A guardian is someone who looks after our children if we cannot do so ourselves or if our spouse is unwilling or unfit to take on the responsibility. We do have the power to appoint guardians to care for our children, but they can also supervise our elderly loved ones too. And that’s great and all, but it leaves the question of “Who is supervising the ones supervising those we care about?”
Once a guardian has been appointed by the court, the court then keeps an eye on that person. The guardian must also receive approval for any medical procedures that carry a good amount of risk to the life and well-being of the one they’re caring for. It is also necessary for them to get permission from the court for any changes in classification to the abode of the person in their care—like moving from a private residence to a nursing home, for example, and they also have to provide an annual report to the court on the status of the ward’s health.
A guardian of the property is also required in order to keep careful record of any finances, file an initial inventory, and file any yearly accountings with the court.
Even though a guardian might be less desirable than an advance directive or Powers of Attorney, there are times where it is the only option we have in order to give someone the necessary care they cannot give themselves, and to make the decisions they cannot make on their own.
If you or someone you love needs assistance with Elder Care law issues, call 856-281-3131. Let us help ease your stress and give you a plan.
It can be extremely difficult to learn that you are no longer able to do things that once came so easy to you. If you make the decision to give your loved one in-home care—whether your family does it themselves or employs the services of a professional, you can expect to come up against some opposition. After all, no one likes not being able to do even simple tasks on their own. If your loved one is normally quite friendly and quiet, this can often be surprising. Though, it’s important to remember that when it happens, the outburst is almost certainly the result of some other condition, like dementia.
As with anything involving the law, the probate process can be difficult to wrap your head around on your first go or your fifth. It’s made a little easier if you can hire an attorney experienced in the probate process, but things should go smoothly, so long as everything is in order before death. Even if they’re not, don’t fret! Probating a will in New Jersey is divided into six steps.
We discussed the complexities of the probate process briefly in a previous article, now let’s spend some time and look at why, perhaps, you might want to avoid the probate process altogether. We may not know exactly why we should avoid the probate process, but there are, in fact, a couple of good reasons, so let’s take a look at them quickly now.
No one wants to think that one day they’ll have to leave people they love behind. After all, it isn’t a pleasant thought, leaving anyone—let alone children who may or may not be old enough to understand what’s happening. We want to ensure that our children (or grandchildren) will be well taken care of, even if we ourselves won’t be there to see it through, and we can do that through what’s called a guardianship. We’ve covered it previously, but let me explain a bit further now.
No one wants to get old and not be able to perform even the easiest of tasks. It can be hard on other family members too. That’s where setting up a family meeting can be a great help. It won’t be easy, but gathering together and discussing the situation at hand, as well as coming up with a game plan for handling certain situations will help ease the mental and emotional burden—not only of the loved one themselves, but of the family as a whole. Plus, a family meeting allows each person to know where the others stand and what their thoughts and feelings are on different situations, and it can diffuse any tension that might be brewing. It is also vital to include the elder themselves. If the topic of conversation is about them, they should be able to voice their own thoughts and feelings too, and they certainly have a right to do that.
One of the many things that the Elder Law professionals at Scott Counsel specialize in is the creation of what’s known as a Life Resource Plan. But what is a Life Resource Plan? Simply put, it works to define, organize, prioritize and mobilize every single aspect for care for a loved one. That means that they discover your needs, group them into categories, rank them by priority, and then carry out the plan to provide you with the best care possible. While each and every Life Resource Plan will be different, based on an individual’s unique needs, there are three areas in which all of them are the same:
We’ve all heard and probably made use of day care for children at some point in our lives, but something that is likely unfamiliar to us is the concept of Adult Day Care. It’s a real thing, and just like regular day care does for our children, Adult Day Care allows older adults in our lives to be looked after while we’re tending to some of the other important things in life needing our attention, like jobs.
