Current Law and Proposed Changes

In a series of posts that will appear in this space every two weeks over the next several
months, Marna Solarsh will deliver to families a guide to legal guardianship in New York as well
as other available alternatives under New York Law. Marna will cover:

• Article 17-A Guardianship (Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act)
• Article 81 Guardianship (Mental Hygiene Law)
• Supported Decision Making
• Powers of Attorney, Health Care Proxies and Able Accounts
• Rep Payee Accounts and the Family Health Care Decisions Act

Next Posts: Article 17-A Guardianship
The current law of guardianship for those with developmental and intellectual disabilities has been in effect for decades. In many respects Article 17-A guardianship is severely flawed and violates the due process rights of those it seeks to protect.

Marna’s next two posts will review the current law, and she will then discuss a major legislative overhaul of Article 17-A that has been proposed by the Committee on Disability Rights of the New York Bar State Association Committee and other advocacy groups.