Standby Guardianship Legislation

Joshua S.Rubenstein (Co-Managing Partner, Katten MuchinRosenman LLP, New York, New York) has published his article, StandbyGuardianship Legislation: At the Midway Point, in the Summer 2007 33 ACTEC J. 2 (2007).

Here is the introduction:

Standby guardianship legislationallows a parent or guardian who suffers from a progressively chronic orirreversibly fatal illness to ensure the current, effective appointment of aguardian of the person or property of his or her minor children to act sometimein the future during the lifetime of the parent without affecting existingparental rights. The primary motivationbehind the introduction of such legislation has been the proliferation ofdegenerative, incurable diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis,and the muscular dystrophy, among individuals who have minor children. The need is particularly acute for singleparents, typically women, who carry the childcare burden alone. Standbyguardianship legislation permits parents to plan for their certain impedingdisability, incapacity, or death, and each state should enact legislation to enableparents to do so.