What is guardianship?
A legal arrangement under which one person, a guardian who is appointed by a court, has the legal right and duty to care for another, the ward, because of the ward’s inability to legally act on his or her own behalf due to minority or mental or physical incapacity. Black’s Law Dictionary 707 (6th ed. 1990). A guardian has the powers and duties over the ward’s person. MS 524.
Sometimes people suffer from diseases that impair their ability to understand financial or medical information or their ability to take care of themselves. In these situations, a family member or friend can ask a judge to appoint him or her to be a curator or caretaker for the impaired person, upon due proof of mental incapacity. When a curator is appointed by a judge, the ill person loses the right to make medical and financial decisions on his or her own. The curator now makes those decisions. The curator then is responsible to the supervising judge, who makes sure the curator acts only in the ill person’s best interests and does everything possible to make the ill person comfortable, happy, and financially secure. Another form of guardianship under Louisiana law is referred to as a tutorship for a minor. A tutorship is similar to a curatorship in that an individual is appointed to manage the affairs and person of another. Tutorships may be necessary where a minor child’s parents hav
A court appoints a competent adult, called a guardian, for a person over 18 who’s declared mentally or physically incapacitated – someone who’s unable to make decisions regarding his or her health, living arrangements, finances and life in general. Some reasons may include Alzheimer’s disease, mental disability or a recent stroke. Guardians don’t just watch over adults. A court can appoint a legal guardian for anyone under 18 whose parents can no longer take care of them. If parents abuse their children, become too ill or die, a guardian can be appointed. Sometimes parents voluntarily turn over guardianship if they think it’s best for their children. A guardian doesn’t have to be a relative, spouse, friend or lawyer; a guardian can also be an organization or state-run agency. There are also professional guardians, who are paid out of the ward’s funds, though the court must approve the arrangement. Return to index . . .
