N.Y. Surrogate's Court Procedure Act § 1750-a: Guardianship of persons who are developmentally disabled 1

§ 1750-a. Guardianship of persons who are developmentally disabled

1. When it shall appear to the satisfaction of the court that a person

is a person who is developmentally disabled, the court is authorized to

appoint a guardian of the person or of the property or of both if such

appointment of a guardian or guardians is in the best interest of the

person who is developmentally disabled. Such appointments shall be made

pursuant to the provisions of this article, provided however that the

provisions of section seventeen hundred fifty of this article shall not

apply to the appointment of a guardian or guardians of a person who is

developmentally disabled. For the purposes of this article, a person who

is developmentally disabled is a person who has been certified by one

licensed physician and one licensed psychologist, or by two licensed

physicians at least one of whom is familiar with or has professional

knowledge in the care and treatment of persons with developmental

disabilities, having qualifications to make such certification, as

having an impaired ability to understand and appreciate the nature and

consequences of decisions which result in such person being incapable of

managing himself or herself and/or his or her affairs by reason of

developmental disability and that such condition is permanent in nature

or likely to continue indefinitely, and whose disability:

(a) is attributable to cerebral palsy, epilepsy, neurological

impairment, autism or traumatic head injury;

(b) is attributable to any other condition of a person found to be

closely related to intellectual disability because such condition

results in similar impairment of general intellectual functioning or

adaptive behavior to that of persons with intellectual disabilities; or

(c) is attributable to dyslexia resulting from a disability described

in subdivision one or two of this section or from intellectual

disability; and

(d) originates before such person attains age twenty-two, provided,

however, that no such age of origination shall apply for the purposes of

this article to a person with traumatic head injury.

2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, for the

purposes of subdivision two of section seventeen hundred fifty and

section seventeen hundred fifty-b of this article, "a person who is

intellectually disabled and his or her guardian" shall also mean a

person and his or her guardian appointed pursuant to this section;

provided that such person has been certified by the physicians and/or

psychologists, specified in subdivision one of this section, as (i)

having an intellectual disability, or (ii) having a developmental

disability, as defined in section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law, which

(A) includes intellectual disability, or (B) results in a similar

impairment of general intellectual functioning or adaptive behavior so

that such person is incapable of managing himself or herself, and/or his

or her affairs by reason of such developmental disability.