Advice about Guardianship
April 26, 2011 7:36 PM Subscribe
Can you recommend resources regarding Guardianship proceedings for an autistic child turning 18 at the end of the year? (You are not my lawyer, I'm not looking for legal advice, I am seeing a lawyer next week; here I am just looking for advice / experiences from other families who have been through this process.)
My seventeen year old son is autistic. Barring a dramatic breakthrough in medical research, he will never be able to function independently. His mother and I are divorced, with joint custody. We know that upon his 18th birthday we need to apply for Guardianship in order to continue taking care of him appropriately. I did not realize until today (when I spoke to an attorney on the phone) that only *one* of us can be declared the guardian, which makes me vaguely unsettled. Now that makes me wonder what other potential pitfalls are lurking out there that I have not considered.
We will get the guardianship sorted out, there is plenty of time before his 18th birthday, and we will also sort out any Trusts that need to happen, as well as getting him into SSDI. It's just a big, scary year that has come up far more quickly than I ever imagined it would.
Have any other MeFites been through this process? Is there anything that you wish you would have known in retrospect, or would have done differently or prepared for differently?
How about divorced parents dealing with the single guardianship issue? What happens if the non-guardian parent disagrees with any given decision? Do they have any recourse, or do they just get to go pound sand?
My seventeen year old son is autistic. Barring a dramatic breakthrough in medical research, he will never be able to function independently. His mother and I are divorced, with joint custody. We know that upon his 18th birthday we need to apply for Guardianship in order to continue taking care of him appropriately. I did not realize until today (when I spoke to an attorney on the phone) that only *one* of us can be declared the guardian, which makes me vaguely unsettled. Now that makes me wonder what other potential pitfalls are lurking out there that I have not considered.
We will get the guardianship sorted out, there is plenty of time before his 18th birthday, and we will also sort out any Trusts that need to happen, as well as getting him into SSDI. It's just a big, scary year that has come up far more quickly than I ever imagined it would.
Have any other MeFites been through this process? Is there anything that you wish you would have known in retrospect, or would have done differently or prepared for differently?
How about divorced parents dealing with the single guardianship issue? What happens if the non-guardian parent disagrees with any given decision? Do they have any recourse, or do they just get to go pound sand?
My parents went through this with my brother over 20 years ago. Until my mother passed, they had co-guardianship, and now my father and I share guardianship. The ability to have co-guardians may vary state-to-state, but I'd recommend getting in touch with a national or state/local organization geared toward advocacy - such as Autism Speaks - to get some guidance around the guardianship process in addition to what your attorney may have to say. We've found, as a family, that this type of resource is invaluable.
posted by pammeke at 7:49 PM on April 26, 2011
posted by pammeke at 7:49 PM on April 26, 2011
My son also has autism but is 11. What state are you in? As someone above said your local agencies are a good resource, I have several in FL or you can go to the national organizations such as mentioned, autism speaks, national autism society, etc. If you'd like to tell your state I can help you find some local resources. As for a more personal opinion, why dont you google some autism forums, there are tons, and seek out a section on older kids and ask? I guarantee you will get responses. autism-pdd.net is one, autismweb.com/forums, www.autismspeaks.org/community/forums/index.php. Facebook has a great autism and aspergers group as well.
posted by cerebral at 8:06 PM on April 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by cerebral at 8:06 PM on April 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
My bad, I see from your profile you too are in FL. first suggestion, call CARD. Are you in touch with them? The CARD "person" is usually very nice and able to tackle any question you may have. Also, Family Network on Disabilities should be able to directly put you in touch with another parents who has been through it, fndfl.org. Great organization. Autismsocietyofflorida.com, another good place you can directly talk to parents. http://www.autism-pdd.net/links/florida.html. If you still need info I am sure I can probably dig up a parent for you to talk to.
posted by cerebral at 8:12 PM on April 26, 2011
posted by cerebral at 8:12 PM on April 26, 2011
Response by poster: Huh, I contacted CARD when we first moved to Florida. I didn't find them to be particularly helpful, their website was a mess, and the resource document they sent me was years out of date. Maybe I just had a bad experience.
I will look at those forums, thank you.
posted by Lokheed at 5:15 AM on April 27, 2011
I will look at those forums, thank you.
posted by Lokheed at 5:15 AM on April 27, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
What I do know is that it's routine for your first SSDI application to be denied, then approved on appeal, so don't just drop it when/if your first try gets denied.
posted by thirteenkiller at 7:46 PM on April 26, 2011