Adult Illness, Alzheimer's and Dementia, Elder Law

Appointing A Guardian

By Rick Law, estate planning lawyer and senior advocate at the Estate Planning Center at Law Elder Law in Western Chicagoland in Illinois. If the court determines that the appointment of a guardian is necessary for an incapacitated individual, the order of the court will be designed to accomplish the least restrictive form of intervention by appointing a guardian limited powers. Typically, these powers are limited to those that the court has found necessary to assist the person in providing for personal needs and/or property management. If the court determines that the appointment of a guardian is necessary for the incapacitated individual, the order of the court must be designed to accomplish the least restrictive form of intervention by appointing a guardian with powers limited to those the court has found necessary to assist the incapacitated person in providing for personal needs and/or property management. Although creating a guardianship is often considered a last resort, it is still important to carefully pick the guardian. The guardian may be a family member, friend, or a person or agency that competently provides guardianship services. The petition for guardianship is broken down into the content, the nomination, and where to file.  It must contain the following information;

  1. the relationship and interest of the petitioner to the respondent;
  2. the name, date of birth, and place of residence of the respondent;
  3. the reasons for the guardianship;
  4. the name and post office address of the respondent’s guardian, if any, or of the respondent’s agent or agents appointed under the Illinois Power of Attorney Act, if any;
  5. the name and post office addresses of the nearest relatives of the respondent in the following order: (1) the spouse and adult children, parents and adult brothers and sisters, if any; if none,
  6. (2) nearest adult kindred known to the petitioner;
  7. the name and address of the person with whom or the facility in which the respondent is residing;
  8. the approximate value of the personal and real estate;
  9. the amount of the anticipated annual gross income and other receipts; and
  10. the name, post office address and in case of an individual, the age, relationship to the respondent and occupation of the proposed guardian.
In addition, if the petition seeks the appointment of a previously appointed standby guardian as guardian of the person, the petition must also state:
  1. the facts concerning the standby guardian’s previous appointment and
  2. the date of death of the person’s guardian or the facts concerning the consent of the person’s guardian to the appointment of the standby guardian as guardian, or the willingness and ability of the person’s guardian to make and carry out day-to-day care decisions concerning the person with disabilities.
Too many families needlessly lose everything they have.  Don’t let that be you.  If you need help paying the overwhelming cost of long term care, give our office a call at 800-310-3100.  Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now, because when you’re out of money, you’re out of options! Sincerely, Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees. Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.  Call 800-310-3100 for your free consultation now!