Guardianship Terms

Guardianship Glossary

Case/Care Management - Geriatric care management is a profession dedicated to assisting elderly people and their families develop plans for long-term care and living arrangements. Care management also involves assessment of needs, coordination, and management of daily and long-term support services.

Fiduciary - A fiduciary is a person or institution given the power to act on behalf of another in situations that require great trust, honesty and loyalty. Fiduciaries you may already be familiar with include accountants, attorneys, bankers, business advisors, financial advisors, mortgage brokers and real estate agents. These individuals are hired to act in your best interest and must set aside their own personal motives in favor of your goals.

Guardian - In the simplest terms a guardian is a person who is responsible for the care of someone else. The most common example of a guardian is the relationship between a parent and child.

Guardianship - The management of the affairs of someone who has been judged unable to manage their own affairs. Generally guardianship is ordered by a court on behalf of someone who is called a ward of the court. A guardian assumes the rights of the ward to make decisions about many aspects of daily life. A guardian is directed by ethics and statute to make decisions in the best interest of the ward.

Living Trust - A living trust, also known as a revocable trust, is an alternative to a will for the distribution of one's assets. During the owner's lifetime, property can be transferred in and out of the trust by the owner. After the owner's death, the trust cannot be revoked and the property owned by the trust is not subject to probate.

Living Wills - A living will (not a living trust) is a properly witnessed written declaration directing the withholding or withdrawal of life prolonging procedures in the event one should have a terminal condition. In Florida, the definition of "life prolonging procedures" has been expanded by the legislature to include the provision of food and water to terminally ill patients. Once the living will has been witnessed and signed, it is the responsibility of the maker to notify his or her physician of its existence. It is an even better idea to provide both the physician and the hospital with copies of the document. A living will may be revoked by its maker at any time.