Adult guardianship is necessary when a person is unable to make decisions on his own behalf. There are several cases in which a person may not be able to manage his own affairs, including mental disability, an injury that affected the brain, or a senior with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. When someone has a guardian appointed, he is referred to as a ward of that guardian.
Understanding Guardianship | Estate Planning Attorney in Cary NC
Guardianship is appointed by the courts after a petition has been submitted. A hearing is held to review the evidence presented by the person requesting to be guardian. The person allegedly needing guardianship is usually present and represented by an attorney.
In this series, we’ll look at two main types of adult guardianship. First we’ll look at how it pertains to people with mental disabilities or injuries. In the second part, we’ll discuss how it affects seniors who are unable to care for themselves due to declining mental capacity.
It can be tricky to determine if an adult over 18 years old needs a guardian because the diagnosis of injury or disability does not necessarily mean that the person cannot care for himself.
When someone seeks guardianship for an adult, he or she usually focuses on whether or not the person can make a decision about living arrangements, medical care, going to school or securing a job, and how to manage finances. Sometimes these questions are asked in order to determine the person’s decisional capacity.
- Does he understand that a decision needs to be made?
- Does he know his options and the results of each option?
- Does he feel comfortable making the decision?
- If not, can he ask for help from someone else?
For more information regarding adult guardianship, be sure to visit back with us during our next blog post.
If you don’t have an estate plan in place or haven’t reviewed yours in several years, now might be the best time to start. Our estate planning attorney in Cary NC is here to help you get your estate plan in order and ready should you pass in an untimely manner or become incapacitated at some point. It’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to estate planning. Contact our office, today, to get started.
Estate Planning Attorney in Cary NC
Also, remember that our law office offers other legal services for you, as well. Whether it’s entertainment law, family law, small business law and others, we are available to help you through your legal situation. Contact us, today, to make an appointment.
Below, you'll find other blogs in this series. Be sure to read over this information, as well:
- Understanding Adult Guardianship, Part One
- Understanding Adult Guardianship, Part Two
- Understanding Adult Guardianship, Part Three
- Understanding Adult Guardianship, Part Four
