Law Commons^™

Guardianships Vs. Special Needs Trusts, And Other Protective Arrangements: Ensuring Judicial Accountability And Beneficiary Autonomy, Robert Dinerstein, Frank A. Johns, Patricia E. Kefalas Dudek

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

This article focuses on rising tensions and conflicts (perceived and actual) occurring among guardianships, special needs trusts (SNT) and other protective arrangements. The authors focus on three distinctly different applications, guiding participants through 1) Guardianship versus an SNT; 2) Supported decision-making versus an SNT; and 3) Guardianship versus other less restrictive options, including, but not limited to, an Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account, a representative payee, and a pooled SNT.

Vermont: Collaborating To Educate Self-Advocates About Alternatives To Guardianship, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

This promising practice describes Vermont’s statewide self-advocacy organization, Green Mountain Self-Advocates (GMSA), and their partnership with the Vermont Disability Law Project to organize legal clinics for people with IDD. These clinics have enabled self-advocates to get high-quality, easy-to-understand information about alternatives to guardianship they might not get anywhere else.

The Pro Bono Collaborative Project Spotlight: Rwu Law Alums Providing Pro Bono Through The Pbc (September 20, 2018), Roger Williams University School Of Law

Pro Bono Collaborative Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Finding Autonomy: The Impact Of Judicial Discretion For Disabled Individuals In The American Guardianship System, Katherine Davis

Political Science Honors Projects

This study examines the conflict between guardianship and the American disability rights movement, specifically the shift from a medical to a capability model of disability. Legal guardianship presents judges with a dilemma of favoring individual autonomy or societal protection. This dichotomy manifests in the construction of state statutes where legislators can influence judicial discretion and sway decisions. Through analysis of state statutes, case law, and interviews with judges in Connecticut and Minnesota, this study found that higher levels of discretion do not necessarily translate to increased protection of individual autonomy or the use of alternatives to guardianship. The research points …

Processing Disability, Jasmine E. Harris

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article argues that the practice of holding so many adjudicative proceedings related to disability in private settings (e.g., guardianship, special education due process, civil commitment, and social security) relative to our strong normative presumption of public access to adjudication may cultivate and perpetuate stigma in contravention of the goals of inclusion and enhanced agency set forth in antidiscrimination laws. Descriptively, the law has a complicated history with disability — initially rendering disability invisible, later, legitimizing particular narratives of disability synonymous with incapacity, and, in recent history, advancing full socio-economic visibility of people with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act, …

Implementing Legal Capacity Under Article 12 Of The Un Convention On The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities: The Difficult Road From Guardianship To Supported Decision-Making, Robert Dinerstein

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

No abstract provided.

Promoting Judicial Acceptance And Use Of Limited Guardianship, Lawrence A. Frolik

Articles

Guardianship comes within the special province of judges. In the great majority of guardianship hearings, there is no jury. The presiding judge is the sole arbiter of whether the alleged incapacitated person meets the legal standard of mental incapacity and whether that person would benefit from the appointment of a guardian. If a guardian is appointed, the judge determines the type and extent of the powers granted to the guardian. Of course, the judge is not simply free to follow his or her own instincts or desires, for the judge is bound to determine the facts carefully and apply the …