Guardianship proceedings are initiated when interested parties feel as though an individual has become unable to handle his or her affairs effectively. This is something to consider when you are making preparations for the period of your life that is known as the “twilight years.”
If you were to go through such a proceeding and the petition was granted you may have no control over who winds up making decisions for you. In addition, there are significant costs associated with guardianship proceedings that can exceed the cost of planning ahead to avoid them.
Guardianships are avoided through the implementation of an intelligently conceived incapacity plan. One course of action that can often eliminate the need for a guardianship would be to utilize a revocable living trust to hold your assets and name a disability trustee to handle them in the event of your incapacitation.
Durable powers of attorney are also utilized in incapacity planning. Most people will execute a durable power of attorney for health care and a durable financial power of attorney. If you would like to you can name one attorney-in-fact to make financial decisions in your behalf while naming a different person to make your medical decisions.
They say that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and this is certainly true when it comes to the possibility of incapacity. If you do not currently have an incapacity plan in place, you may want to seize the day and contact an experienced Nassau County estate planning attorney right now to arrange for a consultation.
Saul Kobrick
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