WASHINGTON, Nov. 14, 2023 – The American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging recently published book, “Defense Against Guardianship: A Lawyer’s Guide to Representing Individuals in Guardianship Cases,” is a handbook for lawyers to use as a resource when developing a defense for a client in response to a guardianship action.
“Defense work is about the law, about due process, but more importantly in guardianship defense, it is about human and constitutional rights,” said David Godfrey, a co-author of the book and director of the ABA Commission on Law and Aging. “We need to view these cases as being about preserving the dignity of choice that should be a fundamental human right.
The book is a practical guide and offers instructions on various steps in a guardianship case, including:
- How to avoid the initial appointment of a guardian
- Understanding the basics of capacity
- Durable power of attorney as a defense tool against an adult guardianship
- Health care decision-making
- Avoiding guardianship through financial management
- Considering actual abilities
- Interventions prior to a guardianship hearing
- Witnesses
- Court proceedings
- Modifications and terminations
- Defense strategies
- Picking the best guardian when all else fails
The handbook is dedicated to “the pursuit of justice for the millions of adults who have had their rights and dignity stripped from them.”
Title: “Defense Against Guardianship: A Lawyer's Guide to Representing Individuals in Guardianship Cases”
Publisher: ABA Commission on Law and Aging
Pages: 142
Product Code: 4280033
ISBN: 9781639054213
Size: 6 x 9
Binding: Paperback
Price: $44.95 members/ $49.95 nonmembers
Orders: ABA Webstore
This is the second book published by COLA. The first, “Assessment of Older Adults with Diminished Capacities: A Handbook for Lawyers,” is in its second edition.
“We thank both the Borchard Foundation Center on Law and Aging and the Foundation of Philanthropic Funds for providing funding for the development of this handbook,” said Robyn Shapiro, chair of the Commission on Law and Aging. “Without their support, this important work likely would not have come to fruition. We believe that the handbook will make a real difference in guardianship defense work across the country.”
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