Areas of Practice
Estate Planning
Elder Law
Will & Trust
Probate
Guardianships
Family Law
Business Law
Real Estate
Estate Planning
Elder Law
Will & Trust
Probate
Guardianships
Family Law
Business Law
Real Estate
Contact Information:
William B.C. Pittenger
8595 Meadow Hill Drive
Frisco, TX 75034
972-335-9473
972-335-0073 (Fax)
e-mail
William B.C. Pittenger
8595 Meadow Hill Drive
Frisco, TX 75034
972-335-9473
972-335-0073 (Fax)
Guardianships can be caused by the need for a guardian of the person or estate of a minor child who inherits money outside of a trust. Guardianships last until age 18 of a child unless the child is mentally disabled and in that case may last for many years. The person serving as Guardian may be a parent or if no parents are living, it may be an older sibling or another relative close to the family. If there is money to be managed, the Guardian must qualify with the Probate Court to serve (and not be a disqualified person) and must post a bond, do annual accountings, reports, Inventory of assets and applications for allowances to be used for the child (called a Ward). Nothing can be done without Court approval. Upon attaining age 18, the guardianship would be terminated and assets distributed after a Final Accounting unto the child.
All of the above can be avoided many times if there is a Trust already in place for a child to manage assets for them or if not, in some cases of accidents, there would be a court created trust.
Guardianships of Elderly or Disabled Persons
It may become a necessity to have a Guardianship of the Person or Estate (or both) for an adult to manage their affairs and look after personal needs. If the person is found to be competent by a qualified physician, that person may want to have a Trust created to manage their financial affairs, which is much more flexible and has no court control. We have had guardianship contests between siblings over who will be the guardian of a parent and such contests are very difficult on all of the parties and much more expensive than having other arrangements such as a Trust. We think that a trust is a much better solution to avoid future guardianship fights as the real issue usually is access to the assets by the children who are in Court over these issues.
Planning NOW is much better than having issues arise at a much later time.
