Rolling Meadows Adult Guardianships Lawyer

The court may appoint guardians to make decisions about the finances or personal care of adults who are unable to make these decisions for themselves; a Rolling Meadows adult guardianships lawyer can help you with a current guardianship case and can help you make plans about choosing a guardian for yourself if and when you need one in the future.

Adults have the right to make decisions about their own finances, medical care, and place of residence, but minor children cannot make major purchases, undergo medical treatment, or change residence without the consent of their legal guardian, the adult who is legally responsible for them, usually a parent or other close relative. When an adult cannot make responsible decisions because of age, illness, or disability, the court will appoint a guardian for the person; someone who wants to act as a guardian must persuade the court that they will act in the best interest of the ward (the person under guardianship), and the prospective ward also have a chance to persuade the court that they do not need a guardian or to express preferences about who should act like a guardian.

Different Kinds of Adult Guardianships in Illinois

Illinois law recognizes several kinds of adult guardianship, in acknowledgment of the fact that each ward’s needs are unique. These are the types of guardianship that the Illinois courts can implement:

• Limited guardianship – The guardian has the right to make some, but not all, decisions on the ward’s behalf. One type of limited guardianship is guardianship of the person, where the guardian can make decisions about the ward’s medical care and residential placement, but not about the ward’s finances. Likewise, a guardian of the estate can make decisions about the ward’s finances but cannot make non-financial decisions for the ward.
• Plenary guardianship – The guardian can make all decisions about the ward’s finances and care.
• Temporary guardianship – In an emergency, the court appoints someone to act as a guardian for 60 days.
• Successor guardianship – The court acknowledges that a successor guardian will take on the role of guardian if the current guardian dies or becomes unable to fulfill their duties. For example, the court might appoint your mother as your father’s guardian while appointing you as a successor guardian.
• Testamentary guardianship – The parents of an adult with special needs designate someone to act as the disabled adult’s guardian after the parents die.

Who Needs a Guardian, and Who Can Fulfill the Role of Guardian?

Advanced age or a diagnosis or a physical or developmental disability or mental illness is not, by itself, a reason for the court to take away an adult’s right to make their own decisions. The court only appoints a guardian when an “interested person” (usually a family member) persuades the court that the person needs a guardian. Any adult without a criminal record can be considered for appointment as a guardian.

Contact the Rolling Meadows Adult Guardianships Lawyers at Andrea Heckman Law

A skilled adult guardianships lawyer can act in the best interests of an adult vulnerable enough to need a guardian. Contact Andrea Heckman Law in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, to discuss adult guardianships.