SummarySenate Bill 1881 authorizes an adult with a disability to voluntarily, without undue influence or coercion, or without creating a guardianship, enter into a supported decision-making agreement with a supporter.
AnalysisAccording to the bill analysis, while guardianship sometimes may be necessary, a person should not be presumed to need a guardian simply because of advanced age or the presence of a physical, cognitive, or mental disability. An individual should be given the opportunity to avoid or limit guardianship through available alternatives. Senate Bill 1881 seeks to provide such an alternative.
SB 1881 requires a supported decision-making agreement to be signed voluntarily and without coercion by the principal and the supporter in the presence of two witnesses or a Notary. Notaries performing the notarial act on the agreement should note that a while the notarial certificate is an acknowledgment -- technically only requiring the signature to be acknowledged before the Notary -- the statute says that if notarized, the signature must be witnessed by the Notary.
Read Senate Bill 1881.