protecting what’s most important to you

Guardianship is the legal process that allows a court to appoint a guardian on behalf of a person who is unable to make decisions and/or care for himself or herself personally or financially.

This could be due to reasons including but not limited to physical and mental disabilities. As a part of the process, the court appoints an attorney to represent the alleged disabled person and their interests. The party asking for the guardianship could be a person or an institution (for example a hospital). If guardianship over the alleged disabled person is granted, the guardian can be a family member, friend, or professional who has a particular relationship with the alleged disabled person, or a representative of the state. The appointed guardian then has the ability to make decisions on behalf of the disabled person.

The guardian’s authority is dictated by whether she is guardian of “the person” or guardian of “the property.” Guardians of the person make decisions for the person regarding things like housing and medical care. Guardians of the property have control over the management of the person’s financial affairs and assets.

Success Stories

Gaining Physical Custody in Relocation Case

Challenge

The mother of our client’s children planned to move away for a new job opportunity, taking the children with her. She had been the primary parent, so our client wished to gain sole physical custody of the children, allowing them to remain in the DC area.

Strategy

Lerch Early argued before the court that the children would be best served to stay in this area with their father. We worked with key experts to demonstrate that a move to the new location would be detrimental to the children’s interests.

Result

The judge awarded sole physical custody to our client, allowing the children to remain in the environment where they attended school and had friends.

Insights