This post contains affiliate links.
It’s a tough pill to swallow, but sometimes you may be unable to take care of your elderly parents, especially if they suffer from debilitating health conditions. A good solution, in this case, would be to involve authorities that could take care of every need of your parents. This means that you would make your parent a ward of the state.
To make your parent a ward of the state, you should gather information about your parent’s health, collect a petition outlining why they need a state guardian, and submit it to a courthouse. Afterward, you need to attend hearings where a judge will review the facts and make a decision.
Naturally, you may have many more questions about this critical step. In the rest of this article, I will explain every step in detail and inform you about specific issues that might arise during the process.
1. Consult an Attorney
Making your parent a state ward is a big step that should be considered carefully. In order to make sure you know what you’ll need to do and how much everything will cost, you should ask for help from someone who is familiar with the law and, specifically, elder law.
The attorney will give you an idea of all the steps you’ll need to take, depending on where you or your parent live. They will also give you specific instructions on making your case and what documents you need to provide to convince the court that your parent should become a state ward.
2. Gather Information About Your Parent’s Health
Before you submit any requests to make your elderly parent a ward of the state, you need to make sure you have all the information you need. This information should prove that your parent is incapable of caring for themselves and that nobody in the family or circle of friends can act as a guardian.
To make your case, you should turn to medical professionals who can diagnose your parent and decide if they need another adult to take care of them and make decisions. You can contact different doctors or mental health counselors and ask them to give you recommendations that will help your case. These recommendations will suggest that your parent is incapable of taking care of themselves and making important decisions.
3. Request a Petition To Make Your Parent a State Ward
Once you’ve gathered all the necessary information, it’s time to start taking official steps to confirm that your parent needs guardianship and that they should become a state ward. This will involve the court in the state your parent lives in.
The first step you need to take is to collect a petition for your parent to become a state ward. This petition is available in the nearest courthouse in the county where your parent is living. Depending on the state, the name of the petition may vary, but the court will provide you with instructions.
4. Fill Out the Petition
Collecting a petition means completing a form informing the court of your situation. When you fill out the form, you give your parent’s name and contact information. Additionally, you explain why this adult is no longer capable of making decisions for themselves and why no family, relative, or friend is available to take care of them. 7 Reasons Why Caring for Elderly Parents is So Hard
5. Submit the Petition To Make Your Parent a Ward of the State
When you submit the petition, you will be asked to pay a fee for filing the request. The fee varies, depending on where the parent lives, but it can be around $500. The method of paying this fee also varies. Some counties accept all types of credit cards, while others have preferences; if you’re paying in cash, some counties might not accept any bills larger than $20.
6. Allow the Court To Examine the Case
The court will review the petition, and if they don’t find any issues, they will start the process of examining your case. This will include the court scheduling visits from court-appointed professionals that will do independent examinations of the proposed ward of the state.
Additionally, the court will notify your parent of the petition and appoint an attorney for them unless they refuse counsel. It’s possible that you may be subjected to background checks as part of the court process to make sure you’re acting in good faith.
7. Attend Court Hearings
After examining the case, a hearing will be scheduled, where you will have the chance to submit the information you’ve gathered. A judge will oversee the hearing, and they will be the ones to review all the documents that you will provide. You will need to attend the hearing in person.
You should be in the courthouse because you may have to answer further questions about your parent that the judge may have. Make sure to answer every question truthfully and provide as much information as possible.
8. Wait for the Decision
The judge will take into consideration all the documentation you have provided and the information you’ve given in court and then will finally come to a decision.
If the judge rules that your petition for your parent to become a ward of the state is approved, then the procedures will start to appoint a state guardian to your parent. This guardian, appointed by the state, will take care of them and their money.
The guardian will be responsible for every aspect of your parent’s well-being, from paying rent to taking care of their bills. They will also use the money to provide basic home safety and buy home care products, like the Medical King Bed Assist Rail (available on Amazon), a high-quality, convenient device that makes the life of your elderly parent easier. Naturally, the guardian will have your parent’s best interest in mind and protect them from being taken advantage of.
Final Thoughts
It’s not an easy decision to make, but sometimes you have no other choice but to request for your parent to become a ward of the state. This means that they will be appointed a state guardian who will take care of them.
In order to start proceedings, you need to consult an attorney first to make sure you will take the proper steps. Next, you need to gather medical information about your parent and submit a petition requesting state guardianship. After submitting the form, you’ll attend a hearing by a judge and wait for the verdict.
Tenuto Properties LLC dba Growing Gray USA is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We also participate in other affiliate programs which compensate us for referring traffic.