Can You Avoid a Guardianship

At times in life, people experience highs and people experience lows. Bouts of depression can bring on drinking or drug use, or a sudden illness or accident can occur. When this happens there is the potential that someone will become incapacitated and hospitalized without the ability to make important life decisions.

A Florida Durable Power of Attorney gives the family a way to help a potentially disabled person in handling his or her legal, business and property affairs. The durable power of attorney might effectively sidestep the time and expense it could cost to establish a guardianship. One should also consider designating a Florida Health Care Surrogate so that he or she can make medical decisions in the event of incapacitation. Consulting with a Jacksonville Guardianship Lawyer with an office in Atlantic Beach, will give you the advice you need about the legal documents available to one who currently has the legal capacity to sign a legal document giving future authority to another.

A situation I recently heard of was of a young man whose older brother had just been divorced. The older brother fell into such a depression that his drug use increased two-fold, and he even told his family that it would kill him. Being a savvy younger brother and knowing his older brother was in the middle of a divorce, the younger brother started talking to the older brother about a durable power of attorney in case he ended up in the hospital and unable to handle his financial affairs in the divorce. Sure enough, the older brother ended up in the hospital, unable to express his desires without the help of his younger brother as his agent.

A designation of health care surrogate had also been prepared which gave the younger brother the authority to make the health care decisions needed to get the medical and psychological treatment the older brother needed to get him healthy and drug free.

If the unfortunate reality of incapacity is on the horizon for you or a loved one, contact a Jacksonville Guardianship lawyer to discuss your best options. Establishing a durable power of attorney, and a designation of health care surrogate now could potentially save a lot of time, effort, and money in the future.