The principal focus of Lamson & Cutner’s practice is to provide elderly or disabled clients with legal services that will help implement their goals for long-term care, medical care, and financial and estate planning. Two essential tools to achieve these goals are the Durable Power of Attorney and the Health Care Proxy.
An individual who, as a result of accident, illness, or simply the aging process, has become incompetent to manage his own affairs, can nevertheless make sure that his wishes are carried out by giving to a trusted family member or other agent the ability to make financial or health care decisions on his behalf by signing these important documents.
Sometimes clients will ask, “What happens if I don’t have a Durable Power of Attorney or a Health Care Proxy?” Or sometimes clients will say “Mom doesn’t have a Durable Power of Attorney or Health Care Proxy, and now her dementia is too advanced for her to understand these documents . . . What do we do now?”
The answer to these questions is that New York law contains provisions that allow a Court to appoint a Guardian, and to give the Guardian the powers necessary to make financial or health-related decisions on behalf of the incapacitated person. In effect, the Court will give the same or similar powers to the Guardian that the incapacitated person could himself have given to the holder of his Durable Power of Attorney or Health Care Proxy.
Avoid Significant Legal Expense and Delay
The difference is that, by going to Court, the incapacitated person or his family will incur significant legal expense, delay, and inconvenience in order to achieve something that could have been done earlier with minimal effort and expense. However, in many cases, there is no choice because the incapacitated person is no longer mentally capable of signing a Durable Power of Attorney or Health Care Proxy. Also, there are Guardianship cases where there is an allegation that the incapacitated person is being subjected to abuse or financial manipulation, or that inadequate or improper attention is being given to the incapacitated person’s affairs by his agent.
If Guardianship proceedings are necessary, Lamson & Cutner can provide experienced and compassionate representation.
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