The law provides several mechanisms to ensure the safety and well being of folks who can no longer care for themselves or their property. The nature of these mechanisms – and how they impact the lives of the people involved -- varies widely. Some require court oversight and legal action. Others, with some planning, can be carried out by family or friends without court supervision. The relative difficulty of the process available to a particular person depends largely upon whether the person has planned in advance.

     I am going to assume that your mother found planning for her future needs as difficult as I find planning for mine. Life just gets in the way. I am writing this article after a night of laughter and voluminous antics of six teenage boys celebrating a fourteenth birthday. At our house, Christmas is next. Followed by two more birthday parties and a promise to try again in a new year. Then the daily grind of real life returns. Planning is hard.

     For those of us who fail to plan ahead, the law provides a specific mechanism for our potential incapacity: guardianship. Anyone concerned about an incapacitated adult can file a petition in court to have the person declared legally incompetent. If the court finds the person is incapacitated and unable to care for herself or her affairs, the court will appoint a guardian, who becomes responsible for her personal and business matters. The court will choose a guardian who the ward requested in a will or other writing, or the ward’s spouse, adult child, parent, sibling, or roommate. The guardian becomes responsible to the court for the proper care of the ward and her estate. The guardian must file with the court an inventory of the ward’s property, a plan for her care and treatment, and an annual accounting of her business. All are subject to the court’s approval.

     Guardianships are valuable tools to care for adults who have become unable to care for themselves. They present obvious limitations due to the necessity of court proceedings. With a little planning, more flexible methods can produce the same or better result. We’ll discuss those options in part two of this article.