I work at a nursing home in Massachusetts and have come to know an elderly resident there very well. Her niece has come to visit every so often over the last year or so, but she never ever came to visit before the resident's husband died nearly 18 months ago. My friend, the resident, has mild dementia, but does pretty well for herself and seems able to make decisions from day to day. Recently the niece has mentioned to other nurses that she thinks she may have to get appointed guardian for the resident. This is none of my business, but I don't trust the niece. Even if my friend does need a guardian I'm not sure it should be the niece. My question is whether the court will appoint an attorney to help her if the niece tries to become guardian so she can get at the resident's money and assets? Thank you.
Submitted by MAnurse44 on Mon, 11/14/2011 - 10:47
Posted in
Appointment of attorney in petition for conservator
Just to be clear, under the new Massachusetts Probate Code, there is a distinction between a guardian and a conservator. Generally, a conservator is appointed by a court to manage the "estate" of a person, what we generally think of as the person's property, business affairs, and finances.
In any case, if the niece attempts to become your friend's conservator, your friend is certainly entitled to hire counsel to help her object to the appointment. Also, under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 190B, Section 5-106(a), the court is required to appoint counsel in any proceeding regarding the appointment of a guardian or conservator if the ward (person to be protected) OR someone else, on her behalf, requests an attorney. Finally, the court may also, on its own initiative, appoint an attorney if the court determines at any time during the proceedings that the ward is not adequately represented.
The court will determine who should pay for the attorney. Generally, the person to be protected or her estate will pay if there are adequate funds. However, the court may order the petitioner to pay or, in cases where the person to be protected is indigent, the Commonwealth may pick up the tab. Hope that helps.