Powers of Attorney
There are two types of power of attorney. One, the Durable General Power of Attorney allows you to choose someone to assist you with handling financial transactions, the Advanced Directives or Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care allows you to choose the people who would be making medical choices for you if you can no longer make them for yourself. Anyone over the age of eighteen (18) years of age can benefit from one or both of these documents to ensure that the right people are making financial or medical decisions on their behalf if they are in an accident, or become unable to manage their own affairs. Burnham Legal can assist you in discussing the advantages and disadvantages of these documents, prepare the necessary documents on your behalf, and guide you through the necessary decisions in the document.
Guardianship
A guardianship is a legal proceeding that is used when it is believed that someone does not have the ability to make their own financial or health care decisions, and they need someone to make those decisions on their behalf. This determination is not made lightly. In New Hampshire, a petition must be filed for a guardian to be appointed along with criminal and department of health and human services background check forms. When that petition is filed, the proposed ward (person who is to be determined incapacitated), is automatically, and immediately, appointed an attorney and that attorney goes to see the proposed ward to inform them about their rights, to tell them what is happening, and to give them the opportunity to hire their own attorney if they prefer. A hearing is scheduled, and the petitioner or proposed guardian will have to prove that the proposed ward cannot manage their activities of daily living without someone’s assistance and that a guardian is the least restrictive alternative. The guardian must show using specific examples of the proposed ward’s financial transactions, personal actions, or actual occurrences that show that the proposed ward is unable to manage their finances or provide for their personal needs for food, clothing, shelter, safety, or health. Burnham Legal can assist you through the process of getting a guardian appointed by providing you with advice on the process, preparing the necessary documents, attending the hearing, and assisting you with the necessary administration of the guardianship after the appointment is issued by the court.
