Who Wants the Ward? The State’s Role in Adult Guardianship Proceedings

Abstract

This Comment will explore the implications that may arise when a state agency, rather than a close family member, is the proposed guardian, by addressing one particular area for improvement in guardianship law: public guardianship. Part II addresses the impending shift in the nation’s demographic that will likely give rise to an increased need for guardianships. Part III.A provides a brief general background to guardianship before introducing the statutory concept of public guardianship, or “guardian of last resort,” and the problematic practices involved in appointing a state entity as guardian of last resort. Part III.B gives a comparative analysis of common public guardianship statutory schemes and addresses major policy concerns prompted by state statutes that implicitly designate one or more state agencies as guardian of last resort. Examining these issues through the lens of Texas law, Part IV evaluates the current Texas statutory scheme and its implications. Finally, in Part V, this Comment proposes statutory recommendations informed by the policy considerations addressed in Parts II and III and throughout this Comment.