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Understanding Guardianship, Conservatorship & Power of Attorney In the Most Basic Sense: • Guardianship is the right to make both medical & financial decisions for someone else. • Conservatorship is the right to manage another person’s money, and/or make financial decisions for them, with or w/out their consent. Power of Attorney is document in which you choose to give another person (your agent) the right to make specific decisions for you. POA is much more tailored directly to the individual and situation than guardianship or conservatorship.
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I. GUARDIANSHIP • • • •
Guardianship takes away a person's rights, so it is only done as a last resort. Guardianship requires that a person be incapacitated, as defined by AK State law. Guardianship is assigned by the court. Legal guardians receive a copy of the signed & sealed (by the judge) guardianship decision.
When might a person need a guardian? • When an individual can no longer manage medical and financial decisions for him or herself due a medical condition: o For example: advanced Alzheimer's Disease, dementia, or other neurological problems which severely interfere with thinking, memory and/or decision-making.
• When a person who experiences disabling mental illness, & who has no family or other supports. • Someone with an intellectual disability, who is turning 18yearsold. Parents of children with intellectual disabilities may not realize that they will need to petition the court for guardianship if they want to continue managing their child’s benefits and making important decisions on their behalf after age 18.
When is a person considered to be incapacitated? • Alaska state law defines an incapacitated person as:
• A person whose ability to receive and evaluate information, or to communicate decisions is so impaired that the person cannot provide for their own physical health or safety without court-ordered help.
• Physical health or safety in this sense means that the person demonstrates an inability to take care of their health or get to medical appointments, cannot or will not eat or provide themselves with food, shelter and/or clothing, cannot physically protect themselves and cannot take care of their personal hygiene to the extent that it is a health risk to themselves and others.