The constitution of the United States provide that all citizens shall be entitled to health, wealth, and happiness, To enjoy health wealth and happiness, individuals must have independence. If an individual loses his or her capacity to make financial and/or medical decisions a guardianship proceeding can be brought to help this individual. However, guardianship proceedings deal with removing an individuals ability to make independent decisions regarding their finances and healthcare. Courts take the loss of these rights very seriously. The importance of these constitutional rights tend to make guardianship proceedings in the state of New York complicated matters.
Types of Guardianships
There are two statutes in the state of New York that deal with guardianship proceedings.
17A Guardianships Under the New York Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act
These guardianships are brought by parents of children with special needs. The special needs can be related to developmental problems, accidents, injuries that cause disabilities and other issues that prevent children after they reach the age of eighteen (majority of the state of New York) who are unable to take care of their personal and financial matters. Under New York state law when an individual becomes eighteen years of age they become an adult. Parents no longer have the ability to make decisions for a child. If the child has mental or psychological issues the parent needs to bring a guardianship proceeding under article 17A of the Surrogate’s Court procedure act to continue to be legally responsible for making decisions for their adult developmentally disabled child. This is a relatively complicated matter that is brought before the Surrogate’s Court in the state of New York.
Article 17 Guardianships for Minors
In cases where minors inherit assets worth more than $10,000.00 courts have an obligation to oversee that these assets are properly maintained and managed. This usually occurs when a minor receives funds through an inheritance, accident case, or medical malpractice case. The purpose of this type of guardianship is to make sure the minors assets are protected until he or she becomes an adult. The age of majority when the minor becomes an adult in the state of New York is 18 years of age. In these cases a guardian is appointed to make financial decisions on behalf of the minor child until he or she turns 18 years of age.
Article 81 Guardianships
Article 81 Guardianships are brought pursuant to article 81 of the New York Mental Hygiene Law. These guardianship proceedings are brought in the Supreme Court in the state of New York. These cases generally are about, seniors who were competent at one time but now suffer from either a mental or a physiological disability that prevents them from making financial and personal care decisions. These individuals can suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, accidents involving brain injuries and or other injuries related to aging. The process for article 81 guardianships under New York Mental Hygiene Law is completely different than the 17A guardianship proceedings.
Guardianship Attorneys
Guardianship lawyers at the Law Offices of Schlissel DeCorpo have been representing individuals bringing guardianship proceedings, challenging guardianship proceedings and protecting the rights of the alleged incompetent in the state of New York, for more than 45 years, Elliot S. Schlissel and his associates have helped individuals throughout the Metropolitan New York area have their rights protected in guardianship lawsuits in both under article 17 of Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act and Article 81 of the New York Mental Hygiene Law.
