Guardianship refers to the protective legal procedures for people who are not able to manage their own assets due to incapacitation. Guardianship involves removal of the rights of individuals. Guardianship is of importance in cases involving lack or inaccessibility to finances, vulnerability to exploitations or creating trust funds.
Guardianship is necessary where lack of access to finances is especially when the assets of the incapacitated individuals are held by an individual without proper trusts documentation or identification. Guardianship is, therefore, necessary in order to ensure that there is proper planning of the estates before the elderly are incapacitated (Jedrzejewski, 2012, p.14). This helps in ensuring that trusts are initiated in order to manage such assets.
The vulnerability to exploitations also makes guardianship an important aspect in the elderly who are incapacitated. Incapacitated persons are often subject to scams when they enter into contracts. Guardians help the elderly in removing the rights of contract. Guardians help in choosing fiduciaries at the time the individuals are still capable of making decisions. They also help the elderly in the cases trustees or fiduciaries tend to exploit the elderly due to their state of incapacitation. The guardians bring forward the lawsuits against the fiduciaries in such cases of exploitation or abuse.
Guardianship is also necessary when the elderly refuse to receive appropriate care. The elderly who are mentally impaired may cause a lot of hazards at their homes as fire leading to destruction of property. The elderly may also not remember to take the medication or to expose themselves to risks like careless driving. The guardians, therefore, play an important role in protecting and taking care of the elderly from such risks at their homes.
In conclusion, guardianship plays an important role in taking care of the elderly. This helps the elderly to manage their assets appropriately as well as protecting the elderly from domestic risks, as well as crime.
References
Jedrzejewski, J. (2012). Book Review: The Law and the Older Persons: Is Geriatric Jurisprudence Therapeutic?
