The capacity finding and the evidence it takes, guardian of the person compared with conservator of the estate, emergency and temporary appointments, the powers granted and the ones that need separate approval, bonds and accountings, less restrictive alternatives, and restoration of rights.
Statutes divide fiduciary authority into acts that may be taken in the ordinary course and acts requiring notice and specific court authorization. The second category typically includes gifts, sale or encumbrance of the adult's home, creating or revoking a trust, changing beneficiaries, exercising an elective share, and making a will. Several personal decisions sit in the same category, including certain psychiatric procedures and, in some states, a move to a more restrictive residence.
Courts require a conservator to furnish a bond or an equivalent verified receipt, sized to the estate plus expected income, unless the court finds security unnecessary. An inventory is due shortly after appointment, commonly within ninety days, with notice to the adult and interested persons. Periodic reports must contain an accounting of receipts, disbursements and holdings, a statement of deviations from the approved plan, and disclosure of benefits received by the conservator or family.
Statutory grounds for removal include failure to perform duties, abuse of powers, conflicts of interest, mismanagement of property, missed reports and failure to maintain a bond. Any person interested in the adult's welfare may file, and several statutes add a simplified grievance route for unrepresented complainants. Courts may suspend a fiduciary and appoint a temporary substitute while allegations are heard. A removed fiduciary still files a final account, and losses can be surcharged.
Statutes let any person interested in an adult's welfare petition, including the adult. The petition must identify relatives, existing agents, payees and trustees, state the powers sought and explain why lesser measures will not work. The adult receives personal service in plain language; other listed persons usually receive mail service. Most statutes bar the hearing from proceeding unless the adult attends or the court finds attendance would cause harm or is impossible.
An emergency guardian may be appointed where substantial harm to an adult's health, safety or welfare is likely before a hearing on the main petition and no other person is willing and able to act. The order enumerates only the powers needed to meet the emergency. Duration is capped by statute, commonly sixty or ninety days, with one extension available on a renewed showing. Counsel is appointed immediately, and notice is required unless the court finds it would defeat the purpose.
Statutes appoint a court visitor to interview and report, a clinician to evaluate function, and an attorney to represent the adult. The attorney advocates the adult's expressed position, including opposition to the petition, while a guardian ad litem where used argues best interests. The visitor and evaluator owe their reports to the judge and may be cross-examined. Disclosure of training, conflicts and fees is required before the reports are relied on.
Statutes permit the adult, the fiduciary or any interested person to seek termination or modification. Some states require only a suggestion of capacity, after which the court appoints a physician and sets deadlines for objection. Where the adult makes a prima facie showing, several statutes shift the burden to the party opposing restoration. Partial restoration is available and often the realistic request, and courts may act on a communication or a report without a formal petition.
Most states split protective authority in two. A guardian decides personal matters — residence, medical treatment, daily support — while a conservator manages property, income and financial transactions. Each requires its own finding, and a conservatorship may be granted where an adult is missing or detained without any capacity finding at all. Bonding, inventories and accountings attach to the money side; care plans and status reports attach to the person side.
A supported decision-making agreement is a signed document in which an adult names one or more supporters to help gather information, understand options and communicate a choice. The adult retains legal authority; the supporter does not decide. State statutes set execution formalities, define the supporter's access to protected information, disqualify supporters accused of abuse or exploitation, and give third parties who accept the agreement in good faith protection from liability.
Most guardianship statutes define incapacity functionally: an adult must be unable to receive and evaluate information or communicate decisions, and that inability must leave essential needs unmet, with no less restrictive alternative sufficient. The petitioner carries the burden and must meet it by clear and convincing evidence. A medical diagnosis supports the finding but does not supply it, and the order must state the specific abilities the court found lacking.
Statutes increasingly require the court to grant only the powers the evidence supports and to state the rights the adult retains. Narrowing can be done by subject, by transaction, by dollar threshold or by duration. Statutes drawn from the uniform act also allow a protective arrangement that authorizes a single transaction without appointing a fiduciary. The order and the resulting letters are what institutions read, so imprecise drafting defeats the limitation in practice.
