Hi, my name is Kirsten Krueger and two years ago, I was in a car accident. I was stopped at a stop sign when the driver behind me slammed into my car. Due to my injuries, I had to spend a few days in the hospital and I was unable to work for two months. My medical care was expensive and without being able to work, I couldn't pay my bills. The car accident was stressful enough and then I had to worry about how I would pay my bills. After speaking with a car accident lawyer, it wasn't long before I was compensated for my medical bills and lost wages from work. I'm writing this blog to help others who have been a car accident and haven't received any compensation. As you read my posts, you'll learn how an attorney can help you if you're in a vehicle accident.
It is one thing when you are appointed guardianship over a family member because you are that family member's parent. It is entirely another when you have to take guardianship or allow the courts to appoint a stranger to handle your family member's affairs. Even more difficult than that is when you want to be the guardian but your family member does not want you to take the position. With all of these complications that can arise from taking a guardianship role, you need a lawyer to help you sort it out. Here are three reasons why involving a lawyer can make this process a smoother one.
Establishing Legal Rights and Documentation
Sometimes it becomes necessary to establish your legal rights to the guardianship of a family member, as is often the case when the family member is a civil union partner or a distant cousin. When other, closer family members have not stepped up to be the guardian, they are essentially waiving their rights to the guardianship. Your lawyer can file all of the necessary documents and your guardianship application. Your lawyer establishes your legitimate right to be the guardian, even if you are not related by blood.
Proving You Can Do the Job
What the court sees too much of are guardians who have taken advantage of their charges. These guardians have too much of their own debt and not enough of an emotional connection to provide proper care for their charges. Depending on which state you live in, you may be required to show that you are financially stable in your own right and that you are of sound mind yourself. This burden of proof falls to your lawyer, who will establish to the courts that you have the compassion, desire, ability to advocate for your charge, and the moral compass to be your charge's guardian.
Proving Mental Incompetence
In some cases, an adult family member may need to be ruled mentally incompetent for you to become their guardian. While it is not the nicest means of gaining guardianship, it does ensure that your family member cannot contest your position. He or she must have a mental defect, such as chronic depression or a diagnosis of early Alzheimer's disease, which is provable via your family member's health records. Your lawyer can use these records to prove that your family member is not of sound mind, at least not sound enough to make major life decisions or handle finances. Then the judge can rule in your favor and appoint you the guardian. For more information, contact a professional like Burford Law Firm LLC.
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