We are in the middle of a revolution — a “longevity revolution.” We are living longer and longer, with often very good physical health.

It is a blessing and a curse, because eventually, age will catch up with all of us. While we may be physically robust, we may outlive our intellectual capacity to make good decisions about our health care and their finances.

That is why there are powers of attorney and guardianships. Hopefully, for any person facing intellectual incapacity, they nominated an agent under a power of attorney — well before they became incapacitated. A power of attorney is essentially a substitute for a court proceeding called a guardianship. Do not try to navigate the complexities of the guardianship process without experienced legal support.

If a person did not nominate an agent under a power of attorney to make decisions upon incapacity, then a court-appointed guardianship is necessary.

The court will find a guardian is necessary if the alleged disabled person can no longer make responsible decisions about his or her affairs or communicate them to others.

In Illinois, guardianships come in two flavors — guardianship of the person and guardianship of the estate. These essentially replace power of attorney for health care and power of attorney for property.

The guardianship of the person makes medical and health-related decisions for the disabled person. The guardian of the person may also help the disabled person apply for government benefits, like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, etc.