Guardians

Former talk show host, Wendy Williams, is in the news again this week after dropping a note from the window of her assisted living facility to a paparazzo positioned below. The note – which allegedly read “HELP! WENDY!!” – was the latest effort in Ms. Williams’ persistent battle to end the guardianship and conservatorship she has been subject to since 2022 following a diagnosis of dementia, despite her steadfast insistence that she is not cognitively impaired.

While high-profile cases like Wendy, Britney Spears, and Bam Margera have made headlines and even inspired global social media movements in recent years, the reality is that guardianship and conservatorship proceedings for adults with diminished capacity have become far more common in the lives of ordinary Americans, and as a result, far more prevalent in our legal practice.

While this may be due, in part, to the fact that people are simply living longer, which correlates to an increased chance of experiencing at least some degree of cognitive decline, the reasons for establishing a guardianship and/or conservatorship are as varied as they are complex. No matter the underlying basis for appointment, these can be complicated, emotional, time-consuming, and expensive procedures – and while they can often be avoided by having a Power of Attorney and Health Care Directive in place expressing your wishes and nominating agents to act on your behalf with respect to property, financial, personal, and health care matters in the event of incapacity, there are circumstances in which there simply are no other options to protect an individual’s assets and ensure their safety and well-being.

So, whether you would like to establish or update key estate planning documents to plan for an event of incapacity or are wondering whether guardianship or conservatorship might be appropriate for someone in your life, the attorneys at Bravura Group have a deep understanding of both the legal and emotional complexities involved with these matters, and are here to answer any questions you may have.