What is Parental or Adult Guardianship?

Article submitted by The Staff of SeniorsResourceGuide.com

Are you considering guardianship of your parent or adult loved one? Maybe conservatorship is best. Perhaps you are not sure where to begin. Here is some general information to help you start.

What is Parental or Adult Guardianship?

Guardianship is a court appointment, which gives a person or an organization responsibility and authority for making decisions on behalf of an adult who is unable to manage his/her own affairs and make his/her own decisions.

Guardianship

Guardianship is a serious responsibility and must not be taken lightly. It requires the Guardian of a ward (the person under guardianship) to act in the wards best interests and with prudence as far as medical, financial and other decision-making in which the ward cannot otherwise make for him or herself. In addition, it implies that the ward has released his or her legal rights. This is a last resort and many states offer only limited guardianship for this reason.

General Duties of a Guardian: After being appointed a legal guardian, it expected that specific orders outlined by the court would be followed. This includes making decisions in areas that are listed, but is not limited to these selected areas.

Advocating Support
General Care
Education
Welfare
Finances
Annual court reports

A guardian must act on its Wards known preferences in these areas of decision-making, which means a guardian must take an active role in the wards life in order to make intelligent and informed decisions. This takes more than a once a month visit with the ward. It is important to be familiar with laws, and rules that may affect your ward. There are other limitations, rights and immunities that the guardian must be familiar with as well. It is best to contact an attorney specializing in the field of guardianship and conservatorship or a local guardianship alliance. Guardianship laws may differ from state to state.

How to obtain Guardianship

The general procedure for obtaining legal guardianship of an adult is to file a petition for guardianship to the district court of the county where the incapacitated person resides. The assistance of an attorney may be helpful in this, but is not always necessary. There may be other documents required along with the petition, such as a letter from the doctor declaring the person as incapacitated and a certified list of the person's assets and personal property. There are court fees to consider and the type of guardianship requested, generally limited guardianship.

Conservatorship

Conservatorship is different from guardianship. A conservatorship is a court appointment for an adult who is either incapacitated, missing, detained or unable to return to the United States. The appointment of a conservator gives a person or an organization the responsibility to prevent waste or dissipation of the protected person's assets; to obtain or provide for the support, care, education or welfare of the protected person or someone entitled to support by the protected person.

How is Guardianship different from Conservatorship

A conservator cannot be both guardian and conservator.
A conservator like a guardian is expected to fulfill court appointed duties as outlined in their appointment.
These duties may include taking care of financial needs, acquiring government assistance, reducing and estate, tax liabilities, and income. There can be other appointed duties as well.

How to obtain Conservatorship

Like guardianship, to obtain conservatorship one must petition the district court in which a person lives. Conservatorship does not always mean that the person is incapacitated like guardianship. Required documentation is also needed for conservatorship and it is advised to seek advice from and attorney who specializes in conservatorships.