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Serving Philadelphia, Delaware County, Montgomery County, Bucks County and Chester County since 1996.
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Guardianship
What Exactly is Guardianship?
Every adult is assumed to be capable of making his or her own decisions unless a court determines otherwise.
If an adult becomes incapable of making responsible decisions due to a mental disability, the court will appoint a substitute
decision maker, called a "guardian."
Guardianship is a legal relationship between a competent adult (the "guardian") and a person who because of incapacity is no longer
able to take care of his or her own affairs (the "ward").
The guardian is authorized to make legal, financial, and health care decisions for the ward.
Depending on the terms of the guardianship, the guardian may or may not have to seek court approval for various decisions.
Incapacity
Generally a person is judged to be in need of guardianship when he or she shows a lack of capacity to make rational decisions.
A person cannot be declared incompetent simply because he or she makes irresponsible or foolish decisions, but only if the person
is shown to lack the capacity to make sound decisions.
For example, a person may not be declared incompetent simply because he or she spends money in ways that seem odd to someone else.
Also, a developmental disability or mental illness is not, by itself, enough to declare a person incompetent.
Some incapacitated individuals can make responsible decisions in some areas of their lives but not others.
In such cases, the court may give the guardian decision making power over only those areas in which the incapacitated person is
unable to make responsible decisions (a so-called "limited guardianship").
In other words, the guardian may exercise only those rights that have been removed from the ward and delegated to the guardian.
Next Topic - Aspects of Guardianship
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Fax Us: (610) 446-9985 |
Visit our offices:
17 Mifflin Ave. Suite 202
Havertown, PA 19083 |
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