Guardianship is a legal relationship designed to protect a disabled adult who is unable to
make or communicate responsible decisions concerning his person or estate. Guardianship will
be established by the court only as a last resort, and upon showing of necessity for the
protection of the alleged disabled person.
Other, less restrictive measures must all be ruled out before a court will enter an order
declaring someone to be a "disabled person". To be declared a "disabled person", the person
must be unable to make responsible decisions to the extent that waste and suffering are
inevitable absent court intervention. Poor or unpopular decisions are not sufficient. However
the individual need not be declared mentally ill. In re Estate of Langford, 50 Ill. App. 3d 623, 364
N.E.2nd 735 (1977).
The person or entity who is granted the responsibility of caring for the disabled person or
the disabled person's estate is called a "guardian". A guardian may be appointed over the
individual’s person, estate, or both, and should extend only to those areas of the disabled
individual’s life in which he or she is deemed incapable of acting independently.
Guardianship shall be utilized only as is necessary to promote the well-being of the
disabled person, to protect him from neglect, exploitation, or abuse, and to encourage
development of his maximum self-reliance and independence. Guardianship shall be ordered
only to the extent necessitated by the individual’s actual mental, physical and adaptive
limitations. 755 ILCS 5/11a-3(b).