Regardless of your young adult’s disability, once your child turns 18, the law presumes that the child possesses the capacity to make any and all decisions regarding their person and their finances. When a person turns 18, and the parent has not done anything to secure guardianship, then that person is a legal adult. They can enter contracts, refuse services (including medical), and sign leases. Basically they can do anything that any other adult can do. In some cases, you may be able to undo what it is that needs to be undone, but it will take time and money. Better to be proactive than reactive.
To start the guardianship process, you will need to file a Petition for Appointment of Guardian and this requires the following:
1. Petition for Appointment of Guardian, Individual with alleged Developmental Disability; For an Adobe PDF version, click here.
2. Physical Appraisal Form (Completed by the individual’s doctor); For an Adobe PDF version, click here.
3. Report to Accompany Petition to Appoint… (Complete by the psychologist, social worker, CMH support coordinator. The person who completes this form is subpoenaed to testify at the guardianship hearing.); For an Adobe PDF version, click here. For more information about this process and a list of suggested psychologists, scroll to the Evaluators for Developmental Disability Cases section below.
4. Psychological Evaluation (test/evaluation report completed by the psychologist).
ALL PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATIONS, REPORTS, AND PHYSICAL MUST BE DONE WITHIN THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS (1 YEAR).
You may mail or personally file the Petition with the court. THERE IS NO FILING FEE. The court address is:
Macomb County Probate Court-Mental Division
21850 Dunham Rd.
Mt. Clemens, Michigan 48043
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact the court; Mary Beth Kehrig is the DD Guardianship Coordinator and can be reached at 586/469-5320 or visit the Probate Court official website by clicking HERE.
Once a Petition for Guardianship has been filed, the Court will appoint an attorney for your young adult who will act on their behalf. The attorney will contact you and make arrangements to meet with you at your home. The attorney will visit with your young adult to explain the Guardianshp Petition and his or her rights. They will determine whether the ward agrees with the Guardianship or objects to it. Then the attorney will submit a written report to the Court before the hearing.
It can take up to 6 weeks to get on the docket for a Guardianship hearing. The Court will send notices to you, your young adult, the psychologist that conducted the evaluations, and your young adults attorney with all the necessary information regarding the date and time of the hearing.
Once Guardianship is awarded there are two very important things to remember:
- You must update the Guardianship papers every year by filing an Annual Report. Guardians are required to file with the Court an Annual Report. This is due on the expiration date of your Letters of Guardianship. The Court will send you blank copies of this report for you to complete for the next four years when they send out your initial Letters of Guardianship. They do not send out a reminder notice. Once the report has been approved and updated, you will want to provide copies of these updated papers to your young adults school, the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (if you are receiving services from them), and any other agencies that provide CLS/Respite services.
- Your Letters of Guardianship expire after 5 years and you will need to reapply for Guardianship as noted above.
Evaluators for Developmental Disability Cases
The law requires that a qualified physician or psychologist take part in evaluating individuals with developmental disabilities. If you need assistance in this regard, you may contact your community mental health (CMH) caseworker, your child’s school psychologist, your own psychologist, or one of the psychologists listed below. When making the appointment for your young adult, indicate that he/she is indigent and has no money of their own so that there will be no charge for the evaluations. Each of the psychologists listed below has indicated their willingness to perform the necessary evaluations and to testify at the court hearing. All evaluations must be done within one year of the filing of the petition. Call the evaluator or the court if you have questions regarding the testing procedure, costs and fees.
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