Guardianship Assistance Program

Helping Families Navigate Pro Se Guardianship

When a child with developmental disabilities turn 18, parents or guardians are no longer able to make decisions on their behalf. For those children that lack the ability to make informed decisions on their own, a family member or other trusted individual will need to file for legal guardianship to continue making decisions on their behalf. Our Guardianship Assistance Program helps families understand and complete this process on a pro se basis, meaning without hiring an attorney, so cost is never a barrier to protecting your loved one’s future.

How We Help

One-on-One Guidance

We meet individually with proposed guardians — parents, siblings, or other family members — to understand their specific situation and help them to determine whether they can handle the guardianship case on their own.

Document Requirements

We help proposed guardians to understand exactly which documents need to be gathered before filing.

Form Walkthroughs

We sit down with families to go through the required forms, question by question, so nothing feels overwhelming or unclear. While proposed guardians fill the forms out on their own, we make sure they understand each question.

Information Sessions

We hold group information sessions where we explain the overall guardianship process in New Jersey and answer general questions from families considering this step.

A Note on Legal Advice

Our program is designed to guide and support you through the process — but it does not provide any legal advice. We help you understand the paperwork and procedure; for legal counsel specific to your situation, we always recommend consulting an attorney.

Questions

If you have any questions about this program, please send an email to tkirsch44@gmail.com