Guardianship

Wow -- how time flies right?

Kyle will be 18 years-old in June.  This means he will be an adult and responsible for himself.  We will not be able to make medical or financial decisions for him.  This is generally a time of life that kids look forward to, and some parents too.....

We are seeking guardianship of Kyle's person and his estate.  What does that mean?  It means that we will be able to continue making medical and financial decisions on his behalf.

We met with a lawyer on Thursday, 09 March -- she explained to us that in the State of Washington, a person is assumed to have "capacity" at the age of eighteen, unless the court judges otherwise.  "Capacity" is not determined by a medical diagnosis, but by the court. 

If we don't have guardianship, we will be unable to consent for him to have medical care, and will not be able to protect him as well financially.  So we are petitioning for guardianship.  The petition will be filed the day after his birthday.  A guardian-ad-litem will be assigned by the court to investigate and determine if we have his best interests at heart.  Kyle is entitled to his own attorney if he desires one -- I asked our attorney, "how will he communicate with them?"  She just giggled.  Kyle was with us for the visit.  After 60 days we go to court and the court makes the order. 

I was pleasantly surprised that the cost was a bit less than I feared.  And it's a flat fee instead of bill-able hours.  That helps. 

There is a bit of a down-side.  Not all states have reciprocity -- which means that we may have to re-petition should we ever move out of Washington state.  It's a small price to pay to protect Kyle.

We could have petitioned on our own -- but looking it up and just the sheer amount of paperwork -- we wanted to be sure it was done correctly.  We like our attorney.  She does only disability and elder law.  Thankful for those who study so hard to understand the things that are so complicated!