July 23, 2020

Planning for an estate is important for everyone, but especially if you are the caretaker of an adult with disabilities, it’s important to ensure all the documents are lined up to protect this person. The guidance of guardianship estate planning statutes can enable a court-appointed guardian of a disabled adult to put together estate plans for those adults based on a petition to the court. Across the U.S., there are thirty-two states with provisions on the books that enable estate planning to be formally handled by a guardian on behalf of a disabled party.

While these 32 states do have laws on the books about these issues, those statutes usually fall into two general categories. For the first set of states, statutes allow guardians to have broad power over estate planning issues on behalf of a disabled adult.This can include carrying out trusts, codicils, and wills. Only a handful of these states, however, allow the guardian to actually make the will on behalf of the disabled party.

The second grouping of states include those that have either left out of the power to make the will in an implied or expressed manner. This means that the ability to make a will is either not mentioned or has been expressly prohibited as something that a guardian can do on behalf of any adult with a disability.

Estate planning is not always a power that an appointed guardian can do for a disabled adult. This includes creating a will but also incorporates other kinds of estate planning powers.

If you are interested in being appointed as a guardian for an adult in your family who lives with disabilities, it’s important to sit down with a trusted estate planning attorney to discuss your options. Knowing exactly what you can and cannot do when appointed in this role will give you some clarity and allow you to accomplish what is needed on behalf of an adult with a disability. Need more help? Our NJ estate planning law office is here to help you.