Our Law Office has over 35 years in dealing with these matters and can help families and individuals once an initial assessment has been completed. We can assist with Guardianship Applications, Substitute Decision Making packages and by preparing Powers of Attorney for Property and Personal Care.
Our clients seek out guardianship applications for various reasons. For example, when their adult child is not competent to be the holder of his or her own Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP), a guardianship application should be made given that only a legal parent or representative can be the holder of an RDSP.
When executing a Power of Attorney document, a person can choose whom they want to act as their attorney, if the person has the capacity to make this decision. A Guardianship application should be made when a loved one is incapable of making this decision and is therefore unable to execute a Power of Attorney. In a guardianship proceeding, it is the court that makes this decision. It is reasonable for parents who have been the primary caregivers for their disabled child, who cannot make any decisions for themselves, to start contemplating whether they should pursue a guardianship application when he or she turns 18 years old and is recognized as an adult. A Guardianship application will preserve their ability to continue making decisions that are in the best interests of their child.
People with disabilities should be provided with accommodations and supports to ensure that that they are able to exercise their legal capacity to the greatest extent possible. Our Law Office assists families and individuals to manage their health care, property and financial decisions. Our office helps to determine what can be done for those who are mentally incompetent and to assist those who are currently competent and wish to plan for the future in case they become incompetent.
There are several types of decision-making methods that operate in Ontario which include; Substitute Decision Making for health care decisions, personal appointments for Power of Attorney for Property and Personal Care (which are made before a person becomes mentally incompetent) and Guardianship Appointments for a family member by an Application to the Court.
A Guardianship application begins with a Capacity Assessment. A Capacity Assessment refers to a legal assessment of a person’s ability to understand information that is relevant to making a decision and his/her ability to appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences of a decision or a lack of decision regarding property and/or any of the domains of personal care. If a person is deemed to be incompetent then our office can assist with the Court Application Process.
A Substitute Decision Maker is required when a health care professional proposing a treatment is not satisfied that the person is capable of making an informed treatment decision. Our Office assists families by creating a formal package to give to a loved ones doctors that will show that the parent is in fact a legal Substitute Decision Maker, as provided in the Health Care Consent Act.
Generally, the law is designed to: