As we recently discussed, guardianships are used when a person is incapacitated. They can’t make their own decisions. They may have dementia or Alzheimer’s, for instance, or they may have suffered a brain injury in an accident. They need someone else to act as a guardian to provide care and assistance because they cannot do it on their own.
However, establishing a guardianship takes away some of this person’s fundamental rights as an adult. The court isn’t going to do this lightly, and it’s very important to determine that the person is actually incapacitated and needs a guardian. So who makes this decision?
The examining committee
At the base level, the decision is made by the court. A guardianship can’t be instituted until the court has officially declared the person incapacitated, and then the legal process can move forward.
But the way the court does this is by setting up an examining committee. This committee includes health professionals who will examine the case and recommend to the court whether or not they believe the person is incapacitated.
These professionals can come from a variety of backgrounds. Some of them may be registered nurses, psychiatrists, mental health professionals or doctors. They use their industry knowledge and understanding of incapacitation to determine whether it applies on a case-by-case basis.
Setting up a guardianship
As you can see, there are numerous steps that need to be taken when establishing a guardianship. It’s very important to understand each of these legal steps and how to proceed. When things get complex, it can help to have the guidance of an experienced law firm.