Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Lindsay Lohan Forced into Legal Guardianship? How The Law Can Take Away Your Freedom to Run Your Own Life

Radar Online had the scoop, and as of this post there were a growing number of online news sources carrying the story that Lindsay Lohan may soon face an attempt by her mother, Dina Lohan, to have the courts place LiLo under a legal guardianship.

The Precedent of Britney Spears
Yes, this would be similar to the actions taken by Britney Spears' family where the judge placed Britney Spears' dad (Jamie Spears) as the decision-maker over Britany Spears' life. Jamie Spears was given the power to make decisions regarding Britney's person and her property in 2007, and three years later, he's still in charge.

How Could This Happen to Lindsay Lohan?
Right now, Lindsay Lohan is in the criminal system. She's out on $300,000 bail, and scheduled to return for another hearing in her criminal case on October 22nd. Lindsay Lohan is on probation, subject to random drug tests and under the supervision of a probation officer.

Lindsay Lohan, at 24 years old, is a legal adult. So far, Lindsay may be building a collection of Los Angeles county mugshots, but she's not in the civil system.

However, and this is where the rumors are flying, a new action could be filed where someone -- her mother, her father, someone else -- could ask a civil court to appoint an as-yet-unnamed person, but probably a third party, to step in and take over LiLo's life.

Civil Action Requesting Court Appointment
The request would be that this individual become Lindsay Lohan's legal guardian, legally replacing her as the one to make choices over her personal life and her property decisions. It's assumed that the request would not be for either parent to take on this role, unlike Britney's case, since Lindsay Lohan's parents are both rumored to be contributing factors to her current situation.
This action would be filed pursaunt to the California Welfare and Institute Code for Mental Disorders and Chronic Alcoholism. Under that state law, if an adult is found to be unfit or unable to take care of themselves, after the appropriate psychological evaluations and case investigations, then another adult is appointed to take over.


The Law Does Allow for Adults to Lose the Power to Run Their Own Lives - It Can Happen in Florida, Too
You grow up, you become a legal adult. You can buy a beer. You can drive a car. You can buy a gun. You can go to war, get married, get divorced, buy a house. You're free, right?
Not always. Every state in the union has the same sort of laws on the books that Lindsay Lohan may face in California. And they are used a lot more often that you may realize.

Conservators and Guardians - Available In Every State
For example, Florida personal injury cases often see these laws come into play when someone is seriously injured. Perhaps it's a short term situation -- a car accident victim is in a short-term drug-induced coma followed by rehab, and a conservator is needed to make business decisions.
Sometimes, it's permanent -- a traumatic brain injury during a sporting event means a teenager will need to have someone else acting on his or her behalf for the rest of their lives, because they are mentally unable to make their own care decisions.

In some areas, they are called "conservators," and in other parts of the country, they are given the title of "guardian." Sometimes, they have power over the person and the property; other times, the power is only over one or the other (and occasionally, two people will be appointed, one to handle personal decisions and the other to handle the accounting).

Whatever the situation, you should know: your freedom to live your own life under the law is not absolute. As Lindsay Lohan may be learning from experience sometime before Christmas this year.

By Bryant Esquenazi on September 28, 2010 11:37 AM

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