Guardianship is the process where an individual is determined to be incapacitated to a degree which impairs his or her ability to make decisions on their own. The Court can determined some or all of the individual’s rights should be removed and/or delegated to a third person called the Guardian. The Guardian has a duty to act in the best interest of the individual. 

Rights which may be removed include: the right to vote, the right to drive, and the right to marry. Rights which may be delegated to the Guardian include: the right to contract, the right to sue and defend, and the right to determine social and residential setting. In the event all rights of an individual are removed and delegated to the Guardian, this is called a Plenary Guardianship. When the individual retains at least one right, such as the right to marry, this is called a Limited Guardianship.

Guardian Advocate is a process for family members, caregivers, or friends of individuals with a developmental disability to obtain the legal authority to act on their behalf. A Guardian Advocate does not requires the individual with a developmental disability to be determined “incapacitated.” Rather, the Guardian Advocate is appointed to help the individual with making decisions relating to the individual’s person, property, or both. Our attorneys are well versed in all aspects of Guardian Advocacy, particularly given the situation when two or more persons (such as divorced parents) are asking to be appointed which results in determining what is in the individual’s best interest.