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The Department of Justice and the Department of Veterans Affairs recently announced a partnership intended, in their words, to improve care for “the nation’s most vulnerable veterans.” The agreement allows VA attorneys to be sworn in as special federal prosecutors so they can bring guardianship or conservatorship petitions in state courts for veterans who are deemed unable to make their own medical decisions and who lack family or legal representatives.

On its face, the policy sounds like a bureaucratic fix to a real problem. Hospitals sometimes struggle to discharge patients who cannot legally consent to treatment or placement decisions. This problem is particularly prevalent when patients are elderly, homeless, and/or struggling with mental health conditions—all situations applying disproportionately to veterans. By helping secure court-appointed guardians, the government says, veterans could move more quickly into appropriate care.

But guardianship and conservatorship are among the most sweeping legal interventions courts may impose on adults. Once granted, they can transfer authority over major life decisions—from medical treatment to housing arrangements—to someone else. And in the context of homelessness, that authority can become a powerful tool for........

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