Family & Safety

Guardianship of an adult is when a judge chooses a person to take care of another person who is 18 years old or older who can't make basic life decisions, or manage their own property or money. There are different reasons someone can need a guardian, including:

• Mental decline as a result of aging,
• Mental illness,
• Developmental disability A substantial impairment that functionally limits a person in carrying out major life activities, such as walking, lifting, seeing, or learning. that started as a child,
• Physical impairments, or
• Trouble controlling behavior that puts oneself and family at risk of harm.

There are two types of guardianship of adults. A guardian can be in charge of the person, the estate All of the property a person owns at their death , or both:

• Guardianship of the person covers decisions about personal care like medical treatments and social services,
• Guardianship of the estate covers finances and property.

A guardian can also be given different levels of authority over the person or the estate:

• Plenary guardianship: full guardianship over the person or the estate. The guardian can make all decisions related to the person’s care and/or finances.
• Limited guardianship: the guardian’s powers are limited to areas that the court specifies. This is used when the person with the disability is capable of making some, but not all, decisions for themselves.

It is also possible for a person to have a temporary guardian. This typically occurs in emergency situations where an adult with a disability could suffer imminent harm unless a guardian is in place. A temporary guardian usually only serves until a permanent guardian can be appointed.

To be a guardian, a person must:

• Be at least 18 years old,
• Be a US resident,
• Be of sound mind A person who has full mental capabilities and is able to understand, think, and reason , meaning logical or stable,
• Not be legally disabled (there are certain types of disabilities, such as blindness, deafness, or minor A person under 18 years old physical disabilities that will not automatically prevent a person from becoming a guardian as long as the guardian can perform the duties of guardianship), and
• Not have a felony A serious crime that is punishable by more than one year in prison conviction When someone is declared guilty of a crime by a court  that involved harm or threat to a child, elderly person, or a person with a disability. If the person has another kind of felony conviction, the court will consider it on a case-by-case basis.

The judge needs to approve the guardian and be sure the guardian will act in the person's best interests. Just because someone is a family member does not mean that a judge will approve them as guardians. If the person with the disability is able to say who they would like to serve Giving court documents to someone as their guardian, the judge can take this preference into consideration.

For more information on how to start a guardianship case with the court, please read Starting a case for guardianship of an adult. It can be helpful to find a lawyer Someone who represents clients in courts or who gives legal advice to help you, especially if the adult with the disability or other people close to the adult disagree about the guardianship, or if there are complicated financial issues. A lawyer can also help you understand what you need to do if you are made the guardian because guardians have ongoing responsibilities to provide updates and reports to the judge.