Guardianship applications for elderly patients: why do they fail?

Variables associated with successful completion of guardianship applications for elderly patients were identified. Thirteen patients for whom applications were approved were compared with 26 whose applications did not reach the court. Patients for whom the process was successful scored significantly higher on the anergia-depression subscale of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale and had significantly more medical conditions in the past year. A survey of next of kin revealed that the process had a much better chance of success when the unit social worker made the guardianship recommendation and when family members were given more information about the taxing and time-consuming process of obtaining guardianship.