In our latest newsletter, we advised families to not avoid getting a dementia diagnosis. For many reasons, a timely diagnosis of dementia can be crucial. Of course, finding quality providers who can assist with testing, diagnosing and treating can be tricky. There are about…
Category: Resources for Professionals
Understanding Guardianships: Who is appointed as guardian?
Once a judge has deemed a ward to be incompetent and has agreed that a guardianship should be in place, the judge has to appoint an appropriate guardian. There are some restrictions on who can be appointed as a guardian in Georgia. Only individuals (not…
Understanding Guardianships: What if there is no guardian available? Won’t DFCS be named as the guardian?
We often hear from healthcare professionals and long-term care providers who are concerned about incapacitated individuals needing a guardian and having no family or friends available to help them. What happens when an adult can no longer make his/her own decisions but there is no…
Understanding Guardianships: Who can file for guardianships? Must an attorney be involved?
In most situations, Georgia requires that two people file for guardianship. This can be any two persons who will swear to the facts in the petition, or any one person along with a physician’s, licensed clinical social worker’s, or psychologist’s affidavit stating that he or…
How is Competency Determined by a Court?
Only a person deemed to be incompetent by a judge can have a guardian or conservator named over him/her. The Georgia code states, “The court may appoint a guardian for an adult only if the court finds the adult lacks sufficient capacity to make or…
Beneficiary Designations Will Overrule Your Will
It is important to keep in mind that not all assets are affected by the terms of a will. Bank accounts, trusts, and retirement accounts that have designated beneficiaries transfer to the beneficiaries; these assets never go through probate if they have another way of…