Protect Yourself From Guardianship
In over 10 years of practice working with hundreds and maybe thousands of families I have never met one person that said they wanted to be involved in a Guardianship proceeding. This goes for the person that the Guardianship is being pursued for as well as the person nominated to act as the Guardian. If nobody wants to be part of a Guardianship case, then how does it happen all the time?
What is Guardianship?
A guardianship is a court-supervised administration for a minor or for an incapacitated person. A person — called the guardian — is appointed by a court to care for the person and/or property of the minor or incapacitated person — called the ward. Thousands of dollars and months can be spent establishing if a person is or is not incapacitated and in need of a court appointed Guardian.
After that is over your family is still under the watchful eye of the court and must make regular reports and in some cases ask permission to perform certain acts. Two of the most expensive words in the English language are “court appointed” anything. If you want to save your money and keep family matters private then you may want to avoid Guardianship.
How Can You Avoid Guardianship?
Guardianship is a last resort in most cases. It is generally used when there is no other legal way for a person to help a loved one with their financial or medical decisions. You can avoid Guardianship with a few simple steps:
- Prepare a valid and appropriate Durable Power of Attorney for Property;
- Prepare a valid and appropriate Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions;
- Prepare a valid Designation of Guardian so you at least can pick who your Guardian is if one needs to be appointed; and
- Many families use a Texas Living Trust as the framework for controlling the family finances outside of court in the event of disability or death.
Speak with a Texas Living Trust attorney today if you want to find out more about how you can protect yourself and your family from court appointed Guardianship. You can use the online contact form or call me at (832) 426-3913.
About the Author
LoneStarLivingTrust.com is here to help Texas families reach their unique estate planning goals. I am an Attorney with over 10 years of experience helping families and protecting millions of dollars from taxes and court costs. I work directly with my clients and do not communicate through paralegals and staff. LoneStarLivingTrust.com is based in The Woodlands, Texas, however I help families throughout all of Texas.