(APD logo) Agency for Persons with Disabilities State of Florida Serving Floridians with Developmental Disabilities DECISION-MAKING OPTIONS Exploring ways that people with disabilities can get help with making decisions - - - What are your rights? Your legal rights give you the ability, under the law, to make decisions that affect your quality of life. For example, they include the right to: • choose where to live • manage money and property • agree to medical or dental treatments • apply for government benefits • choose your social activities • sign contracts • file a lawsuit If you seek or receive services from the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) or other government agencies, you will have to make decisions about them. You may feel that you need some help in making important decisions. This brochure lets you know about some of the ways to get assistance in decision making, but it is not legal advice. If you think any of these options might help, you should do some research and perhaps talk to an attorney. Less-restrictive options Getting help with decision making does not have to mean guardianship, but it might mean assigning some of your rights to someone else—a very important step. The least restrictive option that meets your needs should be considered first. With any option, you decide what rights to give to your representative. ADVANCE DIRECTIVE – An advance directive is a written document that expresses your desires concerning health care. Here are some examples: Power of Attorney – This gives the person you choose the legal authority to make decisions for you on specific matters. Any legally competent adult can give a power of attorney to another adult. A durable power of attorney remains in effect if you become incapacitated later, and it can be written so that it does not go into effect until you are unable to manage your affairs. Living Will – A living will expresses whether or not you want life-prolonging medical treatments to continue if you are unable to make or express your own decisions and have a terminal or end-stage condition. Health Care Surrogate – This document names another person as your representative to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to make them. CO-SIGNER ON BANK ACCOUNT – This is an easy way to get help in managing your money. It can mean that you and someone you have chosen must both sign all of your checks—called an “and” account. Or, it can be set up so that either of you can sign them—an “or” account. Make sure that either of the signers can access the account if something were to happen to the other person. REPRESENTATIVE PAYEE – If you are unable to manage your own money, the Social Security Administration (SSA) allows you to name someone or an organization to be your representative payee. The payee receives your Social Security money and is held responsible by the SSA for how it is spent. CLIENT ADVOCATE – If you can’t locate your legal representative, don’t have one, or the state is your only representative, and you would like help in making decisions about services you receive from APD, you can ask APD to appoint someone as your client advocate. You will still make your own decisions—a client advocate cannot make them for you. Types of guardianship ' In a guardianship, a judge decides which of your rights should be taken from you and given to someone else, who is called your guardian. Creating a guardianship requires that you have an attorney. GUARDIAN ADVOCATE – Under Florida law, this type of guardianship does not require that a judge declare you incapacitated. It transfers the rights that are necessary to care for you or your property to another person—your guardian advocate. This is usually considered to be the least restrictive, less costly, and much preferred type of guardianship for persons with developmental disabilities. GUARDIANSHIP – Guardianship is an option for anyone who needs help in decision making. It requires two actions by a court: a ruling on your decisionmaking ability and the transfer of some or all of your rights to the guardian. Here are some examples of guardianships: Voluntary Guardianship – If you are unable to manage your property but are considered mentally competent, the court appoints a guardian to help you manage your affairs. This is something that you decide voluntarily; you can change your mind by going back to court later. Emergency Temporary Guardianship – If you seem to be in imminent danger and your decision-making ability is questioned in court, the judge can appoint a temporary guardian for you. This type of guardianship expires if the court does not appoint a permanent guardian. Limited Guardianship – If the court finds that you are incapacitated only in specific areas, it can appoint a guardian to help you in those areas. Full Guardianship – When the court finds that you are totally unable to make decisions for yourself, it transfers all of your legal rights—concerning you and your property—to a guardian. Important points to remember • Explore the least restrictive options first. • Do research or get legal advice before making any decision involving your rights. • Before choosing someone you trust to make decisions for you, make sure they are willing to do so. • Both you and the person you choose should keep copies of the papers that name the other person as your legal representative. Visit these sites for more info www.floridalawhelp.org www.floridabar.org Agency for Persons with Disabilities 1-866-APD-CARES (1-866-273-2273) (850) 488-4257 www.apdcares.org APRIL 2009