New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 8 - SOCIAL SERVICES
Chapter 11 - ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES
Part 5 - ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES LEGAL
Section 8.11.5.7 - DEFINITIONS
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A. "Ability to consent" means an adult's ability to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of proposed protective services or protective placement, including benefits, risks and alternatives to the proposed services or placement and to make or communicate an informed decision.
B. The "adult protective services (APS) attorney" is the attorney that represents the department in actions pursuant to the Adult Protective Services Act and federal and state constitutional, statutory and case law.
C. "Advance directives" include powers of attorney, living wills and written statements appointing surrogate health care decision makers under the Uniform Health Care Decisions Act (Section 24-7A-1 et seq. NMAC 1978 as amended) and the Mental Health Care Treatment Decisions Act (Section 24-7B-1 et seq. NMAC 1978 as amended).
D. An "affidavit" is a sworn statement of facts and accompanies the petition for an order. It is signed by any person who either has personal knowledge of the facts or has been informed of them and believes them to be true.
E. "Conservator" is a person or entity appointed by the court to manage the property or financial affairs, or both, of an incapacitated adult.
F. "Department" means the aging and long-term services department.
G. "Division" means the adult protective services division of the aging and long-term services department.
H. "Guardian" is a person or entity who has qualified to provide for the care, custody, or control of an incapacitated adult pursuant to court appointment. Examples of a guardian's responsibilities may include making decisions about where the incapacitated person lives, making health care or treatment decisions for the incapacitated adult, and making decisions relating to the incapacitated adult's personal safety or care.
I. "Guardianship or conservatorship" is the appointment, by a court, of a person or entity to assume decision making responsibility and to handle the affairs of an individual the court has found to be "incapacitated" as defined in the Probate Code. A guardian and conservator may be the same person or institution or they may be two different persons or entities.
J. An "incapacitated adult" is defined in the Adult Protective Services Act as any adult with a mental, physical or developmental condition that substantially impairs the adult's ability to provide adequately for the adult's own care or protection.
K. A "surrogate" is a person legally authorized to act on an adult's behalf.
L. A "visitor" is a court appointed person, who is not a department employee, with no personal interest in the proceedings who is trained or possesses the expertise to evaluate the person's needs in a guardianship or conservatorship case.
