tzoya
Thanks for your input you sound a lot like me- we certainly learn many life lessons with these kids. In Florida you have to go in with an Attorney by Law so I am told. There are alternatives.. if Trever can answer the Question.. Trever do you want your mother to over see all your medical and he says MOM... it could be signed off on for a durable power of atty for medical and finacial, but you have to redo these yearly. It seems that the full gaurdenship is going to be the only way and we will have to input instructions in our Estates and Trever trust to provide for who has rights over that if something happens to us. It just seems to be one of those laws that needs to be changed. A disabled person who is 17-- doesnt normally turn 18 and become un-disabled. Many many laws need to be changed and FLA- stinks majorly so I am told in reguards to care. I am from UpstateNY but have lived here a long time and we are staying. This is why we are trying to start a Respite Ranch in this state... there is NOTHING and group homes are pathedic...and no programs to even assist us in starting our own.
Yes.. I think we all know kids are expensive and I would love to have to buy Trever his first car and pay for college.. however we were robbed of that.
I am talkinga bout someone of my sons level, who is 17 but more like a large 2.5 yr old...doesnt speak but 30 words and no full sentences.Many disabled kids get services, and some could be affected by them turning 18 and becoming a legal adult, if you have a child you have signed papers for.. ...for the last 17 years.... things change when they are 18. You have to stand before a judge and ask to REMAIN their legal guardian so that yoiur signature still matters when it comes to their finacial and medical rights. If you dont... and they can not sign for themselves.... they can loose services. I am talking to others about Alternative gaurdenship-- which is supposed to be less expensive as full gaurdenship-- which also strips theirs rights to vote. Did you knwo that if your disabled child turns 18-- they can actually buy a house in their name and still get many of their services? There is so much the states and Government dont tell us parents!! Check out this site with a bit more info-http://www.expertlaw.com/library/estate_planning/guardi anship.html
I am new to message boards. Thanks for everyones input!
Lanette -- what state do you live in?? Does your son get a disability check? Can he work?When a person turns 18, he is an adult, whether he has the mentality of a 2yo or not. That means, we parents are NOT ALLOWED TO SPEAK WITH THEIR DOCTOR (HIPPA law) unless we are their legal guardians. We MUST go to court in order to get named the guardians. My husband and I will be doing this this year for our 16yo. He has greater skills than Trever appears to have, but he still will not have an adult level of functioning at age 18. I MUST be able to help him advocate for himself. In order to do that, I and my husband must legallly become his guardians. If we don't, he'll be on his own, from a legal standpoint. I don't think we'd even have access to his educational files without his express consent.
A lawyer is not necessary in order to apply for guardianship, but it sure is recommended. It's going to cost us at least that in NY. Florida is not at all unique. Legal guardianship is required by law in every state once a child hits the age of majority if the parents still want to be able to "speak" for the child. And it's not given lightly or necessarily easily by the judge. There have to be at least two physicians reports that say the child is incompetent. For kids with lesser challenges, it's also possible to get power of attorney so that they don't sign contracts, but not guardianship. This is cheap and fairly easy. But for an individual who is simply incapable of any adult-level decisions, guardianship is the way to go.
You might want to speak to the social worker at your child's school to see if there are public agencies which can advise you without your having to spend $$$ on a lawyer. However, if your income is adequate, this is just one of the costs of having a disabled child. Parents of typical children are expected to pay college tuition. We are expected to pay for other things. Kids are expensive.
We were robbed, too. I try to remember, though, that some of the things other parents have to pay for, we don't, so that $$$ can go into the things we DO have to pay for.
There are two issues here and they are not related. One, whether your (or my) son will be capable of making medical, legal and financial decisions for himself in his best interests at age 18. The other is providing for him when you are gone. Those two things are separate. Guardianship is for kids like ours who won't be competent adults. Special needs trusts are financial arrangements and those can be made whether or not the adult offspring needs a guardian. The best thing to do is find a geriatric lawyer who is famliar with disabilities laws in your state. About 4 years ago, we had both of our wills written and a trust fund set up and trustees named for about 00. You don't need to go to court for this. Now we will be seeking guardianship. That will cost another 00 and we WILL need to go to court for that. Each state has different laws on this, but I believe the age of majority is 18 in all states now, so this needs to be done before then. It can be done after then, but that would leave a gap in our authority as parents.
18 is legal in most states... we already have the estates, wills and such in place. I guess I find it hard to believe i have to pay someone 1500-2500 to prove my son needs us to make his decisions for him, I am confident I cam prove that myself in a room with any judge. Those are the fustrating things that we have to endure. My son is 19 we didn't do anything different. What do you have to do? Declare him incompetent? Just asking Lanette heh, jeeze, everytime i read a post from somebody who lives in florida they always have a problem with that state, heh. Well... when u come back, if u do, give us a little more info, i know i am curious to understand this situation. I assued when someone was 18, no matter what, no matter what kind of care u were in until that point, u were legaly an adult and unless requiring care, they were able to make their own choices, their own living arrangements.I want to meet others PARENTS who may HAVE KIDS WHO ARE closing in on the 18 yr age where they become legal adults and you now have to go through gaurdianship and pay 1500$-2000 to tell a judge they didnt fall down and become WELL. Yeah.. only in America!! I am in FLORIDA.