Standby Guardianship Legislation

Joshua S. Rubenstein (Co-Managing Partner, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, New York, New York) has published his article, Standby Guardianship Legislation: At the Midway Point, in the Summer 2007 33 ACTEC J. 2 (2007).

Here is the introduction:

Standby guardianship legislation allows a parent or guardian who suffers from a progressively chronic or irreversibly fatal illness to ensure the current, effective appointment of a guardian of the person or property of his or her minor children to act sometime in the future during the lifetime of the parent without affecting existing parental rights. The primary motivation behind the introduction of such legislation has been the proliferation of degenerative, incurable diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and the muscular dystrophy, among individuals who have minor children. The need is particularly acute for single parents, typically women, who carry the childcare burden alone. Standby guardianship legislation permits parents to plan for their certain impeding disability, incapacity, or death, and each state should enact legislation to enable parents to do so.