|
_______________________________________________________________
Austin Guardianship Lawsuits,
Travis County Guardianship Applications, Austin Guardianship
Contests, Travis County Competence Lawsuits, and Austin
Alleged and Proposed Ward Hearings by Austin Texas Guardianship Lawyer
and Guardianship Contest Lawyer Jason S. Coomer
Guardianship lawsuits or lawsuits to
determine competence are becoming more common as more and
more elderly people are becoming unable to take care of
themselves and their finances. When a person becomes
unable to take care of their daily needs, a danger to themselves, a
danger to others, or cannot handle their finances, they will
often need a guardian to take care of them and their estate.
Austin Texas
Guardian Lawyer, Jason Coomer works with families that need
to file an Application for Guardianship or Contest an
Application for Guardianship in the Travis
County Probate Court and in the Austin area. For
questions on a guardianship lawsuit or contesting a
guardianship lawsuit, please e-mail Austin Guardianship
Lawyer
Jason S. Coomer at
AustinGuardianLawyer@texaslawyers.com or
use our
Law Office contact form.
Texas Application for
Guardianship, Protecting Incapacitated Persons, and
Obtaining Guardianship for a Person and for their Estate
It can be a
difficult or easy decision to file an application of
guardianship for a loved one depending on your
circumstances. If your loved one is obviously a danger
to themselves and is unable to handle their own finances, it
is often best to work with an Austin Guardianship Lawyer and
the person's family and friends to protect them from the
potential dangers of harming themselves as well as to
protect them from people and businesses that might try to
take their money.
One of the
first steps in moving forward with an application of
guardianship is to get your loved one to a doctor.
Having a medical doctor examine the person and determine if
they are competent is an important first step to determine
if the potential ward's condition is reversible and to what
extent incompetence has occurred.
If the
proposed ward will not see a medical doctor, it may be
necessary to file an Application for Guardianship to get the
person the medical treatment that they need. If they
do see a medical doctor and the condition is not reversible
as well as is severe, it also may be necessary to file an
Application for Guardianship.
Typically, a Texas Probate Court will look to alternative
less drastic measures to avoid a guardianship or making
someone a ward. This is because a guardianship takes a
person's rights away including use of their finances and
decisions on their daily care. An Application for a
Guardianship should only be filed to further a person's best
interests.
As an Austin
Guardianship Lawyer, Jason Coomer helps families find
alternatives to guardianships, file applications for
guardianships, contest applications for guardianships, file
breach of fiduciary duty claims against guardians that have
mismanaged or stolen money, and defend guardians that have
been accused of misappropriation of funds.
Incapacitated Persons
Lawsuits,
Austin Guardianship Lawsuits,
Travis County Guardianship Applications, Austin Guardianship
Contests, Travis County Competence Lawsuits, and Austin
Alleged and Proposed Ward Hearings
According to
the Texas Probate Code Section 601 (14), there are three
types of incapacitated people that need guardians. The
first is a minor which includes those under 18 years of age
that have not been emancipated. The second are adults
who because of a physical or mental condition, are
substantially unable to provide food, clothing, or shelter
for themselves, to care for their own physical health, or to
manage the individual's own financial affairs. The
third are people that must have a guardian appointed to
receive funds due the person from any governmental sources.
A person is determined to be
"incapacitated" upon a finding by a court that the person
lacks the capacity to do some, but not necessarily all, or
the tasks necessary to care for himself or herself or to
manage his or her property.
A court may appoint a guardian with full authority over an incapacitated person or may
grant a guardian limited authority over an incapacitated person as indicated by the incapacitated
person's actual mental or physical limitations and only as necessary to promote and protect
the well-being of the person. If the person is not a minor, the court may not use age as the sole
factor in determining whether to appoint a guardian for the person. In creating a guardianship
that gives a guardian limited power or authority over an incapacitated person, the court shall
design the guardianship to encourage the development or maintenance of maximum self-reliance
and independence in the incapacitated person.
Setting Up A Guardianship & Filing an Application for Guardianship
An Application for Guardianship can be filed by any person that does not have an adverse interest
to the proposed ward. This rule is to make it easy for a good Samaritan to help
a person that is unable to help themselves, but to prevent people from attempting to take control over
people that they owe money to or are fighting in a court battle. Most applications for guardianships
are filed and determined in a county court or probate court, however, the determination can be
transferred to District Court. To have a guardian appointed the applicants
must have a medical report from a doctor that states that
the proposed ward is substantially unable to take care of
themselves. This medical report can be obtained prior
to the application or as part of the court's determination.
Drive By Guardianships &
the Race to the Court House
A proceeding for the appointment of a guardian for the person or estate, or both, of an incapacitated
person shall be brought 1) in the county in which the proposed ward resides, or 2 ) is located on the
date the application is filed or 3) in the county in which the principal estate of the proposed ward is
located. If there are multiple counties where the application for a guardianship can be heard, then
the place where the first application is filed controls. Combining this rule with 2) above, we have
instances where a family member is brought for a visit for the purpose of filing for an application to
get the proceeding in a local court. This can be convenient, but also can create races to the court
house for different family members.
The Duties of a Guardian
The duties
of a guardian are not only to take care of the ward or
minor, but to manage the ward's finances or estate.
Included in these duties are accounting reports that must be
filed in managing the ward's finances. The failure to
properly manage the estate or prepare the accounting reports
can be a breach of fiduciary duty and can subject the
guardian to liability for any misspent money or unaccounted
assets.
As an Austin
Guardianship Lawyer, Jason Coomer helps families find
alternatives to guardianships, file applications for
guardianships, contest applications for guardianships, file
breach of fiduciary duty claims against guardians that have
mismanaged or stolen money, and defend guardians that have
been accused of misappropriation of funds.
If someone
close to you is in need of a guardian and needs someone to
take care of their financial affairs or even worse if there are others that are attempting
to wrongfully seize your or someone you love's assets, make sure that there is someone
to look out for your interests. A court appointed
attorney may assist in seeking inventories and obtaining an
accounting as to what has been spent and what needs to be
done to free up property and assets.
Austin Guardian Lawyer, Travis
County Guardianship Application Lawyer, Austin Guardian
Contest Lawyer, Travis County Competence Lawyer, Austin
Contested Guardianship Lawyer, and Austin
Alleged and Proposed Ward Hearing Lawyer
Austin
Texas Guardianship Lawyer, Jason Coomer works with families and friends
that are filing for an Application of Guardianship or are
contesting an Application of Guardianship. For
questions on Applications of Guardianship, Contesting an
Application of Guardianship,
Guardian Fraud,
Guardian Reports, and other Guardianship issues, please e-mail Austin
Guardian Attorney
Jason S. Coomer at
austinguardianlawyer@texaslawyers.com or use our contact form
The Law Offices of Jason S. Coomer.
        
The Law Offices of Jason S.
Coomer, PLLC
406 Sterzing, Second Floor
Austin, Texas 78704
(512) 474-1477
jason@texaslawyers.com
|
