Ensure Your Loved One is in the Care of a Capable Adult with Help from Our Adult Guardianship Attorneys
A guardianship becomes necessary when an individual lacks the legal capacity to make a rational decision regarding their financial affairs or health care.
Elder Law Lawyers represents guardians in elder care. Typically, our client seeks legal authority to act on behalf of one who may be in ill health or experiencing memory loss and inability to care for themselves or their property properly.
Adult guardianship law involves the judicial process of assessing the ability of an adult to manage their affairs. If they cannot, the court appoints a guardian or conservator for the person. A guardianship is a legal right given to a person to be responsible for the food, health care, housing, and other necessities of a person deemed fully or partially incapable of providing these necessities to themselves.
When is Seeking Adult Guardianship Necessary?
Elder Law Lawyers represents clients seeking adult guardianship or conservatorship over relatives who can no longer manage their own affairs. Typically, a family member comes to us looking for a legal appointment so that they can legally prove that they have the authority to act on behalf of the incapacitated party. In the case of adults, guardians are appointed where the court finds that an individual's ability to make responsible decisions is so impaired that it is necessary and in the adult's best interests to hand the authority to make these decisions over to another individual.
Kentucky law also provides that an adult may voluntarily choose to have a "curator" appointed. For example, this may happen when an individual is mentally competent. Still, his or her affairs are so burdensome or complicated and/or their physical health so impaired that he or she concludes that it is in their best interests to have someone else manage them. In the case of guardianship, Elder Law Lawyers petitions the court to have a guardian appointed.
When a guardian is appointed, the guardian must base his/her decisions upon and act in the best interests of the ward, and the guardian's performance of responsibilities is subject to court review and oversight. The specific terms that govern the rules, procedures, duties, obligations, and relationship between the guardian and the ward are all set out in Kentucky statutes.
Please see the KGA Guardianship training video on our website for a complete summary of the adult guardianship process.
Adult Guardianship May Be Appropriate When:
- A person can no longer make or communicate safe or sound decisions
- A person may be:
- Failing to pay bills
- Losing money
- Losing track of accounts
- Forgetting appointments
- Mishandling medications
- Driving unsafely
- A person may be displaying unusually angry or paranoid behavior
- A person has become susceptible to fraud or undue influence
Establishing adult guardianship is a court process that has strict requirements. Elder Law Lawyers can assist you by counseling and navigating those requirements by collecting the necessary information and preparing the necessary paperwork.
When you call Elder Law Lawyers, you will speak directly with a qualified and expert adult guardianship lawyer. Contact us today at (859) 543-0061 or by filling out the lead form below.
