One of the most unsettling concepts stemming from the movie “I Care A Lot” is the idea that a guardian can force you into a home and forbid any family members from visiting without any input from the court. In this week’s blog, Kelly Raynaud breaks down the laws regarding moving a ward from one residence to another and restricted visitation.

Can a guardian force you into a home and stop your own children and family from seeing you?

If a guardian of the person is appointed, then that guardian can make decisions on the ward’s behalf, even if the decisions are contrary to the wishes of the ward. It sometimes helps to think of the relationship between the guardian of the person and the ward as similar to the relationship between a parent and a younger child. The parent can override the child’s decisions when it makes sense to do so. The same is true for the guardian of the person

One big difference between the two relationships is that in the case of the guardian and ward, the guardian must report to the court each year, informing the court, among other things, where the ward resides. Moreover, Maryland law requires that the guardian obtain the court’s permission before moving their ward to a type of residence that is in a different category than their current residence. For instance, if the ward lives in a group home, then, before moving the ward to a higher level of care setting, such as an assisted living facility, the guardian must ask the court’s permission.

If there are restrictions in place regarding visitation between a ward and certain family members, the guardian of the person may be the one to help enforce those restrictions but the restrictions would have stemmed from some other source, e.g., a court order.