They may require assistance preparing meals, finding a place to live, getting medical help, paying bills, depositing checks, and managing finances. In order for people to accomplish many of these tasks they require legal authority. As a ward of a guardian, people may lose the right to choose where they will live, to drive, to enter into contracts, to marry or divorce, to vote, and even the right to refuse medical treatment. As a ward, the older person is deprived of autonomy and self-determination. The appointed guardian has the broad powers to use the ward's assets on his or her behalf, may not always be the person whom the older person wanted, and may be a total stranger with different values and beliefs.
Guardianship is a very serious matter.
It should not be taken lightly. The legal rights of a person being supervised can be severely curtailed. Courts usually look to the spouse, adult child, parent, brother or sister, and then other persons, in that order, as the guardian. The court transfers the responsibility for managing financial affairs, living arrangements, and medical care decisions to the guardian. The guardian is responsible to the court and must account for all transactions made on behalf of the person.