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More Planning, More Worries on Guardianship details
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<blockquote data-quote="gsingjane" data-source="post: 584350" data-attributes="member: 15986"><p>Well, bear in mind that I'm almost certainly not admitted to practice law in your state, and that this is also not my area (so this isn't legal advice!) However, at least in terms of what I've seen in practice, once a person is 18 years of age, his or her parents are not legally responsible for anything that he or she does. A few potential situations come to mind that might entail some liability on your part - first, if there is an accident, injury, or intentional wrong-doing (such as an assault) that takes place, caused by your difficult child, on your property. There, I could see a plaintiff claiming against you with hopes of recovering on your homeowners insurance.</p><p></p><p>Second would be if your difficult child commits a violation or causes an accident using your vehicle. There, again, there would be a claim against your auto policy.</p><p></p><p>Outside of those situations, however, unless there are some strange circumstances that I'm not aware of, you have no legal responsibility for the actions of your difficult child once she reaches the age of 18. In point of fact, parents' liability for their minor children is also not unlimited, although that varies by jurisdiction.</p><p></p><p>I'd be very surprised if, in the absence of some real, threatened physical harm (and probably not even then), your state would have much of an interest in stepping in to become your difficult child's guardian or responsible for her in any way. Once she turns 18, the legal responsibility for her actions will shift to her and her alone. You mention having your difficult child declared a "ward of the state;" outside of the minor context, I'm not aware that's available but again, perhaps in your state things are different. In New York State, for instance, someone can be declared incompetent and the court will appoint a guardian to manage the person and her property. If your thought is that you'd like the state to serve as guardian, I'd recommend contacting your state's Department of Mental Hygiene to get started. Having someone declared incompetent is not easy and will definitely involve going to court.</p><p> </p><p>All that said, practically speaking, of course, if your difficult child gets into legal trouble once she's an adult, you may feel a moral responsibility to pay for attorneys, court costs, bail, bonds, etc. You may wish, for instance, to provide a private attorney for her rather than a public defender, or to bail her out of jail rather than letting her stay there pending trial. Having a guardian appointed for her will not change any of that. I understand the worry and the fear, believe me I do, but unless your difficult child is locked away somewhere, this possibility will always be "out there."</p><p></p><p>Hopefully the fact that once she's 18, you won't have legal responsibility for her actions, will put your mind somewhat at rest and you will not feel quite so worried that your difficult child will require a guardian. Good luck to you!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="gsingjane, post: 584350, member: 15986"] Well, bear in mind that I'm almost certainly not admitted to practice law in your state, and that this is also not my area (so this isn't legal advice!) However, at least in terms of what I've seen in practice, once a person is 18 years of age, his or her parents are not legally responsible for anything that he or she does. A few potential situations come to mind that might entail some liability on your part - first, if there is an accident, injury, or intentional wrong-doing (such as an assault) that takes place, caused by your difficult child, on your property. There, I could see a plaintiff claiming against you with hopes of recovering on your homeowners insurance. Second would be if your difficult child commits a violation or causes an accident using your vehicle. There, again, there would be a claim against your auto policy. Outside of those situations, however, unless there are some strange circumstances that I'm not aware of, you have no legal responsibility for the actions of your difficult child once she reaches the age of 18. In point of fact, parents' liability for their minor children is also not unlimited, although that varies by jurisdiction. I'd be very surprised if, in the absence of some real, threatened physical harm (and probably not even then), your state would have much of an interest in stepping in to become your difficult child's guardian or responsible for her in any way. Once she turns 18, the legal responsibility for her actions will shift to her and her alone. You mention having your difficult child declared a "ward of the state;" outside of the minor context, I'm not aware that's available but again, perhaps in your state things are different. In New York State, for instance, someone can be declared incompetent and the court will appoint a guardian to manage the person and her property. If your thought is that you'd like the state to serve as guardian, I'd recommend contacting your state's Department of Mental Hygiene to get started. Having someone declared incompetent is not easy and will definitely involve going to court. All that said, practically speaking, of course, if your difficult child gets into legal trouble once she's an adult, you may feel a moral responsibility to pay for attorneys, court costs, bail, bonds, etc. You may wish, for instance, to provide a private attorney for her rather than a public defender, or to bail her out of jail rather than letting her stay there pending trial. Having a guardian appointed for her will not change any of that. I understand the worry and the fear, believe me I do, but unless your difficult child is locked away somewhere, this possibility will always be "out there." Hopefully the fact that once she's 18, you won't have legal responsibility for her actions, will put your mind somewhat at rest and you will not feel quite so worried that your difficult child will require a guardian. Good luck to you! [/QUOTE]
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