My brother & I are applying for guardianship of his step-mother. My brothers father is still alive, but at age 90 and in poor health he cannot properly care for her. I wrote a letter from him to the court outlining why he was in agreement with us being appointed guardians.
We have submitted to the court along with the doctors evaluations, it is moving through the system now. I did this myself, I have done this before so I understand what to do and the documentation that is required.
I would suggest that you engage an attorney, unlike others I do not feel that you need a pricey elder attorney, most any estate attorney will do.
Country mouse is correct. First I would suggest you find a qualified and certified elder care attorney. Because guardianship is a specialty law practice. Your father is trying to hang onto his last bit of control of his life. Guardianship is to protect the person not necessarily to control their life. If his decisions are detrimental to his well being then guardianship will be necessary. By you being appointed as his guardian you will have all of the control to protect him from vultures. State appointed guardians usually do their best but in most states all of their work is paid for from his assets. Do a search for April Parks, Las Vegas to see the absolute worst case. Applying for guardianship will take a few months to get through the courts system. Lawyers do not work fast. It is a lot of work and record keeping. You may also want to do some looking around for an accountant to help you with the records. You will be required to make periodic reports to the court on his care aand finances. A lot of work but after having done it for over two years for my Luz it was worth the effort. The court was very pleased with what I had done and did do for her.
Guardianship is different from power of attorney. To get guardianship, you apply to a court and a judge will decide whether you should be granted it. Your father's agreement is not required. Your father can contest the application if he wishes to, and he is entitled to be represented independently in court; but if his dementia has advanced to the point where the court is satisfied that he is not able to make decisions in his own best interests then he will not be successful in opposing you. Your father's doctor's opinion will carry a good deal of weight.
The court may decide that somebody else should act as your father's guardian, but they wouldn't do that without extremely good reasons which probably don't apply in your case. It's just something to be aware of.
Google "applying for guardianship in [your father's state of residence]" and you should find the state's own official website with all the right information to guide you through the process. If you get stuck, I'm sure other forum members will be able to help.
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We have submitted to the court along with the doctors evaluations, it is moving through the system now. I did this myself, I have done this before so I understand what to do and the documentation that is required.
I would suggest that you engage an attorney, unlike others I do not feel that you need a pricey elder attorney, most any estate attorney will do.
Your father is trying to hang onto his last bit of control of his life. Guardianship is to protect the person not necessarily to control their life. If his decisions are detrimental to his well being then guardianship will be necessary.
By you being appointed as his guardian you will have all of the control to protect him from vultures.
State appointed guardians usually do their best but in most states all of their work is paid for from his assets.
Do a search for April Parks, Las Vegas to see the absolute worst case.
Applying for guardianship will take a few months to get through the courts system. Lawyers do not work fast.
It is a lot of work and record keeping. You may also want to do some looking around for an accountant to help you with the records.
You will be required to make periodic reports to the court on his care aand finances.
A lot of work but after having done it for over two years for my Luz it was worth the effort. The court was very pleased with what I had done and did do for her.
I wish you the very best in this.
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Guardianship is different from power of attorney. To get guardianship, you apply to a court and a judge will decide whether you should be granted it. Your father's agreement is not required. Your father can contest the application if he wishes to, and he is entitled to be represented independently in court; but if his dementia has advanced to the point where the court is satisfied that he is not able to make decisions in his own best interests then he will not be successful in opposing you. Your father's doctor's opinion will carry a good deal of weight.
The court may decide that somebody else should act as your father's guardian, but they wouldn't do that without extremely good reasons which probably don't apply in your case. It's just something to be aware of.
Google "applying for guardianship in [your father's state of residence]" and you should find the state's own official website with all the right information to guide you through the process. If you get stuck, I'm sure other forum members will be able to help.