Panel to help indigent families

staff report

YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning County Probate Court has established a panel of 14 lawyers who’ve agreed to represent families of severely mentally disabled or retarded people in need of a guardian without charge to the families.

These lawyers have agreed to accept a reduced fee from an indigent guardianship fund, which is funded through the court’s filing fees. They will be paid about $200 to establish a guardianship, compared with the $800 to $1,000 normally charged to families by such lawyers for this service.

“The court has a legal obligation and moral imperative to protect” such special-needs people, Probate Judge Mark Belinky said, describing this group as “among the most vulnerable members of our community.”

The program is designed to eliminate legal costs for families that incur many expenses in raising special-needs children and to encourage establishment of guardianships for special-needs offspring when they reach age 18, the judge explained.

When they turn 18, severely mentally disabled or retarded people should have a guardian appointed by the probate court because they cannot manage their personal affairs, the judge advised.

There are no income eligibility ceilings for this program. “These parents have a lifetime commitment of care and commensurate expenses that families without these types of children do not have,” the judge observed.

“We can relieve the burden of fees to the families and pay the lawyers a modest fee for their time,” under this program, the judge said.

Participating lawyers are Jay Blackstone, Charlene E. Burke, Diane L. Chermely, Anna M. Ciambotti, Willian Flevares, Michael O. Kivlighan, Dominic Leone, Daniel J. Mumaw, Michael R. Piccirillo, Robert W. Price, Robert N. Rusu, Jonea Shade, Daniel J. Solmen and Gary M. Zamary.

All have Mahoning Valley offices, except Shade, whose office is in Akron.