A mentally incapacitated loved one can be such a difficult experience that it can really create an emotional hardship on the family. The Austin guardanship lawyers at the Law Office of Willie & Dasher's top goal is to work with our clients to avoid the often confrontational, incredibly time consuming remedy called a guardianship.

I often tell clients that whatever your motivation for setting up an estate plan, your greatest motivating factor should be to avoid an adversarial court proceeding called a guardianship, where you have a court declare your loved one incompetent. It is heartbreaking to go through. It is also expensive and highly time consuming.

Let’s face it, no one wants constant court supervision over their financial and personal affairs. But with a guardianship, that’s exactly what you get. A court-appointed guardian is put in place to act on behalf of a mentally incapacitated individual.

Many times, drafting the proper estate planning documents with the correct powers can avoid a guardianship. But so often, people wait until it’s too late. At that point, the only choice is to seek a court-appointed guardianship.

The Law Office of Willie & Dasher works to establish guardianships where an individual has lost mental capacity and there are no appropriate power of attorney documents in place. Sometimes the named agent in the power of attorney document is abusing their authority and a guardianship is appropriate.

The Austin, TX Guardianship attorneys at the Law Office of Willie & Dasher work to establish two types of guardianships in Texas:

(1) guardianship of the person and (2) guardianship of the estate. The guardian of the person helps make personal and medical decisions of the incapacitated person. The guardian of the estate is in charge of handling all financial decision making.

It’s important to note that this can be a big burden for the named guardian. Why? Because there is significant court interference, a bond must be posted, and accountings must be provided to the court. The court will want to know where every penny went, and will likely require you to get permission to give the incapacitated person an allowance, to sell their house and much more.

Guardianships in Texas are a very complicated issue and require skilled counsel. The Law Office of Willie & Dasher is experienced at establishing guardianships and can help your family navigate through this trying time.

If you would like to discuss a family situation that may give rise to the necessity to file a guardianship proceeding, please call us today at 512-478-0834.

Or you may fill out the contact form on this page, and we'll get back with you promptly.