Guardianship

Tuesday, 28 August 2012

 

A pretty big day for us.  Today is the day that Jon and I were granted legal guardianship of Kyle. 

 

What does that mean? 

In a nutshell -- it means that we were allowed to pay for the privilege of continuing to be Kyle's parents. 

 

Why guardianship?

Kyle is now 18 years-old, and is, in the eyes of the government, a legal adult.  Which means that he is responsible for himself, and able to consent to, or reject medical care, and manage his financial needs by himself.  He is, in the eyes of the government, capable of making all decisions in his own best interest.  And without guardianship, we are no longer entitled to any information regarding his life or needs.

 

How is guardianship determined?

The need for guardianship is determined by a court of law, not by a medical diagnosis.  Therefore, we retained a lawyer, who did the paperwork and walked us through the process.  I'm so glad we had her and her expertise -- and it was worth every penny.

 

We began the process in April 2012, when we initially met with the lawyer.  Kyle was with us, and after speaking to Kyle, she determined that we should seek guardianship of his person (medical/personal needs) and of his estate (financial matters).

 

We waited until he had turned 18, and then the petition was filed with the court.  In the ensuing 60 days, we saw our doctor for medical and psychological evaluations.  A guardian-ad-litem was assigned to investigate and be sure that we have Kyle's best interests at heart.  He obtained copies of medical information, IEP and school evaluations, spoke with us and Kyle, and with his teachers and aide's at school.  He then submitted a report on his findings and what he felt would be in Kyle's best interest.

 

Which brings us to Tuesday, August 28th

Court Date.

 

We went to the King County Superior Court

where we waited to be called into a court room.

See how excited Kyle is to be in a new and unknown place?

Then we went into the court room, where we waited for our case to be called.  When we were called, we stood in front of the judge, who asked our lawyer a few questions....and asked the guardian ad litem a few questions.  Kyle retains the right to vote, should he ever desire to do so.

Then we waited again, while our lawyer got our letters of guardianship from the clerk.

 

And then....

 

we went down to the Seattle waterfront.

We didn't ride the big ferris wheel, but we took pictures of it.

 

 

Sunny and Kyle said "Hello" to a little dog named Jive.

 We ate lunch -- and yes, fries were on the menu!

And then the highlight of the day....

We rode the carousel!

Kyle loves the carousel, and knows exactly which pier it's on, and how to get there!  I rode, but I just stood there, taking pictures, and getting sick from riding backwards, and going around and around and around -- you get the picture.....

And then we went home.....

 

It was an eventful day....and a good day! 

 

I'm glad the process is over, and I'm thankful we have the protections of the guardianship in place!