What is a guardianship?
A guardianship is a legal realm in which a person, whether it be a minor or a person who is no longer able to care for him or herself, due to illness or infirmity. A guardianship is something that a court does. Therefore, you have to file pleadings in a court to set up a guardianship of either the person and/or the estate/property of that person.
You can avoid a guardianship by having both a power of attorney and a healthcare surrogate that will save you thousands of dollars in going to court.