2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 15 - PROBATE, TRUSTS, AND FIDUCIARIES (§§ 15-1-101 — 15-24-403) › COLORADO PROBATE CODE (§§ 15-10-101 — 15-17-103) › Article 14 - PERSONS UNDER DISABILITY - PROTECTION (§§ 15-14-101 — 15-14-806) › Part 8 - SUPPORTED DECISION-MAKING AGREEMENTS FOR ADULTS WITH A DISABILITY (§§ 15-14-801 — 15-14-806) › Section 15-14-801 - Legislative declaration

(1)
The general assembly finds and declares that:
(a)
Guardianship constitutes one of the most restrictive options available to adults with disabilities and their families;
(b)
Guardianship should be employed only when a less restrictive alternative would fail to meet the needs of the adult with a disability;
(c)
Adults with disabilities are presumed competent and have the capacity to facilitate the exercise of decisions regarding their day-to-day health, safety, welfare, or financial affairs, unless otherwise determined through legal proceedings;
(d)
Supported decision-making, as defined in section
15-14-802 (5)
, offers adults with disabilities a voluntary method of decision-making that, as appropriate, may also be used concurrently with, but subject to, an existing guardianship, conservatorship, or power of attorney;
(e)
Supported decision-making facilitates adults with disabilities in maintaining decision-making authority over their own lives while also encouraging these adults to recognize, create, and maintain supportive communities, through supported decision-making teams, that can assist adults with disabilities in making informed decisions;
(f)
Adults with disabilities should have access to opportunities to experience and practice decision-making skills;
(g)
Adults with disabilities who do not have a court-appointed guardian or a court-appointed conservator have the right to independently make any decision without any member of the supportive community, regardless of having entered into a supported decision-making agreement; and
(h)
Supported decision-making agreements do not:
(I)
Create a fiduciary or contractual relationship between an adult with a disability and a member of the supportive community;
(II)
Elevate a member of the supportive community to a person in a position of trust in regard to the adult with a disability based solely on the member of the supportive community's involvement in the supported decision-making agreement;
(III)
Alter, diminish, or supersede the terms of a court-ordered guardianship or conservatorship. A guardian or conservator has the right, if authorized by the court, to determine if a ward or protected person may enter into or continue a supported decision-making agreement.
(IV)
Authorize a member of the supportive community to obtain or use personal, financial, or confidential information of the adult with a disability for the member of the supportive community's own purpose or benefit, or for the purpose or benefit of a third-party; or
(V)
Shield a member of the supportive community from criminal or civil liability for acts that would otherwise be subject to civil or criminal liability, notwithstanding section
15-14-806 (2)
; and
(i)
In addition to supported decision-making, adults with disabilities should have a variety of formal and informal processes available to make decisions and express preferences of choices, including but not limited to medical and financial powers of attorney, guardianship, limited guardianship, conservatorship, special conservatorship, release of information forms, and representative payees.
Added by 2021 Ch. 61, § 1, eff. 9/7/2021.