With all the budget cuts and the increase in the number of cases before the courts, it may take some time before your guardianship application can be processed. If your situation is extreme, you may be able to request the appointment of an emergency guardian. The procedures for emergency custody are outlined in the Minnesota Statue 524.5-311. Each county does things a little differently. For example, emergency guardianship is rarely granted in Hennepin County. In other counties, including Wright County and Sherburne County, emergency guardianship is granted in the appropriate situation. Essentially, the courts review the urgent application and decide whether the proposed ward will suffer significant harm before the court can hold a full hearing on the guardianship application. I have received emergency requests when seniors who clearly have advanced dementia put themselves at risk at home (cooking food and leaving burners on overnight, or hiking outside their homes in sub-zero temperatures without proper winter clothing, etc.). There is no hard and fast rule as to whether a court grants urgent applications. It is very specific to the case – depending on the concrete facts of the case and the time it takes for the general application to be heard.
If you are considering filing an emergency guardianship, contact a lawyer to have your particular case assessed. CIP promoters can help families understand the guardianship process, connect with the right places, create resource lists, and learn and understand the required annual documents. Tutors and curators must exercise their powers in the best interests of the ward or protected person. The powers and duties of a tutor or those that the court may delegate to a curator include, but are not limited to: Emergency tutorship is granted for a certain period. This is usually a short period of time. Emergency guardianship is in the event that there is a risk of imminent danger to the personal safety of a person with a disability. It is usually used to protect the person from danger for the few weeks they have to wait for the standard application to be processed. If you have a guardian or know someone who has a guardian, but you think the guardian is no longer needed, you can apply to the court to have the guardianship revoked. Although the MN Act provides a procedure for obtaining guardianship of a child with a developmental disability who is about to reach the age of 18, this is not always necessary.
Parents are often advised to seek guardianship in such circumstances, and are often told that they will not be able to talk to their son or daughter`s medical care providers, that they will not be able to prevent their offspring from entering into a contract, that the adult child will no longer have access to government or educational services, or that they will not be able to: participate in the life of their adult child, unless they are appointed as legal guardians. Within two months of the appointment, the registrar of the estate must submit to the court an inventory of the protected person`s real estate and personal property. MS 524.5-419. A court order, after hearing and notice, is required before an estate registrar can sell, pledge or lease real estate to the protected person. MS 524.5-418 A. The guardian must notify the ward and interested persons by mail before disposing of clothing, furniture, vehicles or other personal effects from the terminal. MS 524.5-313 (c) (3). This pre-recorded webinar from The Arc Minnesota provides important information about guardianship. This could include clarifying the role and boundaries of the tutor/conservator; find a compromise that both parties can live with; or develop plans to resolve the issue and reassess it later. It can be helpful to write down your concerns first and clarify in your mind what the issues are to keep the conversation focused when talking to the tutor/restorer.
