Does More Than One Person Want To Be Guardian?

Frequently, guardianship litigation arises when multiple family members want to serve as guardian.  For instance, when the elderly mother of three adult children develops Alzheimer’s and can no longer care for herself, all three of her children have an equal right under the law to serve as her guardian.  Unfortunately, the concern that each child feels for providing care for their mother can often turn into jealousy or distrust of their other siblings.  When it does, the siblings frequently hire separate lawyers to convince the Court that they are the appropriate person to serve as guardian and their sibling(s) is not a good choice.

A potential guardian must be qualified to serve, and they must not be disqualified from serving for some reason.  Factors that might disqualify a guardian would include certain criminal history, being indebted to the incapacitated person, and being someone that the court finds unsuitable.  Allegations that one sibling or another is unsuitable to serve as guardian generally involve concerns over their history of interactions with their mother, their own financial problems, and testimony from family members and friends as to who might do the best job taking care of their mother.  As you can imagine, these disputes can be very emotional and require a significant degree of empathy from the lawyers involved in the cases.

For more information about this matter, call 713-260-3926 or send an email.

Contesting Guardianship Decisions

A discussed elsewhere in this site, a guardianship is established to appoint someone to make medical and/or financial decisions for someone who lacks the capacity to make those decisions on their own.  This could exist when a minor child inherits property, or more frequently, a guardianship is necessary when an elderly adult is no longer able to care for themselves.  In too many cases, multiple people may desire to serve as the guardian for someone, and litigation arises between those people.

Guardianship litigation cases may bring clients in for a variety of reasons:  as a guardian, as an incapacitated ward or intended ward, or as someone watching out for the rights of the vulnerable person. Guardianship disputes often involve strong disagreements within families. In our firm’s 20 years of experience handling guardianship litigation, we have seen countless scenarios that each requires compassion toward the incapacitated person coupled with tough advocacy for the client looking to protect their interests.

Are you someone for whom others seek to establish a guardianship, and you object? Or are you an advocate for such a person? You may be a caring relative who believes a guardian has abused his or her powers. Ask for personalized advice from one of our experienced guardianship litigators.

Schedule A Consultation

Bring the facts of your case to share at your initial meeting with one of our attorneys in Houston, Dallas or Austin. We advocate for people in these and many communities throughout Texas. Call 713-260-3926 or inquire online to arrange for a case review.