Guardianship

Guardianship

In New York State, when a person becomes 18 years old they are assumed to be legally competent to make decision for themselves. This means no other person is allowed to make a personal, medical or financial decision for that individual. 

Guardianship is a legal arrangement where a court gives a person the legal right to make decisions for another person who is unable to make decisions for themselves such as a child, an incapacitated adult or someone who is developmentally disabled. If a person is "intellectually disabled or developmentally disabled," has difficulty making decisions for themselves and over 18 years old, you can ask the Surrogate's Court to appoint a guardian for him or her. 

In New York State, a guardianship case is handled by the the Family Court, Supreme Court or Surrogate's Court depending on the type of guardianship asked for and the person over whom guardianship is requested.


Source:  https://www.nycourts.gov/courthelp/Guardianship/basics.shtml
Handout- Guardianship.pdf

Alternatives to Guardianship

Presentation from Parent to Parent about Guardianship


Supported Decision Making  - This is an alternative to Guardianship.  Planning can begin before the age of 18.

Supported decision-making (SDM) is a now well recognized practice by which people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) are able to make their own decisions with the support of trusted persons in their lives and retain all their legal and civil rights. As SDMNY has shown, SDM is useful and available for Decision-Makers who are as diverse as the population of New York. 

SDM can take a number of different forms:

SDM can be entirely informal, as is the case for the majority of people with I/DD who live in the community and get decision-making support from family, friends, and care and service providers on an as-needed basis.

SDM can be more formalized, as when it is the result of a planned facilitation process, such as that used by Supported Decision-Making New York (SDMNY). The person with I/DD (the “Decision-Maker”) and trusted persons in their lives they have chosen (the “Supporters”) reach a written agreement (the “Supported Decision-Making Agreement“) that describes the areas/domains in which the Decision-Maker desires support, the kinds of support they want from each Supporter, and how they want to receive that support.

SDM can be “legalized” when there is a law that recognizes the process and affords legal recognition to SDMAs. Currently eight states and the District of Columbia have passed such laws, and a number of other states are in the process of considering them.