Legal Question in Family Law in Georgia

You are treading on dangerous ground here Ga. Grandpa. As a 21 year old, your granddaughter is considered an adult in the State of Georgia and can make her own decisions regarding her body. That includes the right to have a hysterectomy performed. Of course, if a court of law has appointed a guardian on her behalf to make decisions concerning her health and welfare, the situation may be entirely different.

Here's just a few of the myriad of potential problem I see --

(1) Your granddaughter will have to consent to any medical treatment she receives and many medical facilities will not perform this type of procedure on someone who is mentally challenged for fear of future liability. And for good reason. If the procedure is performed and your grand daughter later claims she was coerced or didn't consent the hospital has a problem.

(2) If you pay your granddaughter the money and she decides not to go through with the procedure, no court will uphold your agreement as an enforceable contract. For one, a court may say that she doesn't have the mental capacity to contract (since a contract takes a "meeting of the minds" to form and you have already stated she is mentally challenged). In addition, these types of contracts simply go against the public policy of the State --no court is going to order her to live up to her end of the deal if she changes her mind. Finally, even if she does go through with the procedure, there's always the chance she can successfully have her "tubes untied" at a later point in time and you will be right back in the same position.

(3) You don't want to get in a situation where she, or the police, accuse you of a criminal act involving a mentally challenged person.

Before you do anything, I STRONGLY encourage you to consult a Georgia family law attorney who has experience dealing with cases involving adult mentally challenged family members. Most will give you a free consultation and explain your options if any (and the cost, if the attorney helps you).

Best of luck.*****The above is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client privilege.******