Who is identified as the person legally authorized to make decisions for the individual?

Who is identified as the person legally authorized to make decisions for the individual?

• A. Formal caregiver
• B. Care recipient
• C. Legal guardian
• D. Primary informal helper

Answer: (C)

The important idea is who has formal, legally recognized authority to decide for someone who can’t make decisions themselves. A legal guardian is appointed through a legal process to act on behalf of a person lacking capacity, giving them the authority to make essential decisions, including health care and living arrangements. A formal caregiver provides care and carries out the plan but does not automatically have the legal right to make decisions for the person. The care recipient may still make their own choices if they have capacity, and a primary informal helper isn’t legally empowered to decide unless there’s a separate legal instrument like a power of attorney or guardianship.

The important idea is who has formal, legally recognized authority to decide for someone who can’t make decisions themselves. A legal guardian is appointed through a legal process to act on behalf of a person lacking capacity, giving them the authority to make essential decisions, including health care and living arrangements. A formal caregiver provides care and carries out the plan but does not automatically have the legal right to make decisions for the person. The care recipient may still make their own choices if they have capacity, and a primary informal helper isn’t legally empowered to decide unless there’s a separate legal instrument like a power of attorney or guardianship.