#32 Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Least Restrictive Model

Written By Haley Brunelle

Joe Kukla (right) with his brother (left) at the Minnesota Twins stadium. Joe’s brother has a disability and is just one of the many reasons he is so passionate about his work.

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So Apparently My Kid Turns 18 and I Lose All My Superpowers

There's a thing that happens when you're raising a child with complex medical needs. You become, over time, a kind of superhero. Not the caped, abs-of-steel variety — more like the kind who can recite medication dosages in their sleep, navigate an IEP meeting without crying (mostly), and explain their child's rare diagnosis to a new specialist in under four minutes flat. 

You are, in the truest sense, the expert on your kid.

And then someone tells you that on their 18th birthday, the law looks at your child — your child, the one you have shepherded through hospitalizations and therapies and school battles and all of it — and says, "Congratulations, you are now a legal adult. Mom? Who's Mom?"

Our guest, Joseph Kukla, attorney at Thiel, Kukla, Gunderson & SPAETH, P.L.L.P Law Firm has spent his career helping families navigate one of the most emotional — and important — parts of adulthood planning for loved ones with disabilities.

Joe makes a complicated legal world feel surprisingly approachable as he unpacks the real differences between guardianship and conservatorship, clears up common misconceptions, and explains how today’s courts are moving away from the old “rubber-stamp” mentality toward a more person-centered, least-restrictive approach focused on dignity, independence, and individual choice.

Key Takeaways

Let's talk about what Joe actually explained, because it is genuinely useful and only mildly terrifying.

Guardianship is when the court grants you the legal authority to make decisions for your adult child — medical decisions, housing, care needs. The stuff you've already been doing, just now with paperwork and a judge involved. Joe describes it as "decision-making authority for the person," which is a very attorney way of saying: you get to keep being mom.

Conservatorship is the financial version — managing assets, bank accounts, property. You might know this word from the Britney Spears situation, which Tram brought up with the energy of someone who has been waiting the entire episode to say it. Joe handled this with grace. Conservatorship, he explained, is actually pretty rare for young adults with disabilities because most 18-year-olds don't have a lot of assets. Which, fair.

And then there's the concept that Joe is clearly most passionate about: least restrictive alternatives. This is the legal world's way of saying — wait, hold on, before we remove this person's constitutional rights, let's make sure we actually need to. Because here's the thing: guardianship means the court is formally stripping away rights that the Constitution gives every adult. That's not nothing. That's a big deal.

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Haley Brunelle
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#31 Access 2 Advocacy