Obtain Your Letters of Guardianship
After the judge appoints you as guardian, you must sign a statement accepting your duties as guardian and promising that you will carry them out faithfully. The clerk of the court will then give you what are called Letters of Guardianship or, simply, Letters. These Letters are your proof that you are the guardian. You should get certified copies of these Letters from the court to prove that you are authorized to act; doctors, nursing homes or insurance companies often request certified copies.

When the clerk gives you your Letters, s/he will certify one copy without charge. The clerk certifies the Letters by affixing a court seal to a copy of the Letters and signing a notation, which is dated on the day the certification is made, that the Letters are in full force and effect. You can get additional certified copies of the Letters for a small fee. Some providers, after reviewing your certified copy, will simply make a photocopy for their own files.

Give Notice of Your Appointment as Guardian
Once you are appointed guardian you should notify any family members who do not already know that you are now the guardian. You should notify your ward's doctor, dentist, health insurers, teachers, caretakers, nursing home administrator, and any other interested person that you are responsible for your ward and authorized to make decisions and act on his or her behalf. Send a photocopy of the Letters to each of these people. A sample letter giving notice is included in the Appendix (PDF: 206k).

Occasions may arise when a doctor, nursing home administrator, or family member will not recognize that you as guardian have the authority to make personal decisions for your ward. It is important that you stand up to these people, reminding them that the court has appointed you guardian and that by law you are the only person able to make these decisions.

Many times the conflict will not continue after you have made your position clear, but if the doctor or family member still opposes you, go back to your attorney for help or contact the judge (or his or her replacement) who presided over the guardianship. A letter or telephone call from your lawyer or a judge's order may convince those who are refusing to accept your authority. When the situation is serious, such as conflict over the withdrawal or continuation of life support treatment or care being received in a nursing home, it is important to seek help quickly.

If family members continue to fight with you over your decisions, mediation is a good way to settle these conflicts. Sometimes, having one family member whom everyone respects deal with the family can help calm an unpleasant situation. Unfortunately, in some families your decisions may always be opposed by others, no matter how hard you try to explain your reasons.

Often the conflict is with your ward who has enough capacity to know that s/he does not want a guardian since s/he believes s/he has taken care of himself or herself all these years and does not need your help now. Sometimes you can make the situation better by just giving the ward responsibility in areas s/he can handle—choosing the homemaker to help with daily chores, buying groceries, deciding on certain medical treatment, helping to choose a shelter care home. Often you can gain your ward's trust by remaining calm and explaining to the ward what you are doing. By always including the ward in what is going on, you can perhaps make the ward feel better about having a guardian.

Sometimes the best resolution is to let your ward care for himself or herself until the situation becomes too dangerous for him or her to remain alone. You can also get advice from other guardians, a case manager, social worker or agency that deals with people like your ward. In the end, you may have to give up being guardian if you feel your ward would better accept the authority of someone else. If your ward's behavior makes it unsafe for him or her to continue in his or her living situation, you may have to place the ward in a facility that can handle his or her behavior.