Guardianship And Conservatorship Legal Questions

No one on this listserv can answer the question.  Your documents may be fine.  They may be a mess.  You also are not asking a lawyer to look them over but to tell you what changes, if any, need to be made and, likely, to make them.  In addition, prices vary with lawyer and with locale.... Read More

If you are her spouse, you have priority and should have been sent a Waiver of Right to Appointment.  You do not need a lawyer to object to guardianship:  write the Court.  If you fear that a guardianship will be awarded and want to be the guardian yourself, hire an Approved Guardianship Attorney.  If your local court does not have a list, check the State Bar of Texas website.  Note that attorneys are registered in one county but often also practice in surrounding counties.... Read More

A Will does not name a guardian in case of later incapacity and has no legal effect until the person making it has died and a court admits the Will to probate (proving).  Advise your fiance to report the unsafe environment to APS and to the discharge worker at the hospital, which is not allowed to make a discharge to an unsafe environment.  He should then hire a guardianship lawyer to apply for guardianship.  While a spouse is given priority, the APS investigation and her own declarations that she is unable and unwilling to provide care should open the door for your finace to serve.  You might find a lawyer near you who is able to advise on applying for and managing the guardianship and accessing government benefits to pay for care on the website of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (www.naela.org).... Read More

There is no potential ward until the child is born so no application for guardianship can be filed before then. Ask the local probate court or state bar for a list of guardianship attorneys who practice in the county in which the child is expected to be born.  That is where the application must be filed.... Read More

It is not clear what you mean by "legalized" but it appears that there may be two approaches.  The simplest would be to send the parents the Tennessee version of a Temporary Power of Attorney for Our Child and ask them to sign it before a notary at the American consultate and mail it back to you.  This gives you authority to take your niece to the doctor, enroll her in school, etc.  Another method would be to send the paper back to the parents and ask them to have it notarized and then presented to a court for an "apostille" in their home country.  Please also note that in many states the DMV or DPS will issue an ID to a visiting student without either of these.... Read More

In most states you do not need a lawyer to ask the Court to restore your rights and remove the guardian.  You can just write a letter to the judge.  If the health and rehab center became your guardian, you can also write that there is a conflict of interest so that if you do need a guardian, it should not be the health and rehab center.... Read More