Ward vs. Incapacitated Person? The Challenges of Labels in Modern Proceedings

Catching up on a bit of reading, I notice that the Uniform Laws Commission has a committee hard at work on drafting proposed revisions to the 1997 Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act  (UGPPA).  University of Missouri Law Professor David English is Chair of that committee,  with many good people (and friends) on the working group.

In reviewing their April 2015 Committee Meeting Summary, available here, I was interested to see the following note under the discussion heading about “person-first language:”

Participants engaged in a lively discussion of the desirability of person-first language, and possible person-first terminology.  There was general agreement that the revision should attempt to incorporate person-first language.  For the next meeting, the Reporter [University of Syracuse Law Professor Nina Kohn] will attempt a draft that uses language other than “ward” or “incapacitated” to the extent possible and utilizes person-first language instead (precise wording still to be determined).  The Reporter will also attempt to use a single term that can describe both persons subject to guardianship and those subject to conservatorship.

I’ve struggled with “labels” in writing and speaking about older adults generally, and incapacitated persons specifically.  It will be interesting to see what the ULC committee recommends on this and even more daunting tasks, including how to better facilitate and promote “person-centered decision-making” and limited guardianships.