Guardianship for an Adult

Click below to learn more about navigating guardianship for an adult and what you can expect from the legal process. Jessica Gulla breaks it all down in this helpful video.

Hi, my name is Jessica Gulla and I am an associate attorney at Evans Fox. Today we are discussing
whether you might need a guardianship over a person that you are caring for. In New York, there are
different type of guardianships, including guardianship over a minor, guardianship over a
developmentally disabled person, or a guardianship of an adult. This will address a guardianship over an
adult person only, or known in New York as an Article 81 Guardianship.

If you are caring for an adult person or know of an adult person, who is also referred to as an alleged
incapacitated person in the guardianship proceedings, who can no longer make health care and/or
financial decisions for themselves as a result of a mental of physical condition that they have, then you
may need to pursue guardianship over that person in order to assist them. Additionally, guardianship
may be appropriate where you suspect that someone is taking advantage of a vulnerable adult and/or
exerting their undue influence over them causing harm. There are many factors that go into considering
whether pursuing a guardianship is appropriate, such as whether the adult has a power of attorney
and/or a health care proxy.

Adult Guardianship proceedings involve filing a petition with the court setting forth the facts and
circumstances as to why a guardianship is appropriate. After that the court then will appoint a court
evaluator to investigate the situation and to make recommendations to the court. The court may also
appoint an attorney for the alleged incapacitated person.

Guardianship proceedings do not always, but can become very litigious at it is a serious legal proceeding
that can significantly impact a person’s rights. Evans Fox had attorneys here that can discuss
guardianship proceedings with you and then assist you with filing the same. If you have questions or
need representation relating to a guardianship case, please give us a call at Evans Fox so that we can
help you.