Parenting a child with disabilities comes with unique joys and challenges. As your child approaches adulthood, you may be navigating one of the most significant transitions: ensuring their well-being and meeting their needs after they turn 18. Of course, some children with disabilities are perfectly able to make good decisions about their own medical care, finances, and life and live independently as adults, but if someone’s ability to receive, evaluate, and communicate relevant information for these decisions is impaired, they may benefit from guardianship or conservatorship. Understanding these legal tools can give you the framework to support your child’s well-being as they step into adult life. Let’s walk through what these concepts mean, how they differ, and how they may benefit your child.

Guardianship vs. Conservatorship – Understanding the Difference

Guardianship and conservatorship are both legal tools designed to help people who need assistance, but they each serve distinct purposes. Guardianship focuses on helping someone make personal decisions about their healthcare, living arrangements, education, and other everyday choices, ensuring you or another trusted individual can step in and make choices on their behalf.

Conservatorship assigns someone who is responsible for managing a person’s bank accounts, investments, property, and other financial needs. If someone is unable to manage their finances independently, a conservator helps safeguard their financial future. Some people with disabilities require neither of these arrangements; some require one, and some may require both a guardian and a conservator.

Age of Majority and its Implications

When your child turns 18, they legally become an adult and gain the right to make their own decisions. For some with disabilities, this shift can be overwhelming. If your adult child is unable to make informed choices due to their disability, guardianship or conservatorship allows you to continue supporting them legally. A guardianship or conservatorship limits or terminates your child’s rights and freedoms, so some states will require you to explore less restrictive alternatives before the court will appoint a guardian or conservator. One such option is power of attorney, in which the person with a disability authorizes another individual to make some or all financial or healthcare decisions.

Types of Guardianship and Conservatorship

Different levels of guardianship and conservatorship exist to fit each family’s situation. Full guardianship or conservatorship grants you or another appointed guardian or conservator authority over all aspects of your adult child’s life, including their healthcare, financial, and personal matters. Limited guardianship or conservatorship grants you or another assigned individual complete control over certain areas of decision-making but allows your child to retain autonomy in other areas. There is also temporary guardianship and conservatorship, which grants necessary authority for a specific period until your child can again make decisions on their own.

Establishing Guardianship or Conservatorship

If you believe guardianship or conservatorship is the best option for your adult child, you will first need to file a petition and present evidence that your child needs significant assistance to make decisions. Next, you will work with an attorney – often court-appointed – who will represent your child and ensure their interests and rights are considered during the legal process. Finally, you will attend a court hearing, during which time a judge will review your case and decide whether your child requires this level of guidance.

Responsibilities of Guardians and Conservators

Serving as a guardian or conservator is a significant responsibility. You must gather all necessary information before making decisions that affect your child’s life; keep detailed records of all decisions, financial transactions, and actions taken on your child’s behalf; and regularly update the court about your child’s well-being, financial status, and recent decisions.

Rights of Individuals under Guardianship or Conservatorship

Because these arrangements restrict your child’s rights, they may impact their right to vote, get married, make medical decisions, sign legal documents, and buy or sell property. This is why you should carefully consider the decision and the level of oversight needed. That said, under these arrangements, your child still retains the right to be treated with dignity and respect, to participate in decision-making, to challenge the arrangement if necessary, and to request an advocate for their rights and interests.

Planning for the Future

Guardianship and conservatorship aren’t right for everyone, and even when they are, they are only part of planning for your child’s future. When you’re raising a child with a disability, you also must discuss and put in writing their ongoing needs and goals, plan for their long-term care and residence needs, create a solid financial plan that will support them as they age, and designate a successor to serve as a guardian, conservator, caregiver, or trustee if you become incapable.

Want to learn more about options for helping your child with a disability make decisions as they transition into adulthood? Reach out today.