The fact that one becomes ill or injured does not mean that bills do not have to be paid and other necessary items avoided. Yet, if the Georgia resident is ill or injured, he or she may be unable to take care of these necessary tasks and make these necessary decisions. In order to make sure that everything is taken care of, it may be necessary to consider the role of guardianship as one is establishing care planning documents and procedures.
If one is no longer able to make his or her own financial or medical decisions, it may be necessary for the court to appoint a guardian for the individual. This guardian is then responsible for making sure that bills are paid, investments are managed, contracts are fulfilled, medical decisions are made and more. While the guardian may only be necessary for a limited time period, these are important tasks that can have a lasting impact if not properly managed.
In determining who should act as guardian, the court will first look to who the individual has identified. This identification is typically made known through a will or durable power of attorney document. If an individual has not been identified, the court will then generally look to a close family member such as the spouse, or children of legal age.
The person appointed to act as guardian holds a great deal of responsibility. As such, it is often in the Georgia resident’s best interest to recognize that the need for a guardian may arise and to take this into consideration when developing a care planning strategy. Experienced legal counsel can work with the individual to make sure that the proper documents are in place to make sure the individual’s wishes are properly stated.
Source: family.findlaw.com, “Guardianship of Incapacitated or Disabled Persons“, Accessed on Feb. 13, 2018
