Most people have heard the recent news about Casey Kasim and the dispute over who has the legal right to make decisions for him, specifically which family members can see him. Obviously, everyone hopes that they will never end up in a situation like Mr. Kasim’s. However, these situations are common, and situations involving the care of a loved one are even more common.
When a person you love needs help, whether they need it due to disability or age, it is always a stressful and challenging time. Stress usually increases as the role of caregiver is assumed and questions begin to arise about what rights and limitations the caregiver may have in making decisions on behalf of their loved one. Rights and limitations vary depending on the legal documents your loved one has previously executed and the types of decisions that need to be made.
Many competent adults, at some point in their life, execute a succession plan. Depending on the type of estate plan they have prepared and who prepares the documents, the estate plan may contain a durable power of attorney for health care decisions and / or a durable power of attorney for financial decisions. A Nevada Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care is designed to allow a competent adult to identify a person who can make medical decisions on behalf of the adult in the event that the adult is unable to make such decisions on his or her own behalf. The Nevada Durable Financial Power of Attorney is designed to designate someone to make all financial decisions, for example, paying bills, on behalf of the competent adult executing the document. Obviously, both documents are very powerful and you should seriously consider who is authorized to act as your agent when executing the documents. However, the execution of these documents allows the designated agent to take comprehensive measures on your behalf and may avoid the need to resort to the appointment of a guardian.
Despite the power of these documents and the ability of those documents to allow those who care for their loved ones to avoid obtaining guardianship of their loved one, guardianship is still necessary in some situations. The most common situation in which guardianship is necessary is when not a single type of durable power of attorney has been executed before a loved one is deemed incompetent. In that situation, without an applicable durable power of attorney and the decisions to be made, guardianship will be necessary. Additionally, in some situations, even where durable powers of attorney have been executed, guardianship is necessary, usually based on the circumstances and decisions that need to be addressed. For example, when there are concerns regarding possible abuse by the designated agent, when a third party requests that a person be appointed as guardian before providing services to your loved one, or when there is a dispute over who may have access to your loved one. one, as in the case of Mr. Kasim.
If you are in a situation where you need to obtain guardianship of a loved one, the legal process to obtain guardianship will require court action. Obviously this can be moderately expensive and time consuming. Also, it can be embarrassing for your loved one if you understand that you are involved in a court proceeding to be deemed incompetent and someone appointed to act on your behalf. However, if a guardianship is necessary due to the circumstances of your loved one, the legal process is not so burdensome as to avoid it at the cost of your loved one’s well-being.
