Inclusion Project Age of Majority Guide: Guardianship

Guardianship now that you’re becoming an ADULT...Here’s how you can get READY!

When you turn 18, you have a lot more decisions to make. You will need to decide who to vote for, how to stay healthy, where to live, and how to take care of your money. Some people need help making these decisions.

There are different ways for people to help you.

• Own Guardian: you can make all your own decisions. This doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help!
• Supported Decision Making/ Power of Attorney: A specific person will help you make some decisions, but you don’t have to go to the court.
• Limited Guardianship: The court says a specific person will help you with some decisions.
• Full Guardianship: The court says a specific person will help you with all decisions.

If you don’t do anything, you will keep all of your rights and responsibilities.

Why is it important:

“It is important to know who helped and who’s supposed to be there for you and to support you along the way.”

“We all need support and we all need advice.”

What advice would you give your younger self?

“Find out who the right person is to guide your path.”

Having a guardian doesn’t mean you can’t make decisions together!

Talk with your family and important people about how they can best support you. It’s important to have these conversations before you turn 18 years old. Guardianship does not happen automatically.