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Publication date: 10.04.2024
In today's realities, many people have a question: how to obtain guardianship over an elderly person in Ukraine ? This issue can arise in many aspects, for example, in the case of the need to care for an elderly person who cannot take care of himself, or, no matter how banal it sounds, the registration of guardianship over an elderly person in order to postpone the call for mobilization.
However, it is necessary to distinguish such concepts as guardianship of an elderly person and permanent care of an elderly person.
Thus, according to the Civil Code of Ukraine, guardianship is established over a person who is incapacitated, and it can be, including, an elderly person. Guardianship is established by a court decision, and a guardian is appointed by the court only if such a person is recommended by the body of guardianship and guardianship.
That is, guardianship is established in a court of law with the aim of protecting the rights and interests of persons who, for various reasons, cannot independently resolve issues regarding their life and property.
Here are the basic rules for registering guardianship over an elderly person in Ukraine:
1. Definition of guardianship: Guardianship is established by the court for a person who cannot independently exercise rights and perform duties due to incapacity or limited legal capacity, in particular due to old age, illness or other circumstances.
2. Rights and duties of guardians: Guardians are obliged to provide appropriate custody, care and care for wards, as well as represent their interests in courts and before other authorities. They must also perform duties related to property management and financial matters of the wards.
3. Guardianship establishment procedure: In order to establish guardianship over an elderly person, a competent person or an interested party must submit an application for the establishment of guardianship to the court, after which it will consider the said application in the prescribed manner, and decide on the appointment of guardians and the determination of the scope of their powers.
4. Control over the activities of guardians: Judicial authorities and guardianship authorities monitor the activities of guardians, may appoint supervisors and carry out inspections in cases where it is necessary to protect the interests of wards.
5. Termination of guardianship: Guardianship may be terminated in case of disappearance of grounds for its continuation, for example, in case of recovery, death of the ward or for other reasons established by law.
Permanent care for an elderly person is a different concept than guardianship of an elderly person, and is essentially a type of social service that is provided to such an elderly person if there is a need due to life circumstances.
The decision to provide such a social service can be provided by specially trained persons and organizations, as well as by ordinary people on a non-professional basis, to provide support and assistance to the elderly or persons with disabilities. Lay care can be provided by relatives, friends or volunteers who have no special training in social work or medicine. Here are a few steps to create such care:
1. Consultation with social services: Contact your local social services or local government for advice and information about non-professional care options.
2. Identification of needs: Identify the needs of the person who needs help and discuss this with relatives or friends. Determine what kind of help and how often you need to provide it. If an elderly person has medical problems or limitations, the first step may be to see a doctor to assess their health and determine their care needs, and to obtain the appropriate medical document that will confirm the need for care.
3. Submission by a person or his legal representative of an application for the provision of social services, and consideration of the specified application.
After receiving the specified application, the authorized body for the provision of social services will make a decision to provide a social service on a non-professional basis, namely, the provision of permanent care for an elderly person, or to refuse to provide the specified service.
At the same time, when making such a decision, the social work specialist assesses the person's needs for social services by analyzing documents, facts and information collected during communication with the person/family and their immediate environment, as well as received from legal entities and individuals in in the established order.
That is, the authorized body of the system of providing social services will assess the actual circumstances of residence, the necessary needs for the care of an elderly person and the circle of persons who can provide such services.
4. Appeal to the court to appeal the decision to refuse the provision of social services. Thus, in the case of a refusal by an authorized body to provide social services, an interested person can prove in court the necessity of providing constant care for an elderly person.
5. Termination of social service provision. After starting care, it is important to regularly monitor the situation and adapt the care plan as necessary. Therefore, a natural person who is provided with social services may have their provision stopped, in connection with the cessation of the need to receive this service, detection of inauthenticity in the provision of documents when assigning social services, etc.
These steps can help shape the decision to provide a social service on a non-professional basis and provide support and assistance to people who need care.
