Estate. Guardianship, Missing Person?
Looking deeper at the Indiana guardianship .. how is there an estate if SM has not been declared deceased? ....
@steeltowngirl sbm for focus
Caveat: I've read only info on 'mycase,' not the underlying doc's filed w ct.
Briefly this court proceeding is
similar to a probate proceeding for a
dead person in which the estate prop is distributed to heirs or ppl the decedent designated by will. The main
difference is that estate assets, prop, acct's, etc are
not distributed to heirs, et al. but are (supposed to be) maintained for the benefit of the incapacitated person.
The situation here seems quirky but Indiana's statute specifically allows a
Missing Person to be declared
incapacitated, so a court can appoint a guardian.
Not so briefly. The term 'estate'* in legal sense is not limited to estates of dead persons, although that's often what we think of first. Every person
(virtually) has an estate,* that is, a
living estate. Maybe just a checking a/c at bank, and a certificate/deposit at credit union. Maybe more: stocks at brokerage firm, IRA w mutual fund shares, car, house, valuable jewelry, antique furniture, etc. Maybe w spouse, other relative, or S/O. Some accounts, assets, properties may be held
singly or jointly.
Ex: a person who is severely injured in traffic crash & in
coma for months, cannot
self-manage his/her living estate, so someone else is needed to manage or deal w the various ^ assets, maybe rental properties, pay bills, etc., if the person did
not previously arrange for contingency of somehow being incapacitated. If the person had done
estate planning, a lawyer likely drafted a
power of atty doc. for him/her, to authorize, say the spouse, to handle this. (That plus other doc's, for ex, to authorize spouse/someone to make medical treatment decisions, if he/she was unable to make them).
If person did not plan for contingency of being incapacitated, whether thru injury, illness, disease, then the spouse (or other) may file petition in court to ask judge to authorize spouse to act for the incapacitated person's benefit (in this case, SM, as a MisPers). The spouse (or other) may be
appointed as guardian for that living person's estate, as has happened in this IN. case.
As always, welcoming comment, clarification, correction, esp'ly from our legal professionals. my2cts.
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* "An estate, in common law, is the net worth of a person at any point in time alive or dead. It is the sum of a person's assets – legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind – less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person."
Estate (law) - Wikipedia
US fed & state laws govern estates of the dead, of incapacitated persons, of bankrupt persons, etc.
Also Legal guardian - Wikipedia
Indiana statutes: Indiana Code | Article 3 - GUARDIANSHIPS AND PROTECTIVE PROCEEDINGS | Casetext
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