In his 1881 treatise, The Common Law, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. said, “The life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience.” What is the experience of guardianship?
“Guardianship” is the authority of a guardian, and the relationship between guardian and ward. A “guardian” manages
the person and property of another, the “ward,” who is considered to be incapable of self-administration. Although the purpose of guardianship is management for another, we must [r]ecognize guardianship for what it really is: the most intrusive, non-interest serving, impersonal legal device known and available to us and as such, one which minimizes personal autonomy and respect for the individual, has a high potential for doing harm and raises at best a questionable benefit/burden ratio. As such, it is a device to be studiously avoided.