Nassau County Guardianships

Guardianship Lawyer Serving Nassau County

Nassau County is located in western Long Island, in the state of New York. Its population was 1.4 million as of 2010, and it has since grown. The median age that year was 41.1 years. There were 340,523 family households that year, and of these, 15.1% were households of someone living alone who was 65-years-old or older. If you are considering requesting a guardianship on behalf of someone else due to mental incapacity or other reasons, or if you need to fight someone else’s petition for a guardianship, experienced Nassau County guardianship attorney Jules Haas may be able to help.

What is a Guardianship?

A guardian is a person who is authorized by a judge to make decisions for another person, known as a ward or an incapacitated person. The guardian must be at least 18 and a citizen or legal resident. The ward is a person who cannot make decisions on his own, either because of age or incapacitation or disability.

Different kinds of guardianships are available. If a nineteen-year-old has severe cerebral palsy and other disabilities, and the parents who took care of her passed away, it may be appropriate to seek an Article 17 guardianship for her. On the other hand, if your grandfather is developing Alzheimer’s and cannot fully take care of himself anymore, it may be appropriate to seek an Article 81 guardianship for him.

Types of Guardianships

In New York, there are two types of guardianships for adults, and a seasoned guardianship lawyer in Nassau County can help you determine which one is appropriate in your case. As referenced above, the first is an Article 17A guardianship, and the other is an Article 81 guardianship. Though both of these are based on the notion that a person needs the court to appoint a guardian to care for his or her personal needs and manage his or her property, the proceedings in each are significantly different.

Article 81 guardianships are sought for adults who are incapacitated because of illness, injury, or old age. Under Article 81, the court can appoint a guardian if it makes a finding of incapacitation. The court needs to be presented with evidence that the incapacitated person is likely to suffer harm due to inability to provide for his or her personal needs and that the incapacitated person can’t adequately understand or appreciate this inability. Article 81 guardianships are considered the least restrictive intervention that allows someone to still make their own choices when possible. These are carefully tailored guardianships intended to allow flexibility.

Article 17 guardianships are filed in Surrogate’s Court. Unlike an Article 81 guardianship, an Article 17 guardianship is quite broad. Sometimes multiple guardians are appointed under this Article. Usually, a family member seeks this type of guardianship. A guardian appointed under this article will make most decisions made by a parent for a child including financial and medical decisions. Anybody who is an interested person and who is at least 18 years in age is able to petition on behalf of a person with a developmental or intellectual disability. The petition is supposed to be accompanied by a physician’s and a psychologist’s certifications, or certifications from two physicians, certifying that the person at issue has a disability and can’t take care of his own affairs due to developmental disability. A skilled Nassau County guardianship attorney can help you navigate the process of securing these petitions.

Petitioning for Article 81 Guardianship

After the court is petitioned for an Article 81 guardianship, an investigator or evaluator is appointed. Generally, Article 81 guardianships are crafted after the investigator is appointed. The investigator examines the disabled or incapacitated adult’s life to decide how much help they need. Some people face such severe incapacitation that all aspects of their lives must fall under a guardianship. Others only need help managing their money.

An attorney for the person who is the subject of the guardianship may be appointed as well. Whoever petitions the court must show by clear and convincing evidence that the ward is unable to manage his own financial affairs or daily living decisions. There is an opportunity to oppose when appropriate. Someone who is named an Article 81 guardian will need to learn about his duties and file regular reports with the court.

Retain an Experienced Guardianship Lawyer in Nassau County

Jules Haas has worked with clients seeking or fighting against guardianships for over 35 years. He earns his clients’ satisfaction through careful and tenacious legal representation. Whether you need to obtain a guardianship or oppose a petition for guardianship that you believe is not meritorious, call us at (212) 355-2575 or contact us through our online form.