Court-appointed representatives face criticism from families in Lower Austria

Families in Lower Austria say court-appointed adult representatives have caused serious problems in the care and finances of vulnerable relatives, ORF reported. The federal government has announced improvements to the system, which replaced the former guardianship arrangements known as Sachwalterschaft.

A woman from the Weinviertel region who has dementia has had a court-appointed adult representative, a lawyer from Vienna whom she chose herself, for about two years. Her son says the lawyer failed to pursue social welfare benefits, leaving his mother without a care allowance until he submitted the application himself. She received the allowance within two months, he said.

He also accused the lawyer of transferring his late father’s insurance policies to her law firm’s address and diverting almost the entire pension. The couple had held a joint account, but part of their savings was transferred to a new account controlled by the representative, he said.

The son said reversing some of the changes took unnecessary time and caused considerable tension in his parents’ 40-year marriage. The lawyer said in a statement that her work was strictly limited to the areas defined by the court and focused solely on the wishes and welfare of the person she represented. Family and marital relationships were not part of her remit, she said.

She also said she carried out the work free of charge and that the court regularly reviewed it. She declined to comment on details, citing data protection rules.

Family pays care costs

Martina Mayr from Neulengbach, in the St Pölten district, also strongly criticised the current system. Her daughter, who has a genetic defect and autistic traits, has had a Vienna lawyer as her adult representative for four years.

The daughter has care level six and needs round-the-clock care. However, Mayr said, her daughter’s bank account showed no payments for this care. Since April 2024, it contained only two food purchases and no spending on medication or clothing.

“That is unrealistic; nobody can live without these expenses,” Mayr said. She currently pays the care costs herself, amounting to 4,000 euros a month, and said the representative had not reimbursed her.

Mayr said the account records could give the court the impression that her daughter lived alone in the flat. This would create the appearance of assets, from which the representative’s compensation could be paid. She said she suspected that this could amount to delaying insolvency proceedings and had filed a complaint with the Austrian Bar Association.

The association said it would examine the complaint. Violations of lawyers’ professional duties can result in disciplinary action, although the outcome of the review would not be disclosed for data protection reasons.

The association said it was not inherently problematic for some lawyers to represent several hundred people. The key issue was whether their firms employed enough suitably qualified staff to provide personal support on the lawyer’s behalf and under the lawyer’s supervision.

The lawyer representing Mayr’s daughter also cited professional confidentiality and denied wrongdoing, as did the court. He said he had visited his client and remained in contact with relevant people and institutions. He did not answer when asked when he had last visited her in person.

External companies take on support

Investigative magazine Dossier recently found that some law firms outsource tasks to external companies to manage the large number of representations. Lawyers mainly handle legal matters, while external support workers provide the personal contact required by law.

This can result in double costs for the people represented. Lawyers retain their full compensation, while the costs of the external care companies are charged to the affected individuals.

Under the law, guardianship courts must monitor the work of adult representatives, but only by checking whether the reports submitted to them appear plausible.