As part of the changes to the guardianship and conservatorship process in Massachusetts a few years ago, the courts have been moving away from full guardianship and conservatorship and towards limited ones. The idea is to protect the person in need, while still allowing them to retain rights as appropriate. On the forms that are filed with the court, there are places to specify which powers can be retained by the person under protection.
For example, someone under a guardianship could retain the following rights:
- the right to determine their daily meals,
- the right to choose health care providers,
- the right to be left alone for a period of time,
- the right to choose roommates,
- the right to vote,
- the right to determine their own friendships,
- the right to use a computer and correspond with others without supervision,
A person under a conservatorship might be able to maintain the following powers:
- right to have and spend a certain amount of cash each week,
- the right to purchase gifts for others,
- the right to make decisions about their investments,
- the right to enter in to a lease.
If you find that you are in a position where you need to seek the court’s assistance in obtaining guardianship or conservatorship over another, speak to the person you are concerned about and their doctor to find out if having them retain rights to make some decisions on their own is appropriate. You may be asked to do this by the court or by the protected person’s own attorney, so it can be helpful to have thought about it ahead of time.
Definitions:
A guardian is a person appointed by the court to make living and health care decisions about another (the incapacitated person.)
A conservator is a person appointed by the court to manage the property and business affairs of another (the protected person.)
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