I've finally got my Dad convinced we need to do all the legal paperwork we should have done a couple years ago - Durable Power of Attorney and/or guardianship for Mom, medical POA, their wills, etc. I've talked with an elder lawyer (only one so far, haven't met her yet but she seems to have a clue and be caring, and her mother has AD and is living with her), and I've done some reading on the forum here on guardianship, but I still have questions maybe ya'll can help with. Mom's stage 5/6, her PCP won't sign a document saying she has legal capacity to sign POA for herself, and the lawyer has said "bring her in so I can meet with her and ask a few questions with you out of the room to see how much she would understand about the process and documents". Since my Dad's still alive and working, albeit out of town several days each week, I don't know if that adds complications into any paperwork for DPOA (if we can go that route) or guardianship, since responsibilites would fall to him and/or me. (And especially to me if something ever happens to him. My brother is on board with whatever we decide for taking care of Mom.) Anyway, I feel I have so many questions, and I know there are questions I haven't even thought of yet..... but the first one is: Do you need a lawyer to file for guardianship in Texas (if we can't go the DPOA route)? Second, even if we get DPOA, do we also have to file for guardianship, at the same time or later? The lawyer told my dad that filing fees for guardianship are $1200 (I don't know if this includes her fees or is just the filing fee). If I keep typing now, I'll just be rambling questions, so I'll stop. Thanks for any and all help!!
As long as you don't foresee any conflicts with other family members over healthcare and/or financial decisions, you probably don't need guardianship.
The elder lawyer will probably evaluate your Mom's ability to understand the very basics of DPOA right at the time she signs the paperwork. Your Mom does not have to be generally aware and "competent" all of the time to execute a DPOA.
$1200 sounds very high for filing fees, so that probably covers the lawyer's fees, too, assuming that the guardianship would be uncontested. However, if Texas is anything like most states, your mom would be assigned her own lawyer by the court, to ensure that her rights and wishes are taken into account. So you'd also need to consider the facts that (a) there will also be fees for your mom's attorney, and (b) if your mom puts up a fuss, the fees could go a lot higher, on both sides.
If the elder lawyer feels your mom can execute a DPOA, then just stop there. There's no point in petitioning for guardianship until and unless you really need to.
