Guardianships
Guardianship is a legal device allowed
in most courts to provide for the care
of a person who, because of his physical
or mental disabilities, is not capable
of caring for himself. Some courts recognize “limited
guardianships” in which the legal
guardian is appointed with limited power
to manage a person’s property or
financial affairs. Many courts also recognize
a full guardianship or “plenary
guardianship” in which the guardian
is given broad power to regulate and
manage all aspects of a person’s
life, health, decision-making, property
and financial affairs.
Guardianships
may be temporary or permanent and they
may come with many procedural requirements.
Legal guardians are usually required
to maintain records, and to file reports
with the court.
Before a person can be appointed as
a guardian, he or she generally needs
to file a petition or complaint for guardianship.
A court may require medical reports,
affidavits, or other documentation attesting
to the need for a guardian and the appropriateness
of the applicant to be appointed as the
guardian. The “ward,” or
person for whom the guardian is needed,
may be examined by an independent physician
to determine his or her physical or mental
condition. Often, the court requires
an attorney to be appointed for the ward,
and requires that all papers filed in
support of the guardianship be read by
(or read to) the ward so that his or
her own due process rights are preserved.
A guardianship is sometimes the appropriate
approach to a living arrangement in which
child custody is not possible, or in
which some other relationship between
the parties exists. Guardians are appointed
for children as well as seniors, and
any number of circumstances may create
the need for the appointment of a guardian.
|