When people approach their later years, they may not necessarily be able to take care of their financial affairs or see to their medical treatment. However, Pennsylvania law allows for what is known as a guardianship. Under a guardianship, one’s affairs are taken care of by a court-appointed person. Recently, guardianships entered the news after Zsa Zsa Gabor’s daughter requested that a judge place her mother in one.
Gabor’s daughter was in court on March 20 requesting that a guardian, sometimes known as a conservator, be appointed for her mother, who is in failing health. At the moment, Gabor’s current husband is taking care of her and seeing to her affairs, but the daughter is claiming improper behavior. In particular, she claims that the husband is not only keeping her from seeing her mother, but is also acting in defiance of Gabor’s estate planning documents.
In those documents, the daughter claims that Gabor did not want her husband to be the only person in control of her affairs. Moreover, she is questioning whether her mother’s finances are being spent appropriately. On the other hand, the husband says that he is simply trying to do what is best, and that Gabor’s medical expenses amount to around $30,000 per month.
If the court, based in California, does create a guardianship, then it could review Gabor’s finances and ensure that the money is being spent appropriately. At the moment, a hearing has been scheduled for May 2 for both sides to present their case. Here in Pennsylvania, guardianships may be useful in managing the finances of the individual and with directing any medical treatment.
Source: New York Daily News, “Zsa Zsa Gabor’s daughter files for conservatorship,” March 20, 2012
