Guardianships
In an ideal world, everyone would see an estate planning attorney and establish a plan for the management of one’s financial and medical affairs, well in advance of actually needing any assistance with same. However, many people never take this step. If such a person becomes partially or totally incapacitated, and it becomes necessary for one or more family members to begin to manage such individual’s affairs, the family’s only option will be to proceed to court to attempt to be appointed as such individual’s guardian. The court system takes the appointment of guardians quite seriously, requiring the submission of formal pleadings, evidentiary proof, testimony from family members and doctors, and reports from independent third parties appointed by the court. The process is generally not one that an individual can navigate without legal assistance. The attorneys at Bennett Law LLC can guide you through the process, making it as simple and pain free as possible.
Adult Adoptions
Not many people are aware that a person may be adopted as an adult. In the course of estate planning, we often discover close relationships between parent and stepchild, aunt and niece, or long time family friends. That relationship may be as close, or closer than, that which many adults experience with their biological parents. Furthermore, there are many defaults and assumptions under the law when it comes to rights of inheritance. Unless the parent-child relationship legally exists, these rights are not available. As a result, for both emotional and legal reasons, the attorneys at Bennett Law regularly counsel clients through the adult adoption process, which requires submission to the appropriate court and hearings in front of a presiding judge.