New Jersey Guardianship Attorneys

Do you need help with a guardianship?

Do you have a parent, family member or minor child who cannot care for his or her medical, financial, or personal matters? A New Jersey legal guardianship could be helpful.

Role of the Guardian

A guardianship is a legal relationship between the “guardian” and “ward” who is either an incapacitated adult or a minor. This legal relationship gives the guardian the ability and duty to care for the incapacitated adult or the minor. Typical duties include managing the ward’s finances and property, or making personal decisions and providing personal care for the ward.

The court appoints the guardian. Often the court will select a spouse, child, or other family member to serve as guardian.

The court takes the appointment of a legal guardian seriously. The legal guardian will be limited in his or her decision-making authority, so as to meet the needs of the ward. The guardian will usually be given the ability to decide:

• Where the ward will reside
• Food, clothing, or shelter decisions
• Acceptance/Denial of medical measures
• Financial control
• How to create an estate plan for the ward
• Any restriction of the ward’s movements

How BMC can Help with Guardianships

We can help you before or after the need for guardianship arises. For example, we can help you create an estate plan that provides for the appointment of a guardian in the event of incapacity, before the need arises. We can also help families with minor children nominate guardians to be appointed in case the unthinkable happens. This pre-planning will mean less time in court and more time helping the ones who need it most.

We also help clients create guardianships if there is no plan in place, after the need arises. This process is more time-consuming and involved than pre-planning, but we will be with you every step of the way. For instance, if there is no estate plan and an elderly family member becomes incapacitated, we can work with you, making application to the court to have you appointed as a guardian over the person, or over that person’s property, or both, depending on the circumstances.

If you have a question about New Jersey Guardianships, please fill out the contact form to the right, call us at 973-379-2444.

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