By Carl Ivory
Guardianship is necessary because it allows one to care for their loved ones who are incapable of taking care of their physical or financial needs; therefore, a guardian gets given to help take care of the individual.
Who Is Eligible To Have A Guardian?
Guardianship gets given in a couple of incidences. The first one includes a person over the age of 18 and has some incapability, either mentally or physically, which does not allow them to fully cater to their financial or even physical needs.
Here, a person gets permitted to apply for guardianship for the adult with proof from the physician that the adult in context needs a guardian’s assistance. The person applying for guardianship for another person doesn’t need to become the guardian themselves; theirs can only become the assistance of the application process; the guardian shall get given to the needy individual.
Minors under the age of 18, who are attaining the legal age, and have a disability that shall require them to get assisted in many ways, can get a guardian via an application. It is important to note that the criterion in which the court chooses the potential guardian is in order of spouse, family. Then the other suitable person’s shall get considered as the last options. It is to ensure that the guardian shall, to the best of their abilities, work to ensure the individual’s well-being.
The Types of Guardians
At some point, there are usually two types of guardians, one who is responsible for the estate and the other one who is responsible for the person’s physical needs. The first type of guardian, responsible for the person’s estate, is responsible for taking care and running any asset belonging to the individual in context.
It can be because the individual in context is either a minor yet to become of legal age. In contrast, the other situation can be when a grown-up individual has some mental difficulties, either due to injury or diseases. In both cases, the people need an estate guardian who shall be responsible for protecting all the individual’s estates in the best way possible as if they were their own.
The second type of guardian is responsible for the individual’s physical needs; this means that they shall be responsible for the housing, clothing, and medical needs of the individual in context. One might need such a guardian where they are incapable of taking care of themselves either due to physical disabilities or even mental incapability.
In instances where one who got assigned to a guardian regains their state of being able to care for themselves, the guardianship gets terminated, and the individual regains control over their errands. Although a rare, occurring situation, these types of incidences are likely to occur when an individual recovers from a traumatic brain injury.
There is usually a third type, though less commonly known and used, to have temporary guardianships in Texas. In this situation, the individual gets appointed to a temporary guardian whose responsibility shall last up to 60 days unless there is a resolution to acquire a permanent guardian. Some situations that may require the intervention of a temporary guardianship in Texas are when an individual, mostly a minor, is facing some harassment. Be it financially or physically, and are incapable of defending themselves since the person harassing them is either a close relative or somebody who had authority over their healthy being.
How Does One Select A Guardian?
The process of selecting a guardian involves the court. To get assigned a guardian, one has to sign a document for the designation of a guardian. This document usually has the people who the individual prefers to have as guardians were they to become incapable of taking care of themselves. The individual may also express dissatisfaction in their guardian, causing there to be a chance.
Once the court approves a guardian, they are required to post annual reports to the court regarding the status of the individual. It is to ensure that the individual is doing better in the hands of the guardian. If the well-being of the individual under the guardian is deteriorating, then questions may arise.
