Guardianship of Bassett

Acting on a petition brought under G. L. c. 201, § 6A, seeking the appointment of a guardian of the person and property of Lawrence Allen Bassett (Bassett), a mentally retarded person, a judge of the Probate Court for Hampshire County, after appointing a guardian ad litem to represent the prospective ward’s interests and conducting a lengthy hearing, appointed the Belchertown State School Friends Association, Inc. (Friends Association), as guardian of Bassett’s person and property. Troubled by questions as to the source and scope of the court’s authority to create the guardianship, and the…