
This webinar offers real-world practical tips on how to care for someone with Alzheimer’s and dementia. It includes: understanding the skills required to respond to certain behaviors, role-playing of specific behavior scenarios, understanding triggers, and learning strategies for success. It also teaches redirecting tools when dealing with communication, wandering, rummaging, hiding things, aggressive behavior, bathing, and more.
Original Presentation Date – Tuesday, November 15, 2016
About The Presenter – Scott Greenberg
Scott Greenberg is currently president and CEO of ComForcare Senior Services, a private duty home health care agency in Palm Beach, Florida. Scott just completed his term as president of the Florida State Guardianship Association and now retains his position on the executive board as immediate past president. In addition, he serves as a board member of the National Guardianship Association. He is the treasurer for the Partnership For Aging and is on the advisory council for the Area Agency on Aging. He has served on Alzheimer’s Community Care’s special goodwill task force, and is a former AmeriCorp volunteer. He also developed and is part of the Lifespan Education and Resource Network speaker series and developed a second speaker series dedicated to family caregivers. Scott has written an award-winning book entitled, Oh My God, I’m Getting Older and So is My Mom, and hosts a weekly radio show on 900AM The Talk with the same title. Scott received his National Certified Alzheimer’s Educator designation from NCBAC in July 2014.
He is a frequent speaker on topics relevant to the senior community and has most recently spoken at FAU Lifelong Learning Society, Florida State Guardianship Association annual statewide conference, BMO Private Bank and Ruth Rales Jewish Family Services. Scott is proud of his collaboration with Alpert Jewish Family & Children’s Services in building a cultural competency in Holocaust caregiving. Scott has also recently been a guest on numerous radio shows around the country including KFWB Los Angeles California, KKNW Seattle Washington, KXYL Brownwood Texas, AM 600 WMT Cedar Rapids Iowa, among others discussing senior issues important to boomers and their parents.
Continuing Education Credit
This webinar has been approved by the Center for Guardianship Certification for 1.0 credit. This session was originally presented at the 2015 National Conference on Guardianship. Anyone who earned credit from attending that session will be unable to earn credit by attending this webinar.
Safeguarding Digital Assets
Nearly two-thirds of Americans age 65 and older use the internet or email, and more than a quarter own a smart phone. Seniors are the fastest-growing population on the internet. In the near future, we will have people under our guardianship with substantial digital assets. Although a guardian should be able to step into the shoes of the person under guardianship to access all types of digital assets, the law is in its nascent state.
The session will discuss types of digital assets and how to locate them. It will also discuss the emerging law, including the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, which was approved in 2015 and has already been introduced in 31 states and enacted in 19.
Original Presentation Date – Tuesday, October 18, 2016
About The Presenter – Charles Golbert
Charles P. Golbert is the Deputy Public Guardian in charge of the adult guardianship division of the Office of the Cook County Public Guardian, in Chicago. He oversees all aspects of the office’s services for the 700 adults with disabilities under its guardianship, including legal and social services and management of nearly $100 million in assets. Mr. Golbert supervises approximately 75 personnel including 20 attorneys. He has been lead counsel in numerous financial exploitation lawsuits that have recovered millions of dollars in assets stolen from persons with disabilities. He has also litigated complex cases in the areas of health care surrogate decisions, the right to community placement, and contested guardianship.
Mr. Golbert earned his juris doctor, and his bachelor of arts with honors in economics, from Northwestern University. He is an adjunct professor at the John Marshall Law School, where he teaches elder law, and frequently presents at other law schools, universities, and continuing legal education programs. Mr. Golbert has authored or coauthored 17 law journal articles and book chapters. One of the articles won a national award for writing in elder law. He has served as Articles Editor, Executive Editor, and Editor in Chief of the Journal of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA Journal). He is the primary author of legislation, now law, to protect persons with disabilities from abuse and financial exploitation.
Continuing Education Credit
This webinar has been approved by the Center for Guardianship Certification for 1.0 credit. This session was originally presented at the 2015 National Conference on Guardianship. Anyone who earned credit from attending that session will be unable to earn credit by attending this webinar.
NGA Dirty Little Secrets of the Financial Industry and Fees
The financial industry does a great job of confusing people by over complicating the simplest of things. The goal of this webinar is to help expose some of those dirty little secrets, specifically related to the different products and fees charged by the industry. It goes into great detail of the true “all-in” costs of specific products with real life case examples, and provides “red flag” information on many issues that signal that it’s time to make a change.
The presentation will also provide valuable tools and resources to help private professional fiduciaries select, partner and retain a competent investment advisor, and will go into detail on decision making protocols to help fiduciaries protect themselves from unnecessary risk.
Original Presentation Date – Tuesday, August 9, 2016
About The Presenter – Daniel Cutter
Daniel Cutter is a Vice President and Senior Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch. He helped to create the Merrill Lynch Fiduciary and Special Needs Group and has been in the financial industry since 1999. Daniel earned his MBA in Finance from the University of San Francisco and is a Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM. He is a special consultant on the book, ‘Special Needs Trusts: Planning, Drafting, and Administration’ through the California Continuing Education of the Bar.
Continuing Education Credit
This webinar qualifies for 1.0 hours of continuing education from the Center for Guardianship Certification.
2015
What Guardians Need to Know About Financial Services
Attendees will acquire tools for evaluating the ethical standards of a financial advisor. They will understand the potential conflict of interest between the “suitability standard” that applies to the brokerage industry versus the much higher fiduciary standard that applies to fiduciaries and registered investment advisors. They will learn how to interview financial advisors and identify those with the knowledge and competence to manage fiduciary portfolios in compliance with the laws regulating fiduciary investing. They will understand the difference between the advisor they work with, his or her broker/dealer, and the “custodial firm” that may hold the person’s assets.
A professional fiduciary is sometimes reticent to accept clients with substantial investment portfolios, as he or she is intimidated by the prospect of fulfilling the responsibility of monitoring the investment portfolio. Perhaps even more worrisome, he or she may worry about finding a financial advisor who understands how to comply with fiduciary investment law and who he or she simply feels can be trusted. This webinar will help you overcome that challenge by teaching you how to find a knowledgeable advisor and by helping you understand how the financial industry operates.
Original Presentation Date – Wednesday, November 18, 2015
About The Presenters – Lee Anke & Ted Ong
Lee H. Anke is an SEC-registered investment advisor (RIA) and has been counseling investment clients since 1977, specializing in developing and managing Modern-Portfolio-Theory portfolios to comply with the UPIA and in servicing the needs of both public and private fiduciaries. He has managed PIN’s premier discipline, the “PIN Conservative Portfolio” since 2001. He developed and teaches Management of the Investment Portfolio, one of five classes comprising the Professional Fiduciary Management for Trustees curriculum at the California State University at Fullerton. Lee has served as an expert witness in the San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside and El Dorado County Courts in California; also in the Las Vegas NV and Pima County AZ courts on matters including suitability of investments under state probate codes, compliance with the Uniform Prudent Investor Act (UPIA) and fiduciary abuse.
Ted H. Ong has been an investment professional since 1983. He is an SEC-registered Investment Advisor specializing in servicing the needs of both public and private fiduciaries. In order to better service clients, Ted also retains dual licensing as a Registered Representative subject to FINRA supervision. He teaches classes and round tables at annual conventions of the National Guardianship Association, the Professional Fiduciary Association of California (PFAC), the Florida State Guardianship Association, the Texas Guardianship Association, the Arizona Fiduciaries Association, the Washington Association of Public Guardians, and the California Public Administrators Public Guardians and Public Conservators Association. He also serves as a consultant to the San Diego Fiduciary Abuse Specialist Team (FAST).
Continuing Education Credit
This webinar has been approved by the Center for Guardianship Certification for 1.5 credits.
Best practices for Mitigating Risk
NGA’s newest webinar employs a case study approach to explore the implications and nuances of what claims counsel from Lloyd’s of London has identified as the top ten best practices for mitigating risk in a professional fiduciary’s practice.
Original Presentation Date – Wednesday, October 7, 2015
About The Presenters – Lawrence Hilton
Lawrence D. Hilton, founder of Dominion Insurance Services, serves professionals in a wide range of disciplines. His prior law practice focused on professional liability defense and insura nce coverage. He belongs to the California and Utah Bar Associations, holds insurance licenses in all 50 states, and is a Lloyd’s of London coverholder.
Continuing Education Credit
This webinar has been approved by the Center for Guardianship Certification for 1.0 credit.
Needs Based Approach to Financial Decisions for Guardians
Guardians face many challenging budgeting decisions. This webinar will help Guardians learn methods to analyze complex life decisions and justify their actions to courts and families, as well as outline tools and processes to justify financial decisions and foster cooperation among interested parties. A variety of actual case studies will be presented to explore these topics. Compliance with state codes and liability protection for the Guardian will also be highlighted.
Original Presentation Date – December 2, 2015
About The Presenter – Scott MacDonald
Scott MacDonald is a Senior Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager for Merrill Lynch, with more than 28 years of industry experience. Mr. MacDonald has been featured in a variety of publications on serving clients with disabilities, including the San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times, Oakland Tribune, The Street.Com, Advisor One and a cover story in On Wall Street Magazine. He was a consulting author and editor of the attorney training manual — Special Needs Trusts: Planning, Drafting, and Administration through the California Continuing Education of the Bar as well as for the book, Administrating the California Special Needs Trust. He has lectured extensively for various Bar and Consumer Attorney Associations, the Special Needs Alliance, the National Guardianship Association,
Continuing Education Credit
This webinar has been approved by the Center for Guardianship Certification for 1.0 credit.
2014
Guardian and Conservator Investing – Part 1
In the first of this two part webinar, fiduciaries will learn how to: review a new case’s investments by analyzing relevant information, determine how long assets will last if expenses exceed income, and how to review existing relationships. The presenters discuss how to use Broker Check at FINRA.org to review an existing advisor and his/her firm for compliance, regulatory, or arbitration issues. Morningstar.com is also reviewed to show how to get a quick assessment of performance, risk, expenses, manager tenure, and liquidity of existing investments.
Original Presentation Date – Wednesday, December 3, 2014
About The Presenter – Lee Anke & Ted Ong
Lee Anke and Ted Ong are nationally recognized experts on the UPIA (“Prudent Investor Rule”). As principals of Prudent Investors Network, an SEC registered investment advisory firm, they manage assets for public guardians, private professional fiduciaries, and family fiduciaries nationwide.
They teach the “Management of the Investment Portfolio” class in the Trust Certification program at California State University at Fullerton and are consultants to the Fiduciary Abuse Specialist Team (FAST) in San Diego.
Continuing Education Credit
This webinar qualifies for 1.0 hours of continuing education from the Center for Guardianship Certification.
Guardian and Conservator Investing – Part 2
In the second part of this webinar, fiduciaries will review the process for creation of an investment plan for submission to the court, including creation of investment policies and setting goals. The basics of the Uniform Prudent Investor Act (UPIA) will be reviewed with focus on how to monitor risk, returns, and diversification as mandated by UPIA.
Original Presentation Date – Wednesday, December 10, 2014
About The Presenter – Lee Anke & Ted Ong
Lee Anke and Ted Ong are nationally recognized experts on the UPIA (“Prudent Investor Rule”). As principals of Prudent Investors Network, an SEC registered investment advisory firm, they manage assets for public guardians, private professional fiduciaries, and family fiduciaries nationwide.
They teach the “Management of the Investment Portfolio” class in the Trust Certification program at California State University at Fullerton and are consultants to the Fiduciary Abuse Specialist Team (FAST) in San Diego.
Continuing Education Credit
This webinar qualifies for 1.0 hours of continuing education from the Center for Guardianship Certification.
NGA Veterans Benefits
The presentation provides an overview of the federal VA benefits. Learn how the VA supports veterans and their families through the cash programs and the VA medical system.
Original Presentation Date – Wednesday, May 14, 2014
About The Presenters – Tony Szczygiel
Tony Szczygiel is a Professor at the SUNY Buffalo School of Law where he has taught since 1982. His classroom courses include elder law and health law. Every semester, Tony also supervises the Foster Elder Law Clinic that he founded in 1983. The Clinic works closely with Legal Services for the Elderly, Disabled or Disadvantaged of WNY. As part of this work, the Clinic has represented scores of elderly or disabled clients, including many veterans.
Continuing Education Credit
This webinar has been approved by the Center for Guardianship Certification for 1.0 credit.
Standards of Practice – Part 1: Guardian of the Estate
This webinar focuses on the changes to the Standards of Practice that were implemented in 2013 as a result of the recommendations from the Third National Guardianship Summit in 2011. The Standards were originally adopted to guide guardians in the decision-making process. This webinar will provide participants with a better understanding of the Standards of Practice for guardians of the estate, including the expectations of performance, identifying conflicts of interest, applying guardianship fee factors and more. This is part one of a two-part series on the changes to the Standards.
Original Presentation Date – ?
About The Presenter – Michelle Kenney
Michelle Kenney is a National Certified Guardian Emeritus and Center for Guardianship Certification Trustee with more than 14 years of experience in the guardianship community. Since 2001, she has provided over 1,400 hours of guardianship instruction to more than 3,600 students and professionals in Florida and has been an Approved Educator with NGA since 2007, working on the Education committee’s efforts to revise the review study guide and to create the Review Course and Fundamentals webinars. Michelle has served as President of both the Florida State Guardianship Association and the local chapter in her area. While a paralegal by day, she is also a Supreme Court Certified Circuit & County Mediator, and now a law student. Michelle has been focused on working to increase the professional standards in the industry, and to gather public recognition and support for guardians. She has served on the NGA Board since 2010.
Continuing Education Credit
This webinar has been approved by the Center for Guardianship Certification for 1.0 credit.
Standards of Practice – Part 2: Guardian of the Person
This course, the second of a two-part series, focuses on changes to the Standards of Practice that were implemented last year as a result of the recommendations from the Third National Guardianship Summit in 2011. The Standards were originally adopted to guide guardians in the decision-making process. This webinar provides participants with a better understanding of the Standards of Practice for guardians of the person, including appropriate housing, level of care, ethical and cultural considerations, community resources and more.
Original Presentation Date – ?
About The Presenter – Helen Ferraro Zaffram
Helen is supervising attorney for the Guardianship Unit at Legal Services for the Elderly, Disabled or Disadvantaged of Western New York, Inc., where she handles Article 81 Guardianship matters and health related issues. The agency presently serves as the guardian for approximately 100 individuals. In most of these court appointments, the agency is responsible for personal and property decision-making for these clients. Helen handles legal issues surrounding the guardianship cases. In addition, she handles Medicaid, Social Security and other elder issues. She was named Lawyer of the Year by the Erie County Bar Association in 2013 and has served on the NGA Board since 2011.
Continuing Education Credit
This webinar has been approved by the Center for Guardianship Certification for 1.0 credit.
NGA Public Benefits
NGA’s Public Benefits Course focuses on the benefits received by many people under guardianship. This webinar outlines the guardian’s responsibilities regarding benefits, explains the differences between Medicare and Medicaid , differentiates between categories of Social Security benefits and more.
Guardians have many responsibilities, including:
- determining if the person under guardianship is eligible for benefits
- applying for and managing benefits
- maintaining ongoing benefits
- assisting clients with applications
The Public Benefits Course will:
- outline the guardian’s responsibilities regarding benefits for people under guardianship
- describe the differences between Medicare and Medicaid
- explain Medicaid benefits and types of coverage
- differentiate between the three general categories of Social Security benefits and the qualification criteria for each program
- review the different types of benefits available through the Veteran’s Administration system
- summarize the application process for each benefit class
Original Presentation Date – ?
About The Presenter – Lauren Sherman, NMG
Lauren is the Chief Operating Officer and an Expert Lifecare Manager for Lifecare Innovations, Inc. in Illinois. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and is one of only six people in Illinois who holds the National Master Guardian distinction from the Center for Guardianship Certification. She is also a member of NGA.
Continuing Education Credit
This webinar has been approved by the Center for Guardianship Certification for 1.0 credit.