The Call No One Is Prepared For
Your mom had a stroke last Tuesday. Or your dad’s dementia has progressed to the point where he can no longer manage his own finances or communicate his medical wishes. You show up ready to help, and that’s when you hit the wall: the bank won’t talk to you, the doctor needs someone with legal authority to make decisions, and you have no idea what accounts your parent even has. You’re not on anything. There’s no Power of Attorney. And now you’re in crisis mode.
This situation is more common than most people realize. A lot of parents fully intend to do their Estate Planning but never quite get around to it. Others think their spouse or adult children will automatically be able to step in. That’s not how Michigan law works. Without a valid Power of Attorney in place before a person loses capacity, the legal process that follows is slow, expensive, and completely controlled by the court.
Here’s what actually happens next.
Why You Don’t Have Automatic Authority
Many people assume that being someone’s child, spouse, or next of kin gives them the legal right to manage that person’s affairs. It doesn’t. Michigan law does not recognize family relationships alone as a source of legal authority to access accounts, sell property, make medical decisions, or sign documents on someone else’s behalf.
A Power of Attorney is a legal document that a person signs while they still have mental capacity, giving someone else the authority to act on their behalf. The critical word there is “while they still have capacity.” Once your parent has lost the ability to understand and make informed decisions, it’s too late to sign one. A Power of Attorney signed under those circumstances would not be legally valid and could even be challenged as fraud.
So if there’s no valid Power of Attorney already in place, your only path forward under Michigan law is guardianship, conservatorship, or both.
Guardianship vs. Conservatorship: What’s the Difference
Michigan law creates two separate legal roles for situations like this, and it helps to understand what each one actually covers.
Guardianship gives someone the legal authority to make personal decisions for another adult. That includes medical care, living arrangements, and day-to-day welfare. If your father can no longer make healthcare decisions and there’s no Medical Power of Attorney in place, a court-appointed guardian steps into that role. As guardian, you’d be the one authorizing surgeries, deciding whether he moves to a memory care facility, and working with his medical team.
Conservatorship covers financial matters. A conservator is appointed by the court to manage another adult’s money, property, and financial affairs. If your mother has a pension, investments, a house, or any assets that need to be managed, you would need to be appointed as her conservator to have any legal authority to touch those accounts or make financial decisions on her behalf.
You can be appointed to both roles, or different people can hold each one. But you cannot assume either role on your own. The court has to appoint you, and that process takes time.
What the Court Process Looks Like in Michigan
Guardianship and conservatorship proceedings in Michigan are handled by the probate court in the county where your parent lives. Here’s what you’re walking into.
You start by filing a petition with the probate court. That petition has to explain why your parent can no longer make their own decisions, what kind of authority you’re asking for, and why you’re the right person to have that authority. The court will then appoint a Guardian Ad Litem, which is an independent person whose job is to investigate the situation and report back to the judge. Your parent is notified and has the right to contest the petition. A hearing is scheduled, and you have to appear before a judge.
The process is not designed to be quick. From the time you file to the time you’re actually appointed, you’re often looking at several weeks to a few months depending on how backed up the probate court is, whether there are any disputes, and how complicated the situation is. During that waiting period, you may have limited or no ability to access your parent’s finances or make binding medical decisions. Bills can go unpaid. Accounts can be at risk. Medical providers are trying to reach a decision-maker who doesn’t legally exist yet.
Once appointed, a conservator in Michigan is required to post a bond, file an inventory of all assets within 56 days of appointment, and submit annual accountings to the court showing exactly how the money was managed. This is ongoing oversight that lasts for as long as the conservatorship continues. It’s not a one-time process. It’s a long-term legal responsibility with real reporting requirements.
What This Actually Costs
Let’s be direct about this. Guardianship and conservatorship proceedings cost money. Attorney fees for filing and handling the petition, court filing fees, the Guardian Ad Litem’s fees, and the cost of the bond for a conservatorship can add up quickly. Depending on the complexity of your parent’s situation and whether anyone contests the petition, you could be looking at several thousand dollars in upfront costs, sometimes significantly more.
Those costs often come out of your parent’s estate. But in the meantime, someone has to fund the process, and it comes at a moment when your family is already under enormous emotional and logistical stress. Compare that to the cost of a well-drafted Financial Power of Attorney and Medical Power of Attorney, which your parent could have had prepared for a fraction of that amount while they still had capacity. The difference is stark.
Emergency Situations and Temporary Authority
If the situation is urgent, Michigan law does allow for emergency guardianship. If your parent needs immediate protection because their health or safety is at serious risk, you can petition the court for a temporary guardian to be appointed on an expedited basis. This is meant for genuine emergencies, not as a workaround for the full process.
On the medical side, Michigan has a statute called the Patient Advocate Designation law, but that only applies if your parent previously signed a document naming someone as their patient advocate. If no such document exists, hospitals and physicians will generally turn to next of kin for guidance on major decisions, but that’s an informal and sometimes inconsistent practice. For large decisions, like withdrawing life support, providers will often require a court-appointed guardian to have clear legal authority.
The informal next-of-kin process is not reliable. Different hospitals handle it differently. If family members disagree about what should happen, there’s no legal tiebreaker without a guardian in place. The only way to have clear, unambiguous legal authority in a medical crisis is through either a valid Medical Power of Attorney signed in advance, or a court-appointed guardianship.
When Siblings Don’t Agree
Family dynamics don’t pause for legal proceedings. One of the hardest versions of this situation is when adult children disagree about who should be appointed guardian or conservator, or about what decisions should be made. Maybe one sibling thinks mom should stay home with caregivers and another thinks she needs a memory care facility. Maybe one sibling doesn’t trust another with the finances.
When a petition is contested, the court process becomes significantly longer and more expensive. The judge has to hear from all parties, review evidence, and make a determination that is in the best interest of your parent. Everyone may end up spending money on attorneys. The delay means your parent’s needs continue to go unmet while the legal dispute winds its way through probate court.
A parent who had signed a Power of Attorney naming a specific trusted person would have avoided all of this. The document is their voice when they can no longer speak for themselves. Without it, the court fills that void, and the court doesn’t know your family.
What You Can Do Right Now
If you’re in the middle of this situation with a parent, the most important thing you can do immediately is consult with a Michigan Estate Planning or elder law attorney. You need someone who can evaluate your specific circumstances, tell you whether guardianship, conservatorship, or both are necessary, and guide you through the filing process efficiently. Don’t try to navigate probate court paperwork on your own in the middle of a family health crisis.
While you’re gathering information, try to locate any documents your parent may have signed. Sometimes people have a Will or Trust drafted years ago that included a Power of Attorney, and family members don’t know it exists. Check with the attorney who may have done their Estate Planning, look through filing cabinets, and ask other close family members. If a valid Power of Attorney exists somewhere, finding it changes everything.
If you’re reading this and your own parents are still healthy and capable, use this moment. Talk to them about Estate Planning now, while they can still sign documents. A properly drafted Financial Power of Attorney, Medical Power of Attorney, and Healthcare Directive cost far less than what their children will spend in probate court later. More than that, those documents reflect their actual wishes. A judge who doesn’t know your parent will make decisions based on legal standards and available evidence. A trusted family member acting under a Power of Attorney makes decisions based on knowing who that person actually is.
The Documents That Prevent All of This
For anyone who wants to protect their family from exactly this situation, the core documents are straightforward. A Financial Power of Attorney names someone to manage finances if you become incapacitated. A Medical Power of Attorney (sometimes called a Patient Advocate Designation in Michigan) names someone to make healthcare decisions. A Healthcare Directive or Living Will outlines your wishes for end-of-life care so your family doesn’t have to guess.
These documents only work if they’re signed while you have legal capacity. That’s the whole point. Once capacity is gone, it’s too late. The window to do this right is open right now, and it closes without warning.
If you’re watching a parent go through the guardianship process and thinking about your own situation, that thought is worth acting on. The families who have been through this court process once rarely need to be convinced twice.
At LADIES IN LAW®, we help Michigan families put these protections in place before a crisis hits, and we help families navigate the legal process when they’re already in one. If your parent has lost capacity and you’re not sure what to do next, reach out. You don’t have to figure this out alone.
