SENATE BILL No. 144

 

 

February 5, 2013, Introduced by Senators ANDERSON, PAPPAGEORGE, JONES, BIEDA, NOFS, KOWALL, HOPGOOD, CASWELL, COLBECK, HOOD, GREGORY, PROOS, HUNTER, YOUNG, SMITH, WHITMER, JANSEN and MOOLENAAR and referred to the Committee on Families, Seniors and Human Services.

 

 

     A bill to amend 1974 PA 258, entitled

 

"Mental health code,"

 

by amending sections 609, 614, and 618 (MCL 330.1609, 330.1614, and

 

330.1618).

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 609. (1) A petition for the appointment of a guardian for

 

an individual who is developmentally disabled may be filed by an

 

interested person or entity or by the individual. The petition

 

shall set forth the following:

 

     (a) The relationship and interest of the petitioner.

 

     (b) The name, date of birth, and place of residence of the

 

respondent.

 

     (c) The facts and reasons for the need for guardianship.

 

     (d) The names and addresses of the individual's current

 

guardian, and the respondent's presumptive heirs.

 

     (e) The name and address of the person with whom, or the

 

facility in which, the respondent is residing.

 

     (f) A description and approximation of the value of the

 

respondent's estate including an estimate of the individual's

 

anticipated yearly income and the source of the income.

 

     (g) The name, address, and age of the proposed guardian and if

 

the proposed guardian is a current provider of services to the

 

developmentally disabled.

 

     (h) A factual description of the nature and extent of the

 

respondent's developmental disability.

 

     (2) An interested person or entity or the individual in his or

 

her own behalf may file a petition for the appointment of a

 

guardian effective beginning on the individual's eighteenth

 

birthday for an individual who is developmentally disabled and is

 

not less than 17 years and 6 months of age.

 

     Sec. 614. (1) Upon the filing of a petition, the court shall

 

fix a date and a place for a hearing to be held within 30 days

 

after the filing date of the petition. If the respondent is not

 

less than 17 years and 6 months of age, the court may fix a date

 

and a place for the hearing before the individual's eighteenth

 

birthday.

 

     (2) Hearings may be held either within or without the county

 

in which the court has its principal office, and in quarters as the

 

court directs, including a facility or other convenient place.

 

     (3) Notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be given

 

to the petitioner, to the respondent, to the respondent's

 

presumptive heirs, to the preparer of the report or another

 

appropriate person who performed an evaluation, to the director of

 

any facility in which the respondent may be residing, to the

 

respondent's guardian ad litem if one has been appointed, and to

 

the respondent's legal counsel.

 

     Sec. 618. (1) The court, at a hearing convened under this

 

chapter for the appointment of a guardian, shall do all of the

 

following:

 

     (a) Inquire into the nature and extent of the general

 

intellectual functioning of the respondent asserted to need a

 

guardian.

 

     (b) Determine the extent of the impairment in the respondent's

 

adaptive behavior.

 

     (c) Determine the respondent's capacity to care for himself or

 

herself by making and communicating responsible decisions

 

concerning his or her person.

 

     (d) Determine the capacity of the respondent to manage his or

 

her estate and financial affairs.

 

     (e) Determine the appropriateness of the proposed living

 

arrangements of the respondent and determine whether or not it is

 

the least restrictive setting suited to the respondent's condition.

 

     (f) If the respondent is residing in a facility, the court

 

shall specifically determine the appropriateness of the living

 

arrangement and determine whether or not it is the least

 

restrictive suited to the respondent's condition.

 

     (2) The court shall make findings of fact on the record

 

regarding the matters specified in subsection (1).

 

     (3) If it is determined that the respondent possesses the

 

capacity to care for himself or herself and the respondent's

 

estate, the court shall dismiss the petition.

 

     (4) If it is found by clear and convincing evidence that the

 

respondent is developmentally disabled and lacks the capacity to do

 

some, but not all, of the tasks necessary to care for himself or

 

herself or the respondent's estate, the court may appoint a partial

 

guardian to provide guardianship services to the respondent, but

 

the court shall not appoint a plenary guardian.

 

     (5) If it is found by clear and convincing evidence that the

 

respondent is developmentally disabled and is totally without

 

capacity to care for himself or herself or the respondent's estate,

 

the court shall specify that finding of fact in any order and may

 

appoint a plenary guardian of the person or of the estate or both

 

for the respondent.

 

     (6) If the court makes a finding under subsection (4) or (5)

 

and the respondent is not less than 17 years and 6 months of age,

 

the court may make an appointment of a guardian that is effective

 

beginning on the respondent's eighteenth birthday.