Answer:  If you are a professional who helps families plan for or deal with ANY of their elder care matters, then you owe it to yourself to be listed on America's #1 online source for "Elder Care Experts"….

ElderCareMatters.com

ElderCareMatters.com is where you will find more than 2,000 competent, caring elder care experts located across America, including:

• Elder Law Attorneys
• Estate Planning Advisors
• Financial Planners
• Investment Advisors
• Geriatric Care Managers
• Insurance Professionals
• Life Care Planners
• Professional Organizers
• Reverse Mortgage Lenders
• Senior Move Managers
• Senior Real Estate Professionals
•  Tax Advisors
• Aging in Place Professionals
• Daily Money Managers
• And other elder care experts with long and successful careers working with seniors and their families

This is also where you will find some of America's best:

• Assisted Living Communities
• Alzheimer's / Memory Care Communities
• Continuing Care Retirement Communities
• Home Care Agencies

Together, we provide families across America with:

• Unparalleled professional expertise
• Up-to-date elder care information & answers to your elder care questions
• Competent, caring assistance with a wide range of elder care services

So if you are a competent, caring elder care professional who helps families with ANY of their elder care matters, then request today an Application for Membership in the national ElderCare Matters Alliance and get listed on ElderCareMatters.com - America's #1 source for "Elder Care Experts" plus information and answers about a wide range of elder care matters.

Phillip G. Sanders, MBA, MSHA, CPA
Founder & CEO
ElderCare Matters, LLC
ElderCareMatters.com

 

 

 

Answer:  It is my pleasure to provide you with the following list of the 87 different elder care services that are currently provided by the members of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance on ElderCareMatters.com:

1. Accounting Services
2. Adult Day Care
3. Advance Medical Directives
4. Aging in Place Services
5. Alzheimer's / Memory Care Communities
6. Annuities
7. Arbitration
8. Asset Protection Planning
9. Assisted Living Communities
10. Assisted Living Referral Services
11. Bankruptcy
12. Bill Paying
13. Budgeting
14. Caregiving Education
15. Companion Care
16. Conservatorship
17. Consumer Law
18. Continuing Care Retirement Communities
19. Cremation Services
20. Crisis Intervention
21. Daily Money Management
22. Dementia Care
23. Disability Income Insurance
24. Disability Planning
25. Elder Abuse Litigation Services
26. Elder Law
27. ElderCare Planning
28. Estate Administration
29. Estate Liquidation
30. Estate Planning
31. Family Law
32. Financial Planning
33. Funeral Services
34. Geriatric Care Management
35. Guardianship
36. Health Insurance
37. Hoarding Clean Up and Coaching Services
38. Home Care
39. Home Downsizing Services
40. Home Health Care
41. Home Modifications
42. Hospice Care
43. Independent Living Communities
44. Investment Services
45. Life Care Planning
46. Life Insurance
47. Litigation
48. Long Term Care Insurance
49. Long Term Care Planning
50. Medicaid Planning
51. Medical Services
52. Medical Alert Systems
53. Medical Claims Processing
54. Medical Equipment & Supplies
55. Medical Malpractice Litigation
56. Medicare Consulting
57. Medicare Supplemental Insurance
58. Medication Management Services
59. Moving Services
60. Nursing Homes
61. Personal Finance
62. Powers of Attorney
63. Probate
64. Professional Organizing
65. Public / Non-Profit Resources
66. Real Estate Services
67. Rehabilitation Services
68. Residential Psychiatric Care
69. Respite Care
70. Retirement Planning
71. Reverse Mortgages
72. Securities Arbitration & Litigation Services
73. Senior Housing
74. Senior Move Management
75. Senior Move Planning
76. Senior Relocation Services
77. Social Security Disability Services
78. Special Needs Planning
79. Tax Law
80. Tax Planning
81. Tax Preparation
82. Transportation Services
83. Trustee / Fiduciary Services
84. Trusts
85. VA Benefits
86. Wills
87. Wound Care

The goal of ElderCareMatters.com is to provide families across America with the help they need to plan for and deal with their elder care matters.  Let us know if there are other elder care services that you would like to have us list on ElderCareMatters.com – America's #1 source for Elder Care Experts plus information & answers about a wide range of elder care matters.

Phillip G. Sanders, MBA, MSHA, CPA
Founder & CEO, ElderCare Matters, LLC
ElderCareMatters.com
1-877-379-4500

Answer:  ElderCareMatters.com is an elder care resource to help families across America plan for and deal with their elder care matters.  With this goal in mind, we will continue to add more elder care-related services to ElderCareMatters.com in order to make this online elder care resource invaluable for families looking for help in planning for and/or dealing with their elder care matters.

Below are the 72 different elder care services currently listed on ElderCareMatters.com (with more services soon to be added): 

1. Adult Day Care
2. Advance Medical Directives
3. Aging in Place Services
4. Alzheimer's / Memory Care Communities
5. Annuities
6. Arbitration
7. Asset Protection Planning
8. Assisted Living Communities
9. Assisted Living Referral Services
10. Bankruptcy
11. Caregiving Education
12. Consumer Law
13. Continuing Care Retirement Communities
14. Crisis Intervention
15. Daily Money Management / Bill Paying
16. Dementia Care
17. Disability Income Insurance
18. Elder Abuse Litigation Services
19. Elder Law
20. ElderCare Planning / Long-Term Care Planning
21. Estate Administration
22. Estate Liquidation
23. Estate Planning
24. Financial Planning
25. Funeral Services
26. Geriatric Care Management
27. Guardianship / Conservatorship
28. Health Insurance
29. Hoarding Clean Up and Coaching Services
30. Home Care
31. Home Downsizing Services
32. Home Health Care
33. Home Modifications
34. Hospice Care
35. Independent Living Communities
36. Investment Services
37. Life Care Planning
38. Life Insurance
39. Litigation
40. Long-Term Care Insurance
41. Medicaid / Disability Planning
42. Medical / Healthcare
43. Medical Alert Systems
44. Medical Claims Processing
45. Medical Equipment & Supplies
46. Medicare Consulting
47. Medicare Supplemental Insurance
48. Medication Management Services
49. Moving / Relocation Services
50. Personal Finance / Accounting / Tax Preparation
51. Powers of Attorney
52. Probate
53. Professional Organizing
54. Public / Non-Profit Resources
55. Real Estate Services
56. Rehabilitation Services
57. Residential Psychiatric Care
58. Respite Care
59. Retirement Planning
60. Reverse Mortgages
61. Securities Arbitration & Litigation Services
62. Senior Move Management
63. Senior Move Planning
64. Social Security Disability Services
65. Special Needs Planning
66. Tax Law
67. Tax Planning
68. Transportation Services
69. Trustee / Fiduciary Services
70. Trusts
71. VA Benefits
72. Wills

If you need help with your family's elder care matters, you can count on ElderCareMatters.com to provide you with the experts, information & answers you need to plan for and deal with your elder care matters.

Phillip G. Sanders, MBA, MSHA, CPA
Founder & CEO of ElderCareMatters.com
1-877-379-4500

Answer:  Yes, guardianship is meant to protect the person and property of those who cannot manage for themselves, but it must be used with caution. Guardianship is an extreme form of intervention in the life of a person, because control over personal and/or financial decisions is transferred to someone else for an indefinite, often permanent, period. Once established, it can be extremely difficult to revoke, even if the guardian or the original petitioner believe that guardianship is no longer necessary. If the courts require expert testimony to support the revocation of guardianship, experts may be hesitant to certify that the person does not need guardianship. The right to privacy and independence in determining how to manage one's own affairs is paramount and should be limited or removed only for the gravest cause.

The law requires that guardianship be used only if it will promote the well-being of the person with disabilities and protect the person with disabilities against neglect, exploitation, and abuse, and encourages development of maximum self reliance and independence.

Orders of protection are defined under the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986, and the Probate Act incorporates the provisions of the IDVA by reference. The Probate Act provides that all IDVA procedures for the issuance, enforcement and recording of orders of protection shall also be available in guardianship cases. Consequently, an order of protection may be joined together with a plenary or temporary petition for adjudication of disability, and a court may enter both orders of protection and orders appointing guardians in the same proceeding.

To find competent elder care professionals who are located near You and can help you with this type of elder care matter, go to: www.ElderCareMatters.com - A FREE online resource to find elder care experts plus elder care information & answers to your elder care questions.

Janna Dutton, Attorney at Law
Founding Partner
Dutton & Casey, P.C.
Chicago, Illinois  60603
312-899-0950
Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Illinois chapter

Answer:  The fact that a person has a mental disability does not automatically dictate a need for guardianship. The test for determining the need for guardianship focuses on the ability of the person to make decisions and to properly communicate decisions once made. Making incorrect or ill-advised decisions on a periodic basis is not the test. Rather, it is an inability to engage in the decision making in the first place which is important. A practical set of questions that may be addressed are as follows:

1. Does the person understand that a particular decision needs to be made?
2. Does the person understand the options available in any decision?
3. Does the person understand the consequences of each option?
4. Is the person able to properly inform appropriate parties once the decision has been made?

The inability to make sound decisions about where to live, where to work, how and when to seek medical care or other professional services, how to properly care for dependents, and how to purchase items like food and clothing is indication that a person may be in need of some guardianship services.

To find competent elder care professionals who are located near You and can help you with this type of elder care matter, go to: www.ElderCareMatters.com - A FREE online resource to find elder care experts plus elder care information & answers to your elder care questions.

Janna Dutton, Attorney at Law
Founding Partner
Dutton & Casey, P.C.
Chicago, Illinois  60603
312-899-0950
Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Illinois chapter

Answer:  A power of attorney is a legal document signed by you that grants another individual power to act and make decisions on your behalf. It may be general or limited to specific matters, such as finances or healthcare.

A guardianship, on the other hand, is a power granted by a court at the request of a third party to take control over your person, with or without your prior or current consent.

Generally speaking, a guardian has the same powers over his ward as a parent has over a minor child, unless those powers are specifically curbed by the court that granted them.

A power of attorney is generally preferable to a guardianship. Powers of attorney can be setup quickly and inexpensively and allow you to choose who will have powers over you, while guardianships can be long and expensive to put in place and leave the choice of a guardian in the hands of the court.

To find competent elder care professionals who are located near You and can help you with this type of elder care matter, go to: www.ElderCareMatters.com - A FREE online resource to find elder care experts plus elder care information & answers to your elder care questions.

Janna Dutton, Attorney at Law
Founding Partner
Dutton & Casey, P.C.
Chicago, Illinois  60603
312-899-0950
Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Illinois chapter

Answer:  This will depend on laws of the state in which your mother resides.  However,  a doctor's report will be needed to show that your mother is incapable of managing her own affairs.

To locate competent elder care professionals who are located near You and can help you with this type of elder care matter, go to: www.ElderCareMatters.com - A FREE online source to find elder care experts plus information & answers about a wide range of elder care matters.

John E. Settle, Jr., Esq.
John E. Settle, Jr., Attorney at Law 
Bossier City, Louisiana  71111
318-742-5513
Member of the ElderCare Matters Alliance, Louisiana chapter

This week's Featured Elder Care Expert is Angela N. Manz, Attorney at Law, Member of the ElderCare Matters Alliance (a network of 1,450+ elder care experts) and Founder of the Law Office of Angela N. Manz, a law firm in Virginia Beach, Virginia, that specializes in Elder Law, Estate Planning, and closely related practice areas. 

Every day this week (M-F), Ms. Manz will answer one of your questions about her areas of expertise (Elder Law & Estate Planning), and this selected question along with Ms. Manz 's answer will be posted on the Featured Elder Care Question of the Day section of ElderCareMatters.com.

So if you would like to ask Ms. Manz a question about your elder care matter, just send a short email (a few sentences only please) to: questions@ElderCareMatters. com.

And remember to bookmark ElderCareMatters.com and check back often to see if your question is our Featured Elder Care Question of the Day.

Answer:  You will need to file a Petition for Guardianship and Conservatorship with the Probate Court in the county of residence for your mother in Illinois. I practice Probate Law in Georgia, and every state may handle the petition process a little differently. Please check with the website www.ProbateIllinois.com. There you can enter the county of residence for your mother and proceed directly to that county’s Probate Court website for more specific information regarding the petition process. You will need to contact a Probate Law attorney in Illinois, who is familiar with the court of jurisdiction. If the process in Illinois is like the process in Georgia, then procedurally this is what you can anticipate: A lengthy Petition for Guardianship and Conservatorship must be completed, which will include among other things, your mother’s financial records, medical examination reports/physician affidavit, and contact information for all living relatives. The relatives are notified by copy of the petition, and they are given time to object by filing a caveat if they so choose. If a caveat is filed, a period of discovery is allowed by the court before setting a court date. Mediation may be mandated by the court or the parties may elect to resolve any differences thereby. If no resolution can be reached, a bench trial takes place, and the Probate judge decides the outcome. If there is no opposition to the petition, a less formal in chambers hearing is held by the Probate judge, and the Guardianship and Conservatorship is granted by the court to the petitioner. I hope this information proves helpful, and I wish you the best of luck!

To locate experts in your state who can help you with these elder care matters, go to: www.ElderCareMatters.com/statechapters.htm

Dennis Duncan, Attorney at Law
The Law Offices of Dennis L. Duncan, P.C.
Macon, Georgia  31210
478-254-4232
Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Georgia chapter

Get FREE advice every day about elder care matters from one of our 1,375+ elder care experts (and our team of experts is growing daily).

Families now have FREE access every day to the advice of one of our 1,375+ ElderCare Matters Alliance experts, offering YOU not only answers to your elder care questions but also providing you with up-to-date, useful articles about a wide range of elder care matters. This is information that will help YOU plan for and deal with your family's issues of aging.

This week's Featured Elder Care Expert is Dennis Duncan, Attorney at Law, from Macon, Georgia.  Mr. Duncan provides legal assistance in the areas of Elder Law, Elder Care Planning, Asset Protection Planning, Social Security, Medicaid/Disability Planning, Wills and Trusts, Advance Directives, Probate Law, Guardianship/Conservatorship, and Annuities.  Mr. Duncan will answer a different question each day about his areas of expertise, and a selected question along with Mr. Duncan's answer will be posted on the Featured Elder Care Question of the Day section of www.ElderCareMatters.com.

So if you would like to ask Mr. Duncan a question about an elder care matter, just send a short email (a few sentences only please along with your first name and City & State) to: questions@ElderCareMatters.com. 

And remember to bookmark www.ElderCareMatters.com and check back every day to see if your question is our Featured Elder Care Question of the Day. 

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Special Offer for ALL Elder Care Professionals:  The next 125 elder care professionals who apply for Lifetime Membership in the national ElderCare Matters Alliance will receive a 25% discount off the regular price of $450 for lifetime membership.  (Just $337.50 for a "lifetime membership")  This is a very cost effective way to "get the word out" to literally hundreds of thousands of families across America about how you and your company can help families with their elder care matters. 

So if you are a competent, caring elder care professional – take advantage of this special 25% discount offer for a "lifetime membership" (and there are no annual membership dues, ever!) in the national ElderCare Matters Alliance.

At last, families across America have one resource they can tap into daily to relieve the stress of aging… ElderCareMatters.com

ElderCareMatters.com, along with the 1,350+ members of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, provides families with the elder care resources they need to plan for and deal with their issues of aging.  In fact, here is where you will locate, by state, some of America's top elder care professionals who provide a total of 68 different elder care services that will help you plan for and deal with your family's issues of aging, including: Advance Medical Directives Aging In Place Services Alzheimer's / Memory Care Communities Annuities  Arbitration  Asset Protection Planning Assisted Living Communities  Assisted Living Referral Services Bankruptcy Caregiving Education  Consumer Law Continuing Care Retirement Communiities Crisis Intervention Daily Money Management / Bill Paying Disability Income Insurance Elder Abuse Litigation Services Elder Law ElderCare Planning / Long-Term Care Planning Estate Administration Estate Liquidation Estate Planning Financial Planning Geriatric Care Management Guardianship / Conservatorship Health Insurance Hoarding Clean Up and Coaching Services Home Care Home Downsizing Services Home Health Care Home Modifications Hospice Care Independent Living Communities Investment Services Life Care Planning Life Insurance Litigation Long-Term Care Insurance Medicaid / Disability Planning Medical / Healthcare Medical Alert Systems Medical Claims Processing Medical Equipment & Supplies Medicare Consulting Medicare Supplemental Insurance Medication Therapy Management Moving / Relocation Services Personal Finance / Accounting / Tax Preparation Powers of Attorney Probate Public / Non-Profit Resources Real Estate Services Rehabilitation Services Residential Psychiatric Care Respite Care Retirement Planning Reverse Mortgages Securities Arbitration & Litigation Services Senior Move Management Senior Move Planning Social Security Disability Services Special Needs Planning Tax Law Tax Planning Transportation Services Trustee / Fiduciary Services Trusts VA Benefits Wills

If you and your family need help with your elder care matters, this is where you will find competent, caring elder care experts located near you who provide a total of 68 different services that will help you plan for and deal with your family's issues of aging.  Whether you are looking for: an elder law attorney in Philadelphia a geriatric care manager in South Florida a long-term care insurance professional in Fort Worth, a home care provider in Southern California, or an assisted living community in Phoenix (as shown in the photo above)… you can count on www.ElderCareMatters.com to help you find the Elder Care Experts and services that you will need in ALL 50 states (plus the District of Columbia).

Special Offer for ALL Elder Care Professionals:  The next 125 elder care professionals who apply for Lifetime Membership in the national ElderCare Matters Alliance will receive a 25% discount off the regular price of lifetime membership. So if you are a competent, caring elder care professional – take advantage of this special 25% discount offer and pay only $337.50 for a "lifetime membership" (and there are no annual membership dues, ever!) in the national ElderCare Matters Alliance.    To request a Membership Application, send an email to: info@ElderCareMatters.com.

Answer:  Thanks for your question. Guardianships are very expensive, time consuming, and supervised by the courts.

The advantage of having a valid power of attorney is that you have the power to act quickly without court involvement.

The court system in Florida (where I practice) will not usually allow a guardianship when estate documents have been prepared to avoid being declared incompetent.

To locate experts in your state who can help you with this elder care matter, go to: www.ElderCareMatters.com/statechapters.htm

Joseph F. Pippen, Jr., Attorney at Law
Law Office of Joseph F. Pippen, Jr. & Associates
Largo, Florida  33771
727-586-3306

Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Florida chapter

Answer:  A guardian is a person, appointed by the court, who has the legal authority to care for another’s person and property due to incapacity. In Alzheimer’s cases a guardian would be appointed when the disease has progressed to the point that the patient no longer has the mental capacity to make decisions on their own.

 A guardian is most often utilized when the disabled person has no powers of attorney in place and decisions need to be made regarding their care.

Two Types of Guardianship Exist: (they can be utilized individually or together)

Guardian of the Person: The court appoints a guardian of the person when a disabled individual cannot make or communicate decisions regarding his or her personal care. This guardian makes decisions about medical treatments (end of life), residential placement, social services, and any other needs required by the patient.

Guardian of the Estate: The court appoints a guardian of the estate when a disabled person is unable to make or communicate responsible decisions regarding the management of their finances or property.

Kerry R. Peck, Managing Partner
Peck Bloom, LLC
Chicago, Illinois  60603
1-877-845-1743

Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Illinois chapter

Answer:  This is a very complex situation. The short answer is that in many states if there is a divorce and the court orders assets to be split in a certain way, the Medicaid agency will respect that court order and determine Medicaid eligiblity just using the assets of the ex-spouse who lives in the nursing home. In some states this will not work. Also, during a divorce, a court may require either a guardianship or the appointment of a guardian ad litem to protect the interests of the sick spouse, including the validity of any pre-nuptual agreement. Please check with both an elder law attorney and a divorce attorney in your state to confirm whether this advice applies to you and your situation.

To locate experts in your state who can help you with your elder care matters, go to: www.ElderCareMatters.com/statechapters.htm

Ben A. Neiburger, JD, CPA
Neiburger Law, Ltd.
Elmhurst, Illinois  60126
630-782-1766
Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Illinois chapter

Answer:  Since you are guardian of the estate for this 11 year old, you have a duty to inquire further into this SS income situation.  Although the 11 year old lives with her mother, does the mother spend the SS income on general items that would be considered "necessaries" of the 11 year old, or is it entirely for personal needs of the mother?  What is the mother's financial situation? Does she have other income?  If the answers to these questions are generally not in the best interest of the 11 year old, then you may consider petitioning the court for an accounting and order as to how the money will be spent in the future.

David F. Anderson, Esq.
David F. Anderson, P.A.
Miami Lakes, Florida  33016
305-825-4052
Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Florida chapter

Answer:  Legal problems that affect the elderly are growing in number.  Our laws and regulations are becoming more complex.  Actions taken by older people with regard to a single matter may have unintended legal effects.  It is important for attorneys dealing with the elderly to have a broad understanding of the laws that may have an impact on a given situation, to avoid future problems. 

Unfortunately, this job is not made easy by the fact that Elder Law encompasses many different fields of law.  Some of these include:

• Preservation/transfer of assets seeking to avoid spousal impoverishment when a spouse enters a nursing home
• Medicaid
• Medicare claims and appeals
• Social security and disability claims and appeals
• Supplemental and long term health insurance issues.
• Disability planning, including use of durable powers of attorney, living trusts, “living wills,” for financial management and health care decisions, and other means of delegating management and decision-making to another in case of incompetence or incapacity.
• Conservatorships and guardianships
• Estate planning, including planning for the management of one's estate during life and its disposition on death through the use of trusts, wills and other planning documents
• Probate
• Administration and management of trusts and estates
• Long-term care placements in nursing home and life care communities
• Nursing home issues including questions of patients’ rights and nursing home quality
• Elder abuse and fraud recovery cases
• Housing issues, including discrimination and home equity conversions
• Age discrimination in employment
• Retirement, including public and private retirement benefits, survivor benefits and pension benefits
• Health law
• Mental health law

Most Elder Law Attorneys do not specialize in every one of these areas.  So when an attorney says he/she practices Elder Law, find out which of these matters he/she handles.  You will want to hire the attorney who regularly handles matters in the area of concern in your particular case and who will know enough about the other fields to question whether the action being taken might be affected by laws in any of the other areas of law on the list.  For example, if you are going to prepare a new will and your spouse is ill, the estate planner needs to know enough about Medicaid to know whether it is an issue with regard to your spouse’s medical care planning.

David F. Anderson, Esq.
David F. Anderson, P.A.
Miami Lakes, Florida  33016
305-825-4052
Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Florida chapter

Steven H. Peck, Attorney at Law
Law Offices of Steven H. Peck, Ltd.
300 Saunders Road
Suite 100
Riverwoods, Illinois  60015

Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Illinois chapter

Steven H. Peck is a native of Boston, Massachusetts and is married with three daughters. Mr. Peck graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Harvard College. He received his Juris Doctor degree from Boston College Law School.

Mr. Peck is licensed to practice law in Illinois, New York, Massachusetts, Florida and six federal jurisdictions, including the United States Supreme Court and the United States Tax Court.

Mr. Peck has been involved in the estate and tax planning field for over 19 years and is devoted full time to the practice of estate planning. He is a member of the Illinois Forum of Estate Planning Attorneys as well as Wealth Counsel, a nationwide group of attorneys committed to bringing their clients the finest estate planning advice and documentation possible. Additionally, he is a member of Elder Counsel, which is devoted to the practice of elder law and special needs planning. Mr. Peck is also listed in Nationwide Register’s, Who’s Who in Executives and Businesses.

Mr. Peck has presented several hundred seminars on the topic of estate planning for the public and various private organizations across the country. He was also a faculty member for National Business Institute’s professional education seminar “Handling the Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax”.

Prior to estate planning law Mr. Peck practiced real estate development law and spent four years active duty as a captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. Additionally, he has a substantial knowledge of the insurance field having spent several years as an insurance broker prior to practicing law.

Answer:  If you are an elder care professional and you would like to "get the word out to thousands of families across America in a cost effective way about how you can help them plan for and deal with their issues of aging", then you should join our 1,250 elder care experts as a lifetime member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance.  And, now, if you are one of the next 250 members, you will receive a 25% discount off the regular lifetime membership price.

This 25% discount is available only to the next 250 elder care professionals who join the national ElderCare Matters Alliance.

So if you are a competent, caring elder care professional – take advantage of this special 25% discount offer and pay only $337.50 for a "lifetime membership" (and there are no annual membership dues, ever!) to the national ElderCare Matters Alliance.

To request an Application for Lifetime Membership, send an email directly to: psanders@eldercarematters.com

Phillip G. Sanders, MBA, MSHA, CPA
Founder & CEO
ElderCare Matters, LLC
1-877-379-4500
www.ElderCareMatters.com

Answer:  When it is suspected or determined that guardianship may be necessary in a given situation, the first step is to locate an attorney familiar with the guardianship process.  Guardianship is complicated and an experienced attorney will make the process much simpler for the petitioner.

 The attorney will draft a petition which is essentially a legal document notifying the court that a person is disabled and believed to need a guardian, and that a specific person or agency has been nominated to act in this role.  In most states the petitioner will also need to provide the court with a Physician’s Report attesting to the incapacity of the prospective ward.  In Illinois, there are five questions regarding the potential ward’s mental capacity and ability to function that the physician must answer in the report for court. 

The attorney will file these documents with the court and a hearing will ensue shortly thereafter.  It is at this hearing that the judge hears evidence regarding the disabled person’s status and alleged need for a guardian.  Some guardianships are contested, meaning the prospective ward or another interested party believes the guardianship is unnecessary or that a guardian other than the nominated party should act – these individuals have an opportunity to be heard at the hearing, as well.

Once the disabled person is adjudicated incompetent and the guardian is appointed, the court will issue an order to this effect.  The guardian will obtain Letters of Office that document the existence of the guardianship and establish that the presenter is, in fact, the guardian.  This document is very important when the guardian is attempting to conduct business on the ward’s behalf.

To find attorneys in your state who can help you with these elder care matters, go to www.ElderCareMatters.com/statechapters.htm

Shay Jacobson, RN, MA, NMG
Lifecare Innovations, Inc.
Burr Ridge, Illinois  60527
630-953-2154
Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Illinois chapter

 

Answer:  A 19-year-old can be appointed guardian of younger siblings, assuming the parents are no longer living.  It seems improbable, however, that a 19-year-old would be able to provide for younger siblings; in this instance, it seems safe to assume there are assets for the 19-year-old to draw upon in funding household expenses.  A co-guardianship, while possible, is not ideal.  In some states, it may be necessary for both co-guardians to approve all decisions, which can delay forward movement on emergency care and other time-sensitive matters.  There may be situations in which the co-guardians do not agree and a stalemate develops.  The decision of one must outweigh the decision of the other if agreement cannot be reached.

 Preferable to a co-guardian arrangement would be a guardianship that includes the establishment of a trust.  The elder sibling can act as guardian with the family friend in the role of trustee.  The guardian would have to consult with the trustee in order to gain access to funds, thus providing a safety net of sorts when major decisions/expenditures are made.  The family friend can also be appointed successor guardian.

Shay Jacobson, RN, MA, NMG
Lifecare Innovations, Inc.
Burr Ridge, Illinois  60527
630-953-2154
Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Illinois chapter

Answer:  A guardian and a conservator are essentially the same thing.  The term varies from state to state, but typically if a given state uses both terms, a conservator is the equivalent to a guardian of estate and a guardian is guardian of person.

Shay Jacobson, RN, MA, NMG
Lifecare Innovations, Inc.
Burr Ridge, Illinois  60527
630-953-2154
Member of the national ElderCare Matters Alliance, Illinois chapter