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.

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