Guardianship

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Guardianship Attorney

Guardianship allows a person, usually known as a guardian, the legal right to make personal, medical, and/or financial decisions on behalf a disabled adult or minor, known as a ward. The most common cases where guardianship is needed is for a child or adult with mental or physical disabilities that prevent them from making personal or financial decisions on their own.

Guardianship cases can be complex and the outcomes dependent on numerous factors. Stawicki Law Office is here to be on your side and help your family with your guardianship needs.

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Guardianship Attorneys - Stawicki Law Office

Different Types of Guardianships?

Guardianships are not all the same. Some grant a guardian full decision making authority over the ward while others are limited to only making financial or legal decisions.
In Illinois, there are 5 different guardianship levels which are:

Permanent Guardianship

Permanent guardianship is mostly used when both parents of a child have passed away and a person, usually a family member, is assigned permanent responsibility of the child.

Limited Guardianship

Limited guardianship is granted when a child does not require substantial supervision. The guardian has authority to make limited decisions for only those that cannot be made by the ward. Exactly what the guardian has control over is specified in the court order.

Guardian of the Estate

Another form of limited guardianship involves the guardian being responsible for the ward's income, assets, bank accounts, investments, and court accounts. The goal of creating a guardian of the estate is to manage, preserve, and disburse the ward's assets in the best interest of the minor or disabled adult.

Guardian of the Person

As opposed to the guardian of the estate, the guardian of the person overseas all non-financial needs of the minor or disabled adult. Examples of where a guardian of the person has authority is education, healthcare, comfort, and other personal care matters.

Plenary Guardianship

A hybrid form of guardianship of estate and person. A plenary guardian can make decisions relating to both estate and personal care and can be permanent or for a limited time.

How Do I Obtain Guardianship?

A petition for guardianship must be filed with the probate court in the county where the ward (or child) lives. Most likely a hearing will need to take place and attended by the potential guardian and the ward. The application process and approval of a guardianship involves a significant amount of paperwork, thus the guardianship hearing may be confusing or intimidating to a potential guardian.

For your peace of mind and best outcome, working with an experienced guardianship attorney who has handled similar cases is in your best interest. Our law firm is more than capable of helping you with the application process and heavy paperwork while making sure you fully understand the process and are fully aware of the its progress.

Schedule Your Free Consult

Let Stawicki Law Office carefully review your situation, answer any questions, and help you attain legal guardianship status.