One of the difficult things about growing older is that at some point, you likely will need to become more involved in caring for an aging parent. You may realize your elderly parent can no longer make financial or medical decisions on their own. Maybe your mom has dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Or your dad was in a serious car accident and now has permanent short-term memory loss. You may need to establish an adult guardianship for your parent, so you, or one of your siblings, can make those decisions for them.
Establishing an adult guardianship for your parent may be a good idea if:
- Your parent doesn’t have an advanced health care directive.
- Your parent doesn’t have a financial power of attorney document.
- Your parent doesn’t have a health care power of attorney document.
- You want one person to have clear legal authority to make decisions for your parent’s care or handling your parent’s finances.
- You want a process for a judge to approve major decisions about your parent’s care or finances.
You should consult an elder law attorney if you want to seek and adult guardianship for your parent. An attorney can help you through the process, which will include notifying any of your siblings about the guardianship. The process may be time consuming and costly, but in the end, you know you will have acted in your parent’s best interests and hopefully avoid family drama over your loved one’s care.