This weekend's 1 in 31: Autism Today guest is Chip Vincie. Chip's brother has been in the care of Anderson Center for Autism's for over 40 years. Chip joins us to discuss his journey to become his brother's legal guardian in 1999. Chip is an advocate for autonomy, but still helps to make decisions regarding and advocates for his brother when needed! Tune in to learn more, or see Chip's list of resources/helpful documents below.

Chip's Guardianship Resources:

https://www.nycourts.gov/CourtHelp/Guardianship/17A.shtml - this is a not-bad guide to how the process works and what you need to get together. Includes instructions on the forms and links to downloadable PDFs.

Todd Fischlin is great and was my attorney. https://fishlinlaw.com/attorney-profile/

The New York Bar Association Referral Service will give you up to 3 referrals, based on what area of the law you need help with. You can consult with each of them for free for up to 15 minutes to figure out who's the right one for you. There's a suggested donation (the referral service is a nonprofit) but it's low. https://nysba.org/new-york-state-bar-association-lawyer-referral-service/

FORMS:

* 17A Guardianship petition - this is the form where you ask to petition to be guardian (or move from standby to main guardian), including the contact info for you, your loved one, and the contact info for anyone who *could* have a competing claim
* Combined Oath/Designation - this is a one page form where you swear you'll be a responsible guardian, and also which county surrogates court can accept processes if you're not around
* Affidavit of Proposed Guardian - this is where you provide information about yourself - your address, education (where you went to school and what years), why you would be a good guardian

Standby Guardianship Forms: The standby guardian will also have to submit these forms:
* Combined Oath/Designation
* Affidavit of Proposed Guardian

* Affidavit of Examining Psychiatrist or Physician - this is what the doctor will have to fill out with the appropriate code for the disability

* Waiver of Process Consent - anyone who *could* also become a guardian should fill this out, basically saying "I'm not going to pursue this claim". Ideally, you'd get the person to fill this out ahead of time. In my case, my ex-wife was originally the standby guardian, but we'd divorced and I'd remarried by the time my mother had married. I asked my ex if she would fill out this waiver ahead of time, and she agreed and filled it out, had it notarized, and got it back to me.

* Notice of Petition - a one-or-two page form informing the court that you're making this petition for guardianship, and listing the standby guardian(s) (you can have several), and who else should get a notice of petition (if someone could contest your claim)

* Affidavit of Mailing of Petition - this basically states that you in fact mailed all the people who should get a notice (like someone who has a potentially competing guardianship claim) - I didn't have to fill this out.

* Form 3909 - this is where you have to list all the addresses that you and the standby guardians have lived at for the last 28 years, as well as any aliases you've used, like your maiden name. In my case, I changed my last name to my stepfather's.

* To be on the safe side, I included my change of name documentation (I think nowadays they just issue a new birth certificate)

* If you're moving from standby to main guardian, you will want to include:
-- A copy of the original "Notice of Guardianship" that the state sent the guardian
-- the death certificate of the guardian.

-- Just as an aside, when someone dies, whoever is stuck with the arrangements should request at least 10 death certificates. The funeral home will give you a certain amount as part of their costs, but will charge you above that. It's not expensive and every bank, insurance company, and other institution will want an original

FILING OUT THE FORMS:

The good news is that these forms are now available as PDFS that can be filled out on your computer, and some counties have electronic filing.

NOTE that these forms change sometimes and so does the number of forms required, so please hit up the website above for the latest info.

I would recommend filling out the forms yourself and then letting the lawyer look at them before filing. Filling them out yourself will save you legal fees but getting them to check your work will ensure you're not missing anything.