We handle all types of Guardianship cases. A Guardianship is a Court-Appointed and Court-Approved relationship in which a person (“the Guardian”) is appointed by a judge to manage the daily affairs of another person (“the Ward”). Generally speaking, Guardianships can give the Guardian “full authority” or only “limited” rights and duties. Guardians can be appointed over Minors or Adults.
Guardians for Minors
A Guardianship over a Minor usually occurs in circumstances where:
- The Child Has No Surviving Parents
- The Child Has Been Abandoned
- The Parents are Disabled Themselves, or
- The Parents Just Can't Otherwise Care for the Child
A Guardianship is frequently sought when a child is a special-needs child, or has sustained significant injuries that will effect their ordinary life experiences in a serious way. In these cases, what might have been an “ordinary” life has turned out to be not ordinary at all.
Guardians for Adults
Guardianships for Adults usually arise in two situations:
- Long Term Physical or Mental Disability
- As a Consequence of Aging
In these instances, a medical doctor or other qualified health care specialist will furnish an “assessment” of the Proposed Ward for the use of the Guardianship court. The health care specialist gives the Judge their medical opinion about whether a guardian is needed for the Proposed Ward.
There are Special Procedures for Guardianships
There are procedural protections in Guardianship cases. So, when a guardianship case is filed, certain classes of family members must be notified. The Proposed Ward will be represented by a Court-Appointed Lawyer. Guardianships can be both uncontested, as well as contested. Guardians are appointed to manage different areas of the Ward's life: (1) their finances, and (2) their living conditions and health concerns.
Guardians cannot: (1) have a criminal record, (2) must post a bond to cover instances of possible future misuse of the Ward's funds, (3) must take state-required training, and (4) must register on a State database. Guardians must also furnish a report with supporting documentation as to all their financial expenditures for the Ward each year. Guardians cannot take any of the Ward's money and use it for themselves. The report of expenditures by a Guardian is reviewed every year by the Judge who originally appointed the Guardian.
What are trusts?
Trusts are like corporations. They are artificial entities that are created by law, and have a status different from “people”. Trusts can buy, own, and sell property. They can be created for different purposes.
For example, some wealthy clients create Trusts so that ownership of property (by the Trust) does not end when the client dies. Trusts can continue to own property long after the person(s) that created them die.
Types of Trusts
Some Trusts are created by people to hold assets that are used to provide for themselves when they become older, retire, disabled. Or maybe they just want to create a Trust entity that has someone else (a Trustee) take care of themselves in the future.
Some Trusts are created by people to fund care for others who are disabled minors or adults. Yet other Trusts are set up to help with eligibility for government (usually “Medicaid”) benefits.
Using Trusts to give limited money to Irresponsible Children
We generally do not advise clients to establish Trusts to “pass wealth” unless the client has significant assets (multi-millions of dollars). In our opinion, Trusts also generally do not work well to keep property “away from” a family member who is “irresponsible” or who does not manage their life or money well. In those instances, the “irresponsible child” usually just “bothers” the person (the Trustee) holding the purse strings by constantly seeking the money that they think “rightfully already belongs to them!”
We think it is far more wise to simply leave significant financial gifts to “responsible” family members, or, alternatively, leave limited gifts to irresponsible family members in an iron-clad unbreakable Last Will and Testament. It is simply very hard to leave money to an irresponsible family member, and at the same time, protect them from their own poor decision/making.