Castel-Tallet,
Legal guardianship for people living with Alzheimer’s disease
- 2017.
84
Two national surveys of 182 guardianship judges and 546 professional guardians (working in non-profit organizations) offer insight into legal guardianship measures concerning people living with dementia in France. Previous surveys had shown that 10–20% of people with dementia are under guardianship when they live in the community, and 30–40% when they reside in an institution. Declarative surveys provide more precise details about the practices of both judges and professional guardians. It is estimated that about 260,000 people living with dementia are under guardianship in France (representing 31% of this population). Most of these measures are full guardianship of both the person and the estate, often including withdrawal of the right to vote. It is not unusual that the guardianship measure is established without a hearing for the person with dementia, and care staff are seldom consulted during the court proceedings. On average, a full-time guardianship judge is in charge of 3,585 measures, and a professional guardian of 53 measures. Nevertheless, these surveys show that both judges and legal guardians play a crucial role in protecting the interests and the rights of people living with dementia.