New Hampshire Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers

By Author: autor
Total Articles: 4328
Comment this article

Considering conservatorship or adult guardianship is a good choice for a senior that is not in good health. Sometimes seniors that have poor health are unable to make decisions for themselves. If a senior has dementia or Alzheimers disease, or may have had a stroke or another disease, they may need to have a power of attorney to figure out finances and other forms of care assistance. Seniors who may have been neglected in nursing homes should have an adult guardian to help with legal and emotional aspects of the neglect case.

An adult guardianship requires a lawyer, a judges approval, and the proper caregiver. Being an adult guardian can help a senior to make large decisions for them, and will help with any important documents or end of life decision making. If the senior cannot make decisions for themselves, a judge will appoint someone as the conservator to make the decisions for the senior. The conservator will then make the decisions for the senior regarding finances, medical and personal care, or any other major concern. The court may appoint a person to do both the financial decision making and the personal care/ ...
... medical decision making, or just may choose to appoint the conservator to make decisions on just one.

The advantages of setting up a senior loved one with a conservatorship is that it lets family members know that someone is making decisions for the senior, it gives clear legal authority to help deal with senior issues, and it provides a process to have a judge approve major decisions in the seniors life. The disadvantages are: it is expense to have set-up, it requires a lawyer, need legal documents, and there is a court hearing, it is time consuming, ongoing paperwork, could be embarrassing for a senior who is somewhat capable, and it can be emotionally difficult for family members to agree on a conservator.

For a senior to have a conservatorship, the senior must be physically or mentally incapable of making decisions for themselves, and the senior does not have a living will or power of attorney for their finances that cover the important decisions all ready. If the senior has yet to prepare a power of attorney, the senior may want a conservator of the estate. The senior may not have a medical directive or living will, therefore they may need a conservator to make healthcare decisions. The medical directive may not cover everything, therefore having a conservator may be appropriate to help cover all of the needs of the senior. The senior could use a conservator to help make decisions about their personal life. Determining if your senior loved one needs a conservator may be hard, or may be easy, depending on the health status of the senior. The judge may need to weigh opinions and options in order to decide if a conservator is necessarily the best step for the senior and their family. The judge may want to speak with the senior directly, asking the senior if they understand what is happening, and the judge will decide if the senior can make their own decisions. The judge may limit the conservators authority to certain decisions, and other decisions would require court hearings.

Getting a lawyer with conservatorship experience may be necessary in order to fill out legal forms, for the court hearing, and for any other conservator questioning that may take place. Elder Law Attorneys are going to be the most helpful when deciding on conservatorship for your senior loved one. Elder Law Attorneys help the senior and their family set-up the conservatorship and they help with the legal documents. They will also help with any other senior law discrepancy if needed.

A conservator is someone who lives close to the senior, someone who is familiar with handling finances, who can give the time necessary to manage the seniors affairs, and a person who was chosen by the family. If there are no family members or close friends who are willing to take on the conservatorship, the judge will appoint a professional conservator. The conservator is required to decide about the seniors everyday care, make major decisions, apply the senior for benefit programs, keep records regarding any decisions made, and regularly has to report to the court. The conservator will not be paid for their service, unless it is a professional conservator.

Conservatorship is very time consuming, and will last as long as the senior lives. If the senior regains that ability to make decisions, the conservatorship will be ended. A judge could also replace the conservator with someone else if the conservator cannot make the right decisions for the senior or neglects their duties. Another interested party will be responsible for taking on the responsibilities of the conservatorship.