Do you have a Florida estate plan? Did you know that meeting with an estate planning attorney can help you to avoid a Palm Beach guardianship that you do not desire ? Communities Digital News(CDN) recently reported about a former army ranger who says his parents forced him into an unnecessary guardianship. He says he was not mentally incompetent and was able to care for himself. Could you imagine not being allowed to make decisions for yourself?
Guardianships & Estate Planning in Florida
- Guardianships aren’t just for minor children.
- In fact, guardianships for adults are becoming more and more frequent throughout Florida.
- This is probably because people are living longer lives.
- You can pre-determine who will be in charge if you become incapacitated by naming your guardian or successor guardians in your Florida estate planning documents.
- You should coordinate with your revocable trust and power of attorney.
- These documents, if in place, may mean that you don’t need a guardianship even if you can’t care for yourself.
- But what happens when someone who is actually competent wrongly gets appointed a guardian?
Former Army Ranger Wrongly Forced into Guardianship
- Here, a 37 year old named Martin Patterson was struck by lightening.
- However, he recovered and served in Afghanistan the following year,
- His parents believed that the lightning caused him to be mentally impaired and unable to make life decisions for himself.
- They filed a guardianship.
- The court appointed a guardian for Patterson.
- He has since been deemed competent, yet remains in a guardianship where he says over $100,000 has been misused by his parents, ex wife, etc.
- To read the entire article, click here.