Guardianship Attorney NYC

Guardianship Attorney NYC: Offering Custom Guardianship Solutions

Facts: Roughly 8 million people in the country have a sort of intellectual disability that needs the presence of a guardian. Out of these 425,000 are kids.

When dealing with a sensitive situation that is potentially life changing, you need expert guardianship attorney NYC advice to handle the situation. We offer a customized solution to assist you handle the guardianship the best way possible.

Some law firms have a lot of work and turn cases over very fast. We use a different vision at our law firm to handle cases in Washington Heights. We understand the stresses that come with losing control over your child or a family member and we make sure we help you do this the right way. We treat you like a human and help you to get a guardian o deal with guardianship litigation issues that crop up.

Understanding Guardianship

As a parent, you need to secure the needs of their kids is one of the best decisions you can ever make. One of the steps towards this is appointing a legal guardian. This is a person that you give the authority to make decisions and take actions on behalf of your children, or on behalf of an adult that cannot make responsible decisions on their own. However, you need to note that the guardianship is a legal aspect that needs to be handled by an expert. As such, it is vital that you work with a guardianship lawyer that can guide you through the different legalities.

Types of Legal Guardians

Preneed Guardian

An adult with a capacity might select the person to serve as a guardian way in advance, so that they have a person that can do the task when they become incapacitated in the future. This is usually done in writing, preferably in a will. The individual will express the decision and sign it in front of two witnesses present at the same time.

This application has to be filed in court.

Emergency Temporary Guardian

If a person is in immediate danger and needs guardianship, then the court can come up with a temporary emergency guardianship for them. One such situation is when the person’s individual property is in danger of getting lost or wasted.

Limited Guardian

This s where the individual is partially incapacitated and has the ability to make some decisions, but not all. The guardian has the capacity to take only specific actions that are decided by the probate court.

All these guardianship types can be either to the person or to the estate.

For the guardianship process to run smoothly, you have to start somewhere, just like any other legal process that you have ever performed. Many people don’t have the knowledge to begin the process, and this makes it hard for them. Let us look at the process that you need to go through to make the guardianship not just complete, but a success as well.

Before you file the forms for legal guardianship, you need to have the following information as well as documents:

• The names and contacts of the living relatives of the person. These can be the parents (if any are surviving), the grandparents both on the maternal and paternal side, any siblings, any legal guardian and the adult with whom the person is living with.
• If either of the parents is deceased, then you need to provide copies of the death certificates. If you don’t have the copies of the death certificates, you can get them in the state where the parents passed away.
• If you are after the guardianship because you have been named as a guardian in the will after a person died, then you will need a copy of the will.
• If you are to be a guardian to the estate, then you need to have copies of documents that relate to the person or the ones that the person needs to inherit. These include bank accounts, life insurance policies and real estate.
• You need to have copies of court documents that relate to the person. These include pending custody, marriage dissolution forms, juvenile or adoption court proceedings, and any other information that have been filed.
• If you claim that the natural father of the person isn’t known, then you need to provide a copy of the original birth certificate of the person to prove this. You can get the copy from the birth records office in the state where the person was born.

This process comes with a lot of paperwork that you need to file the right way. Documentation is usually a good thing and it allows you to be on point when you are asked for particular information. So, make sure that you establish a storage system. It is usually frustrating when you lose a vital part of the information that you need in a guardianship process. You can come over to a guardianship attorney NYC office to get an idea of what you need to do.

Choosing a Legal Guardian for a Disabled Person

Parents who have disabled children usually have to decide on their children’s care when they cannot provide it. Usually, this is about selecting a legal guardian under whose care the disabled child will be entrusted. The legal guardian will have the duty of attending to the child’s needs and making decisions on their behalf as the parents would have.

Essentially, the guardian that is chosen is stipulated in the parent’s last will. However, a judge is the one that has the prerogative of appointing the actual guardian. The judge understands that a parent would always wish the best for their child and hence will consider their proposal of a preferred guardian.

Therefore, one must be able to choose a guardian who will serve to guide the judge in deciding that reflects your best interest in leaving a disabled child in the best care possible. The things to consider when hiring a guardian include;

Do Not Rush To Choose But Do Not Wait Too Long

Taking a step to try and select a suitable guardian is not a trivial decision. It touches on the child’s very life and overall well-being, particularly in the unknown days to come. It is, therefore, a process that needs the dedication of time and effort.

However, it does not mean one has to stress over it and miss catching sleep. It just starts with identifying and listing candidates that, according to you, could potentially be suitable for appointment.

Proceed to eliminate those that you can find a reason to believe do not represent your ideal choice of a guardian. In your elimination exercise, you have to be careful not to look for someone you want to substitute for a parent. You are not going to find someone that can measure up to the shoes of a parent. Do not make it an overly rigorous exercise. Think with ease and retain a few competitors that seem to be mutually exclusive.

Meeting with Potential Guardians

Those that are shortlisted can proceed to the stage where you organize a talk with them. You separately invite out each for an evening of coffee. You will converse with them and explain your intention to appoint them as guardians and ascertain their willingness to serve.

Make the candidates comfortable and do not put them in the corner to compel them to accept your choice of them as guardians. Statements like “you the only one I can count on and I cannot think of someone else” may pressure the candidate. Allow them to ask questions and to express their fears and sensitivities. Have the allowance to leave them with the time to think the proposition over and revert later if one so desires.

This conversation will further lead to eliminations, as some will even fail to get back. Others will outright decline to serve as guardians. After meeting and talking to them and eliminating, narrow down to the one that you really want.

You will look at how familiar one is with your child and their needs. You want someone who already has a prior understanding of the child and is enthusiastic about helping whatever way they can. Assess the candidate’s financial stability to ensure that they are responsible and cannot be looking for an opportunity such as guardianship to swindle funds for their benefit.

You also want a person that has a nature of advocacy for the less privileged. They will be more willing to listen and focus on promoting your child’s independence instead of reinforcing their limitation. It should be a person that also takes an interest in your child’s future and can bring certain advantages such as networks of how to get your child the help they need. This could even be a person who can pull strings in the system, benefitting your child.

Ensure that you follow the selection process by evaluating each candidate based on these qualities of merit, among others. This will lead you to one candidate that you feel can serve.

When circumstances change, the chosen guardian can always be changed. One does not have to fear about a guardian relocating, or attributes for which the guardian was chosen changing. You can review and appoint another guardian as and when it is deemed necessary. What is essential is to ensure that a guardian is selected at the earliest opportunity. This is better than leaving it all up to chance.

The Role of the Probate Court

The probate court is here to make sure that all the laws that pertain to guardianship are followed.

In New York, we have only two types of proceedings:

• The Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act (SCPA) Article 17-A
• Mental Hygiene Law (MHL) Article 8

The two proceedings are nearly the same – they are based on the proper findings of the court to appoint a guardian that will take care of the personal needs of the individual. However, there are significant differences between the two.

Article 17-A

This proceeding applies to individuals that are intellectually challenged or developmentally disabled. When the court proves this, it can appoint a guardian to take care of the person, his property or both. The court can appoint multiple guardians to these roles.

This article is broad and it encompasses most of the decisions that are made by a parent to the child such as healthcare and financial decisions. Usually, parents that are interested in the individual will petition to get the guardianship.

The petition has to be accompanied by certification from a physician that the person has an intellectual or developmental disability that needs a guardian to be present.

MHL Article 81

This article is used when the person is incapacitated. The determination is based on the evidence that the person might suffer harm because they cannot provide for themselves. Additionally, it is applicable when the person cannot understand the consequences of the incapacity.

All guardianship cases are handled in the probate court. All the courts in different counties usually follow basic procedures when handling guardianships. However, the rules can change across the different courts in various counties. You can get a copy of the rules in the probate policy manual at the clerk’s office.

Filing for Guardianship

You need to file for guardianship in the county where the person has been staying. If you are applying for guardianship for the estate of the person, then you need to file the petition in the state where he owns property. When we talk about property, we mean the assets that have been left behind by the parents to the person. The assets include land, vehicles, jewelry, bank accounts and others.

The good thing is that the guardianship proceedings can be started in one county then get transferred to another one depending on the situation. For instance, if you decide to relocate to another county, then you have to transfer the proceedings to that county.

Getting Information as You Need It

In most of the courts, you will get the information about the procedures. The clerks understand what happens in these courts and have the rules that are needed. The clerk will not give you any legal advice; rather, he will answer any questions that you have about the procedure. You can either call the clerk or visit them physically.

Filing Papers with the Court

Well, when it comes to filing papers with the court, you need to follow a few tips that will allow you to meet the deadlines as well as the guidelines. Remember that every paper that you deliver to the court, the clerk will record it and make it part of the official document for the case.

If you live out of Washington Heights, you can work with our expert guardianship attorney NYC team to file the papers on your behalf.

The Number of Copies Matter

Usually the court requires various copies to use when it comes to filing documents. This means that you need to have the original copy of the document (this remains at the clerk’s office) and some clerks need more than that single copy – you need to consult with the clerk to know how many copies are needed and handle them as necessary.

You might have to mail or take the papers in person to the clerk. Either way, make sure you retain a copy at home in a safe place so that in case the papers are misplaced or lost, you have a backup. Depending on the document at hand, you might have to make several copies so that you serve them to various agencies and institutions. It is always better to have more copies than ending up with none at all when the time comes.

Filing the Documents

You can file the documents with the court by simply handing them across the counter or mailing them to the address of the clerk’s office. Gong personally to the office is an advantage because it gives you a chance to rectify any mistake that you have made in the document. However, if going to the court might be an inconvenience to you, you can just mail the documents to the clerk’s office.

When you decide to send the documents by mail, and then make sure you have a copy at home. This copy will be prudent when the document gets lost in the mail.

Once you file the documents with the court, you are assigned a case number by the clerk. The case number needs to be displayed on all the documents that you file with the court. This is just a system that the court uses to keep track of the cases, and it will be refereed to when any information is required. In case you need information regarding the case, all you need is to give the clerk the case number.

Modifying the Information in Filed Documents

At times, you can file the papers with the clerk of the court only to find that you made a mistake. This can be a serious error or you just want to change a few wordings on the documents. The court allows you to file another document that replaces the original one. You can use the same title as the original document then add the word “amended” before the title.

There are various situations when you will be forced to amend a document:

• The situation or the facts have changed substantially after you have filed the document with the clerk’s office.
• You notice that you made a serious error on the document after you have filed it.
• After filing the document, you realize that there are some proceedings that affect the person and haven’t been included in the petition that you submitted. Every court gives you some time to amend the petition. Make sure you ask the clerk about this period so that you meet the deadline.

Stopping the Guardianship Proceedings

At times you find that you don’t want the role of being a guardian anymore, or the situation has changed and you no longer need the role anymore. As long as you haven’t been formally appointed as a guardian, you can dismiss the process by requesting dismissal. Utilize our guardianship attorney NYC services to know when to stop the proceedings and whether your reasons are valid.

Here is a procedure that you need to follow when it comes to dismissing the guardianship application:

File a Request for Dismissal

You need to file a form that requests you to dismiss the request for guardianship. The clerk of the court will give you a preprinted form or will guide you on what to do so that you file for the dismissal.

What if you have already obtained a hearing date for the process? Well, all you need is to call the court early enough and cancel the hearing date before it can take place. The case will be taken off the calendar. At times, you also have to send a letter to the court to confirm that indeed you desire to have the hearing date cancelled.

This process only covers the process when the guardianship hasn’t been granted to you. If on the other hand you have already been assigned the guardianship, you need to get the permission of the court to resign as the guardian or to end the process altogether.

At times you need more time to think it out before the petition of the guardianship. In such a case, then you can petition the court to give you more time, and give you a tentative hearing date.

Do You Need to Pay for The Process?

The moment you file the guardianship documents, you need to pay a fee that is determined by the clerk of the court. The costs will vary, and at times you might have to pay more especially when the process needs an investigation. For non relatives that are petitioning to become guardians, then an investigation is usually necessary. The good thing is that the court can decide to waive the fees especially when they determine that you aren’t able to pay the fees in totality.

Sending Notices to the Person’s Relatives

We all know that most guardianships aren’t contested, but this doesn’t mean that you don’t have to notify the relatives about what you are planning to do. This is the reason why you need to let the relatives know about the proceedings early in advance. You have to main the copies of the documents early in advance, at least 20 days before the date of the hearing.

Before you notify the relatives, you need to come up with a list of all the people that are linked in one way or another to the person. For some, you might have to locate them before you send them the notices. If you try to locate them without any success, then you can fill a form that states that you attempted to locate them without any success at all.

After you locate the relatives, the next step is to obtain the signatures from the parents of the persons, that is if they are willing.