Do You Really Need Guardianship?

• Chart of supports and answers for people with reducing capacity to little or no capacity
  click here to view the Decision-making Supports chart
  
  
• Medical Proxies, see example of a Medical Proxy
  click here to view the Medical Proxy form
  
  
• Medical Proxies are signed and witnessed in advance of an anticipated need for someone else to speak for someone in a medical situation
  
  
• Health Care Surrogates
  
  
• Power of Attorney, your attorney needs to make this document especially for you
  
  
• Ways to Make Banking and Finances Easier
  

  Direct Deposit and Direct Payment - can facilitate simple banking procedures for a person who has difficulty with bank accounts.
  
  Joint Bank Account - Has two or more persons deposit or write checks on an account. While there is no real legal protection, a person with limited banking ability may willingly use a joint account and accept help from other signee(s) who handles and pays bills.
  
  Power of Attorney Accounts – May have someone officially act for the owner of the account although that person has no ownership of the account.
  
  Co-signers of Bank Accounts - Control handling of funds by requiring more than one signature on each check. In this way, both the person with a disability and the co-signer are aware of how the funds are being spent and what funds remain in the account.

  
  
• Limited Guardianships
  The judge does not have to take away all of the person’s rights, if they can make responsible decisions for themselves in certain areas, those rights can be kept.
  
  
• Community Resources and Meetings
  Meetings at the Tallahassee Senior Center, 891-4000, 1400 N Monroe St
  North Florida Guardian Support Project Meetings at OPG, 850-487-4609, ext 106
  Alzheimer’s Project, 211