Check Appendix I under Legal Assistance for helpful resources. Guardianship The state assumes that at age 18 every person is legally competent to make all life decisions. Parents are not automatically their adult child's guardian. Establishing guardianship must be formally requested and is a probate court procedure. It requires a careful evaluation of an individual and statements by a licensed physician, social worker, and psychologist.
Guardianship is the broadest and most restrictive form of decision-making help.
A guardian is a person appointed by the court to handle both personal and financial affairs of another person who for a variety of reasons, may be incapable of handling his or her own affairs. Establishing guardianship is a probate court procedure. It does not occur automatically but must be formally requested. The authority of the guardian should be limited to those areas of decision making in which the person is clearly incompetent. Some examples may include naming a representative payee to cash benefit checks, opening joint bank accounts, establishing temporary guardianship limited to medical emergencies, or starting a trust fund.