What will happen at the court hearing?
You
or your lawyer will have filed all the necessary papers with the
Surrogate Court and a court hearing date will have been set. The
Clerk of the Surrogate Court will have checked the application papers
to make sure that nothing is missing. You must have served all the
people listed in Question 8 at least 10
days before the hearing date. You attend court on the selected date.
A judge will preside over the hearing in a courtroom. Anyone served
with a notice of the application or anyone else the court agrees
to hear can appear and make representations.
The
judge will probably have read through your application prior to
appearing in court and will be generally familiar with the circumstances.
The judge must be satisfied that the proposed dependent adult will
substantially benefit from the appointment of a guardian and that
it would be in his or her best interests. The judge will ask whatever
questions are necessary to be satisfied about this. If the judge
has any doubts or reservations, he or she may ask that a report
be prepared setting out the physical, mental, social, vocational,
residential, educational or other needs both present and future
of the proposed dependent adult and generally the ability to care
for him/herself and make reasonable judgments for him/herself.
WARNING:
The contents of these FAQs are intended as general legal information
only.
If
you have a personal problem, please consult a lawyer.
May 2000
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