Guardianship

A Levels Academy Islamabad

Transcript

00:00For a variety of reasons, some people need others to make decisions for them.

00:04For certain minors or adults that have mental or physical disabilities, a guardianship is

00:09oftentimes the answer.

00:11A guardianship is a legal proceeding where a guardian is appointed to exercise the rights

00:16of someone else.

00:17Now, a guardian can be either an individual or an institution, such as a non-profit organization.

00:24And the person being cared for by this guardian is called a ward.

00:28For minors whose parents are deceased or incapacitated, the court is required to appoint

00:33one.

00:34For adults, the court must rule that a person's decision-making ability is so impaired that

00:39a guardian is needed.

00:42Guardianship is only warranted when other, less limiting alternatives are not appropriate.

00:47Alternatives such as proxy, trust, durable power of attorney, and health care surrogate

00:52to name a few.

00:54In Florida, voluntary guardianships are permitted, where a mentally competent adult is incapable

00:59of managing their property and petitions for guardianship.

01:02Florida also allows two different types of adult guardianships, limited and plenary.

01:08Limited guardianship is when a court decides someone is capable of handling some, but not

01:12all, of their affairs.

01:15Plenary is just a lawyer word for full or unlimited and refers to when the court appoints

01:19someone to exercise all of a ward's rights and powers for them.

01:23Basically, this is the court saying the ward cannot take care of themselves.

01:27And beyond just appointing a guardian to represent someone, there is also an implied duty to

01:32protect the individual as well.

01:34There is accountability on the part of the guardian whether the guardianship is permanent

01:37or not.

01:39And if there's a conflict of interest, the court may not appoint a particular desired

01:43guardian.

01:44If you find yourself or someone you know in need of a guardian, LegalYou can provide you

01:48all the information you need.

01:50For serious matters such as these, preparation isn't just a luxury, it's a necessity.