Guardianship helps you protect an aging loved one from themselves

One of the hardest things of watching your parents grow older can be watching their physical ability and mental acuity slowly decline, making them even more dependent on you and others for daily life.  Your parents may remain fiercely independent and resent other people offering them assistance even as they struggle to manage their own finances and keep their household in order.

If your parents aren’t willing to recognize their own limitations and have begun to make oversights or mistakes that you worry might leave them vulnerable to financial or legal consequences in the future, it may be time for you to go to the Pennsylvania courts and request guardianship.

What does securing a guardianship entail?

In order to convince the court to name you as guardian for your parents, you will typically have to present some medical or practical evidence that shows a significant decline in their ability to remain independent.

Receiving a diagnosis with a serious medical condition, like Alzheimer’s disease, could convince a judge that an older adult needs support. Showing that your loved one has made repeated legal or financial oversights due to lack of organization or issues with memory might be another tactic. Paper documentation from professionals, as well as testimony from those who interact with your parents, may both assist you in your efforts to secure guardianship.

Once the court award guardianship, you will have the authority to make legal, financial and medical decisions on behalf of your aging parents. That authority can allow you to oversee their lives and help ensure that they get the care and protection they need.