Guardianships are administered and controlled by the Probate Court. Almost all records are public and open for inspection. When someone applies for a Guardianship over an adult that is physically and/or mentally incapacitated, the process requires a Physician’s Statement, Court Investigator’s Report and other filings. These could create embarrassment for the alleged incompetent and/or family.

With a Guardianship, the Probate process continues indefinitely until the incompetent is restored to competency or dies. Therefore, this process involves continuing Probate expense, possibly bond premiums, fiduciary and attorney fees. And, since this is a public record, all financial details surrounding the incompetent are open to public scrutiny.

This leads to the next question, which is how to avoid a Guardianship. The simple and most effective way is to provide a trusted family member or friend with a Durable Power of Attorney. This is different from a regular Power of Attorney because a regular Power of Attorney ceases to have legal effect upon the individual becoming incapacitated. Therefore it is critical to consider giving the correct type of Power of Attorney. To help minimize or avoid probate it is best to provide someone you trust with a Durable Power of Attorney.

Should a guardianship become necessary, an individual may also nominate a Guardian for themselves in their Power of Attorney.

In addition to having a Durable Power of Attorney in order to help avoid probate, it is essential to consider providing a Durable Power of Attorney for Health care decision making.

Finally, another way to avoid Probate or Guardianship is to have a Living Trust. However, the most common mistake people make with a Living Trust is the failure to fund their Trust. If a Trust is properly funded, it can minimize the risk associated with a Guardianship.

For more information regarding Guardianship or Contact Us.

One of the advantages of a Guardianship is that a Guardian is appointed by the Probate Court. Since the appointment of a Guardian is made by the Probate Court, the Guardian is controlled and supervised by the Court. This simply means that the Guardian cannot act without Court authority. This oversight protects the Guardian and most importantly, the ward on whose behalf the Guardian acts. This minimizes the risk of a breach of fiduciary duties and/or mismanagement or theft of the ward’s funds.

Some of the disadvantages of a Probate Court Guardianship include the expenses associated with this process. Additionally, because the Probate Court Guardianship files are public records, privacy is lost. As a result, many of the personal details of disability and/or financial affairs are open to public scrutiny and potential embarrassment.

Some of the legal options or alternatives to a Probate Court Guardianship include having a Durable Power of Attorney, a Durable Healthcare Power of Attorney, and/or possibly a Living Trust.

For more information about Guardianships or Contact us.

On occasion a family member may exhibit unusual behavior that causes concern for family members. Whenever a loved one is in danger, or behaving in a way that could cause real harm, and/or financial or physical damage to themselves, it is time to consider a guardianship.

A guardianship can be necessary where a person is physically and/or mentally incapacitated and that person never issued a Durable Power of Attorney.

Some situations to watch out for include a loved one who lives alone and refuses to come out, eat properly or bathe, take all their medication, or simply live in a home that is dirty and in complete disarray.

Other examples of unusual behavior that could trigger the necessity of a guardianship include when a loved one begins to get lost, can’t remember where he or she is or how to get home. Is the family member exhibiting signs of dementia, paranoia and/or delusion? Are they physically attacking another household member? Are there signs of financial exploitation or gross mismanagement of their assets?

Failure to intervene in these situations could lead to serious harm.

Whenever an individual is exhibiting unusual or bizarre behavior that is totally uncharacteristic it is time to step in and consider a guardianship. By taking prompt action, you minimize the risk associated with this loved one harming themselves physically and/or financially.

For more information about Guardianships or Contact Us.

At some point, every person will become mentally and/or physically disabled during their lifetime. Without the proper documents and legal plan your life may become subject to a Probate Guardianship. Who the Probate Court appoints as your Legal Guardian may be someone you never would have agreed to. Typically, a Guardian is a family member, but often when family members fight, the Court may decide to pick a third and disinterested party.

The ideal way to avoid a Probate Guardianship is to have the correct disability legal plan to cover medical and/or financial decision making. This is usually done with a Durable Power of Attorney.

Another way to avoid a Guardianship is to have a properly funded Revocable Living Trust. With a Trust, if you have chosen an appropriate Successor Trustee, then this person would take over financial decision making for you.

In the unforeseen circumstance that a Guardianship cannot be avoided even with a valid Durable Power of Attorney or Trust because of disputes among family members, you can state your preferences for who you wish to become your appointed Guardian by expressing your choice in your Durable Power of Attorney.

For more information about Guardianship or Contact Us.

One of the advantages of a Guardianship is that a Guardian is appointed by the Probate Court. Since the appointment of a Guardian is made by the Probate Court, the Guardian is controlled and supervised by the Court. This simply means that the Guardian cannot act without Court authority. This oversight protects the Guardian and most importantly, the ward on whose behalf the Guardian acts. This minimizes the risk of a breach of fiduciary duties and/or mismanagement or theft of the ward’s funds.

Some of the disadvantages of a Probate Court Guardianship include the expenses associated with this process. Additionally, because the Probate Court Guardianship files are public records, privacy is lost. As a result, many of the personal details of disability and/or financial affairs are open to public scrutiny and potential embarrassment.

Some of the legal options or alternatives to a Probate Court Guardianship include having a Durable Power of Attorney, a Durable Healthcare Power of Attorney, and/or possibly a Living Trust.

For more information about Guardianships or Contact Us.

Guardianships are administered and controlled by the Probate Court. Almost all records are public and open for inspection. When someone applies for a Guardianship over an adult that is physically and/or mentally incapacitated, the process requires a Physician’s Statement, Court Investigator’s Report and other filings. These could create embarrassment for the alleged incompetent and/or family.

With a Guardianship, the Probate process continues indefinitely until the incompetent is restored to competency or dies. Therefore, this process involves continuing Probate expense, possibly bond premiums, fiduciary and attorney fees. And, since this is a public record, all financial details surrounding the incompetent are open to public scrutiny.

This leads to the next question, which is how to avoid a Guardianship. The simple and most effective way is to provide a trusted family member or friend with a Durable Power of Attorney. This is different from a regular Power of Attorney because a regular Power of Attorney ceases to have legal effect upon the individual becoming incapacitated. Therefore it is critical to consider giving the correct type of Power of Attorney. To help minimize or avoid the probate it is best to provide someone you trust with a Durable Power of Attorney.

Should a guardianship become necessary, an individual may nominate a Guardian for themselves in their Power of Attorney.

In addition to having a Durable Power of Attorney in order to help avoid probate, it is essential to consider also providing a Durable Power of Attorney for Health care decision making.

Finally, another way to help avoid Probate or Guardianship is to have a Living Trust. However, the most common mistake people make with a Living Trust is the failure to fund their Trust. If a Trust is properly funded, it can minimize the risk associated with a Guardianship.

For more information about Guardianships or Contact Us.