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What if I can no longer make safe decisions about
my health or finances?
Is there a way for my family to make the decisions for me?
How can I be protected from fraud or exploitation?
If you have not signed a durable power of attorney for finances and health
care and you become incompetent, your family must ask a court of law to
appoint a guardian to make health and financial decisions for you.
Guardianship is a legal proceeding to determine the competency of an individual
and the need for a guardian. A person found to be incompetent and
in need of a guardian is called a Ward. In North Carolina, a ward
can have a general guardian, a guardian of the estate, or a guardian of
the person.
The guardian will make decisions concerning the Ward’s living arrangements,
medical decisions, financial decisions and any other needs of the Ward.
The guardian will implement a plan to assure the quality of care for the
Ward. In addition, the guardian must report yearly to the court
regarding the living situation of the Ward and report the past year’s
financial activities.
If a guardianship proceeding becomes necessary for your family, Mary Ann
Dalton can guide you through the process by assisting with
Preparation of legal documents;
Appearing before the Court on your behalf;
Gathering medical information for the court hearing
to determine guardianship;
Preparation of annual reports required by the
court for the lifetime of the Ward.
When the decisions about who should be guardian, or how a Ward should
be cared for becomes contested or there is disagreement between family
members, elder mediation often provides an answer.
Guardianship is one of the practice areas of HERRING MILLS & KRATT, PLLC.
If you would like an Elder law Attorney from our office to assist
you, please email our office at
maryann@daltonlawyer.com or call (919)
821-1860 to schedule an appointment
or request a brochure.
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