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Even since back in 2003, Michigan has been a state proud to allow family members to act as personal care assistants. That fairs well for caregivers who may need to take on deeper decision making responsibilities for the person they care for.
Citing legislation directly, the Michigan Elder Justice Initiative defines Legal Guardianship in Michigan:
Guardianship is when a probate court appoints a guardian to have legal authority over someone’s care, custody, and control. A guardianship takes legal authority and decision making away from an individual and gives it to his or her guardian. [MEJI]
So you can be a caregiver without being a legal guardian. If the person you care for has legal authority to make decisions over their own care, custody, and control; then you're just a caregiver and not a legal guardian.
You need to (pay a fee to) file a petition for guardianship at the local Probate Court. You can find a state-wide list on the Michigan.gov website.
The Michigan Court System keeps Guardianship-related forms available to the public online, but I can't tell by title which one would be appropriate for an guardianship of an aging family member.
With jargon like "Fiduciary" and "Ombudsman", it's got my thumbs twiddling dumb dumb. So don't feel bad if you can't figure it out either!
Nothing's ever as straightforward as you'd like is it? You may qualify for full guardianship or limited guardianship depending on all sorts of factors like the person's cognitive / ADL analysis as well as a look into your abilities to fulfill the role.
In 2016, the Michigan Legislature passed the Designated Caregiver Act, "to allow for designation of a caregiver; to prescribe the duties of a designated caregiver; to enable a hospital to assist in designating a caregiver; and to prescribe the duties of state departments and agencies."
That means in Michigan, the State doesn't recognize family caregivers with an official "caregiver" title and privilege.
Under this act, it's only professional caregivers who get the title "designated caregiver".
I'm just saying... As a family caregiver, you've got to become a legal guardian. As far as I know, it's the only way one family member can gain legal authority to make important care-related decisions for a family member.
Seems like a bit of a double-standard.
I think it would bring me a great deal of pride, and some street cred too. I wish I could get an official "Caregiver" title like that.
