Dementia Guardianship Assistance Case | Commencement of Adult Guardianship for an Aunt with Dementia Symptoms

This is the account of a client who came to a family law attorney.

The client's aunt had been showing symptoms of senile dementia for several years and had continued to receive hospital treatment.

Recently her cognitive function had declined to the point that she could not even recognize the faces of her siblings or her niece or nephew.

The hospital was also preparing a dementia grade diagnosis, and the possibility of admission to a care facility was being discussed.

In particular, the aunt was living alone without children after a divorce, and her siblings were also elderly or had difficulty moving about, so they were unable to serve as a guardian.

For this reason, the client, who held foreign nationality while residing in Korea, wished to become the aunt's guardian and requested assistance from a family law attorney.

An adult guardian appointed to support a ward whose decision-making capacity has declined due to conditions such as dementia may represent the ward in legal acts and may revoke them.

The matters a guardian may handle are as follows, and they may vary depending on the type of guardianship and the scope of the guardian's authority.

The ward (the client's aunt) had a long history of dementia treatment and had recently reached a state in which even simple communication was difficult.

As a result, she was at a level where it was hard for her to handle financial management or daily affairs on her own.

The family attorney established, through medical records and an opinion letter, the ward's decline in cognitive ability and loss of judgment, and proved the client's long-term record of protection and the need for admission to a care facility, thereby emphasizing the urgency and effectiveness of commencing guardianship.

In addition, clearly stating that the issuance of a diagnosis certificate was scheduled, the attorney requested an adjustment of the procedural schedule in light of matters such as the timing for submitting the medical opinion letter, so that the petition could proceed in a stable manner.

The client held the nationality of another country, but is currently residing in Korea and also has the actual basis of life within the country.

Accordingly, the family law attorney persuaded the court of the foreign national's eligibility as a guardian, focusing on the following points.

In addition, agreement was reached with the ward's siblings as well, and the fact that they all consented to the client's appointment as guardian was also organized in writing and submitted to the court.

Guardianship is not commenced merely on the ground that an illness has worsened.

Medical diagnostic materials, an arrangement of the family's agreement, and the petitioner's eligibility and actual record of protection must be carefully established, and in particular a more rigorous review may apply in the case of a foreign national or a lower-ranking relative.

Daeryun Law Firm has many attorneys with extensive experience handling family cases that involve sensitive family matters and complex legal requirements.

Through a dedicated consultation attorney system, a strategy is set from the early stage of the case, and an attorney specializing in the relevant type is assigned to provide systematic assistance.

In addition, through a team-based response system, related cases in areas such as administrative, civil, and criminal law are handled on a one-stop basis.

If you need assistance, such as the appointment of a guardian in a dementia case, please feel free to entrust your case at any time through a 🔗legal consultation booking.