Guardianship & Trustee/Capacity Assessments
Do you have a loved one who is no longer capable of making their own decisions? Are you ready and willing to take control of their personal and financial obligations? This role requires respecting the beliefs of the person you are responsible for. You must perform the duties on behalf of the person as they would have wanted if they were fully capable. All decisions and actions must be made in complete honesty. Guardianship & Trusteeship is the legal authority given to you by the court for you to make these decisions legally on behalf of someone else.
What is the difference between guardianship and trusteeship? Guardianship deals with personal decisions whereas trusteeship deals with financial decisions.
The role of a guardian allows you to make decisions concerning where a person should live, whom they should associate with, types of activities they should be involved in, educational matters, healthcare, legal matters and other personal matters.
The role of trusteeship allows you to perform duties pertaining to financial decisions including daily banking, how and where a person’s money is distributed, including but not limited to their ongoing monetary requirements, investments, and assets.
The Family Psychology Place knows that legal jargon can get confusing and that you may not feel completely up to dealing with the paperwork required. There are several legal forms required when applying for guardianship and trusteeship of someone, each involving a series of questions and submissions to the courts. We can help you fill out the appropriate forms for legal approval of guardianship & trusteeship and follow through with the registration of the documents at the appropriate time and place.
Are you unsure if you need to take on guardianship & trusteeship of someone? Our psychologists can help you discover the answer by providing your loved one with a capacity assessment. What is this? It’s a formal assessment of someone’s mental capacity to make financial and personal decisions.
A capacity assessment might question whether the person in discussion can:
- Write a Personal Directive or Enduring Power of Attorney
- Live alone and look after himself/herself
- Make decisions on their own
- Understand with the ability to answer questions concerning their health and well being
Making the right decisions for your loved ones will provide them with the ongoing care and support they need for the rest of their life. Consult with one of our therapists as soon as possible if you think your loved one requires your care. Bear in mind, guardianship and trusteeship is the legal authority to control someone else’s life and the requirements are both lengthy and time-consuming. It can take several months for the courts to provide a decision in matters such as these but we will help you along the way.
