Guardianship and conservatorship involve two people. First, there is the child who is younger than eighteen but is orphaned or abandoned by their parents, or an adult who is unable to take care of themself due to disability, sickness, injury, or addiction. Then there is responsible adult who cares about the well-being of the first person, but doesn’t have the legal right to make decisions for them. This second group is often family members of the person, but also might be people who are paid to take care of the first person.

The law has devised a system to appoint responsible adults to take care of the first person mentioned. In many cases, there is more than one adult who cares about the well-being of the person, and there can be considerable dispute over who is best suited to be appointed. When the young or incapacitated person is unable to make any decisions, the Court appoints the responsible adult as a guardian. The guardian decides where the person will live, who will take care of them, in fact all decisions regarding that person. In the case of a person who is merely unable to handle their own finances such as paying their bills, the Court will appoint the adult as a conservator. The conservator merely manages the person’s money.

Whether it be guardian or conservator, the adult does that job until the Court either suspends or removes them. This can be because the adult was not acting in the best interests of the person, or the person no longer needs a guardian or conservator, for whatever reason. While the person needs a guardian or conservator, the Court has authority and a duty to supervise the case.

Guardianship and conservatorship cases are mainly decided in the Probate Court of the county where the person lives. While the Court will send someone to interview the person if they are unable to appear in Court, it all ends up in Probate Court. Thus, a lawyer is often invaluable in gathering the necessary information and making a persuasive argument so that the proper adult is appointed with the appropriate authority.

As mentioned before, there is often more than one adult involved in the question of who is the proper one to be guardian or conservator. In fact, an entire family can get involved. Anyone may have a say in who is the best person to be guardian or conservator, and anyone may ask the Court to be so appointed. The same goes when anyone believes a change must be made in the arrangements. Then there are nurses, doctors, psychologists, and other people who may have important information about the needs and wishes of the person.

All these people and information have only one objective: to take care of the incapacitated person in the best way possible, and to ultimately help the person become self-sufficient, if it is at all possible.

For the best care overall, call Paul!