How can I avoid being placed under the care of a professional guardian?

Question: "How can I avoid being placed under the care of a professional guardian?" -- Senior Planner

Dear Planner, Should you become incapacitated without any planning in place, your family would have to petition the court in order to be granted guardianship. In most cases, the court would appoint a family member as guardian, but this isn’t always the case. If you have no living family members, or those you do have are unwilling or unable to serve or deemed unsuitable by the court, a professional guardian would be appointed. In another scenario, should your loved ones disagree about who should be your guardian, the court could decide that naming a relative as your guardian would be too disruptive to your family dynamics and appoint a professional guardian instead. You can avoid this using estate planning. With proper planning, upon your incapacity, a person of your choice would have the immediate authority to make your medical, financial, and legal decisions, without the need for court intervention. Moreover, you can provide clear guidance about your wishes, so there’s no mistake about how these decisions should be made.

Meet with us, as your Personal Family Lawyer®, to create your comprehensive incapacity plan today.

This article is a service of Milan Hanson, Personal Family Lawyer®. At Hanson Legal, we don’t just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. That's why we offer a Family Wealth Planning Session™, during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before, and make all the best choices for the people you love. You can begin by calling our office today at 541-776-3405 to schedule a Family Wealth Planning Session and mention this article to find out how to get this $750 session at no charge!