Adult Guardianship and Protective Placements

The Probate Court has exclusive jurisdiction over adult guardianships, protective placements, protective services, minor guardianships of the estate, conservatorships, and custodianships.

Expand each tab below to learn more about each of these actions.

GUARDIANSHIP: A guardianship is the court procedure by which a person is declared incompetent. There are two types of adult guardianships. They are as follows:

Guardianship of the Person. This type of guardianship is where the guardian is appointed by the court to manage and handle the day to day decision making for an individual who is no longer legally able to make these decisions for themselves.
Guardianship of the Estate. This type of guardianship is where the guardian is appointed by the court to manage and handle the financial affairs for an individual who is no longer legally able to manage their finances.

A guardian of the person shall, by statute, report to the court on an annual basis regarding the condition of the person that they have been appointed guardian. The Register in Probate will send a form called the Annual Report of the Condition of the Ward to each guardian of the person. This is a one page document that is required to be completed by the guardian of the person and returned to the Register in Probate by April 15th of each year that the guardian of the person is in effect.

A guardian of the estate shall, by statute, file with the Register in Probate an Inventory of the assets of the person they have been appointed guardian of the estate for within 60 days of their appointment. In addition, the guardian of the estate shall file an annual accounting of the financial affairs of the person who they are appointed as guardian of the estate. This accounting will be sent to the guardian of the estate by the Register in Probate and is required to be returned to the Register in Probate along with supporting documentation by April 15th of each year they are guardian of the estate.

Looking for information about Minor Guardianship of the Estate?

A protective placement is the court procedure whereby a person who has had a guardian of the person appointed and who is not capable of living independently will be placed in a living arrangement that is appropriate for their needs.

These placements are reviewed annually by the court to make sure the person subject to these orders still meet the statutory requirements for the placement and the placement is still the least restrictive placement.

If the person is entering a facility with 16 or more beds a protective placement is required. Again, a protective placement can only be ordered if an individual is subject to a guardianship of the person.

This procedure is similar to the procedure for protective placement. It is the court procedure by which a person under guardianship of the person is ordered to receive services to support their well being.

These protective service orders are reviewed on an annual basis to make sure the person under guardianship continues to meet the statutory requirements for these court ordered services and whether the services ordered remain the least restrictive for the needs of the individual.

A conservatorship is a voluntary guardianship of the estate. There is no finding of incompetency for the appointment of a conservator. The person who is having a conservator appointed is required to agree to the appointment as well as the person being appointed.

The person needing a conservator is agreeing they need assistance with their finances and they want the court to monitor the actions of the person being appointed. Similar to the guardianship of the estate, the conservator is required to file an inventory of all the assets they are managing no later than 60 days after they are appointed.

The conservator is also required to file an annual accounting along with supporting documentation with the Register in Probate no later than April 15th of each year they are acting as conservator. They also shall provide a copy of the accounting to the person whose assets they are managing.

A custodianship is where a person or institution manages a persons, usually a child’s, financial account. Custodianships are normally set up without court intervention. Under the Probate Court an action may be initiated to remove or replace a custodian and appoint a new custodian if one is removed.