From Elder Guardianship to Long-Term Legal Care

Since the 1987 Associated Press report that found "[t]he nation's guardianship system, a crucial last line of protection for the ailing elderly, is failing many of those it is designed to protect" the legal landscape in the United States in this field changed dramatically as law reform swept the country. Yet, despite deep and extensive reform activity, debate and disagreement continue to rule the field of elder guardianship. This paper argues that what guardianship needs today in order to break "the rock of guardianship culture" is a totally new path. Not just another wave of reform nor further attempts to educate or train, but rather a totally new model: the long-term legal-care model (LTLC). The key to the proposed model is understanding that the challenge for guardianship is its transformation from a narrow substitute-decision-making mechanism into an integral part of community-based long-term care program.