ARTICLE 17 A: NOT ALL SPECIAL NEEDS ADULTS REQUIRE A GUARDIAN

Matter of Michelle M., 2016 NY Slip Op 51114 - NY: Surrogate's Court, Kings 2016:

"Michelle has an inherent right and ability to make her own choices, with dignity, independence, and support. The long-standing view of plenary guardianship as the best and only mechanism available to meet the needs of every person with intellectual and developmental disabilities is challenged by the emerging recognition that persons with disabilities have varying degrees and areas of functional capacity and need, the availability of less restrictive alternatives to guardianship which provide targeted assistance and supported, instead of substituted, decision making, and the growing emphasis on empowering, integrating, and preserving the rights of persons with mental and physical disabilities. To allow Michelle to retain the legal right to make personal decisions about her own affairs, while providing her with any necessary assistance to make or communicate those decisions in a supported decision-making framework which she already has in place, is ultimately in her best interest.

For all the foregoing reasons, the court finds that petitioners have failed to meet their burden of showing that Michelle is in need of an Article 17-A guardianship. Accordingly, the petition is dismissed."