Adult guardianship, conservatorship and other protective arrangements

Yes, you should read this if you live in Washington State or you know an adult who does who might need help caring for themselves.

A court appoints a guardian to help you make decisions about your health, safety, and self-care.

A court appoints a conservator to make decisions about your money and property.

A court appoints someone to help you with certain tasks. These can be, for example, approving medical treatment or limiting visits by someone who might harm you. This is a less restrictive alternative to guardianship or conservatorship but the court process is mostly the same.

This written agreement between you and a "supporter" will help you in making decisions about your health care and your money. The court isn't involved in these agreements. Read Alternatives to Guardianship: Supported Decision Making Agreements (SDM) to learn more.

If someone has filed a court action (called a petition) for a guardian or conservator for you, you are the "respondent." The respondent is the person for whom someone seeks a guardian or conservator.

Any interested person can start a court case (can file a petition) with the Superior Court asking the judge to decide these things:

• Can you meet your essential needs for physical health, safety, or self-care?
• Do you need a guardian or conservator to prevent harm to you?
• Can an alternative to guardianship or conservatorship meet your needs?

The judge appoints this person to investigate and to recommend if you need a guardian or conservator. The court visitor will interview you and anyone with information about you. This can include the proposed guardian or conservator and medical providers.

The judge will also order a professional evaluation of you by a medical provider. The court visitor will read the evaluations and make them part of their investigation.

The court visitor will give the court a written report and recommendation based on their investigation.

You can fight (oppose) the petition. You have the right to have a lawyer help you. If you can't afford a lawyer, the court will appoint one for you at public expense. You can ask the court visitor about getting a lawyer. Or you can write the judge a letter asking for a lawyer.

Maybe. You usually don't need a guardianship if you've given someone power of attorney. But if your power of attorney form doesn't cover certain decisions, or some other problem comes up, you might need to have a guardian or conservator after all.   

The person must be at least 21 years old. They must not have been convicted of a crime involving dishonesty, neglect, or abuse. There might be other reasons the judge finds someone can't be a guardian or conservator.

Yes. Your guardian and conservator can be the same person or different people.

They must act in your best interest. They must make decisions that are good for you. They must file plans and reports with the court regularly so the court knows how they're doing their job.

Yes. A guardian may not decide to place you in a nursing home against your will. A guardian must get a court order to have you committed to a psychiatric hospital or consent to treatments involving restraint or electric shock.

Yes. You can ask the court to change the guardianship or conservatorship. For example, you can ask the court to replace the guardian with someone else or change the kinds of decisions they can make. Or you can ask the court to end the guardianship or conservatorship because you don't need it anymore.

You can write a letter to the clerk of the court that ordered the guardianship or conservatorship to ask to change or end (terminate) it. Read How to Modify or Terminate a Guardianship by Disability Rights Washington to learn more.

You can file a complaint (a grievance) with the Certified Professional Guardianship and Conservatorship Board.  

Yes. Read Non-Parent Custody has changed to Minor Guardianship to learn more.  

You can read the state law at RCW 11.130.   

• Durable Power of Attorney for Finances: You choose a trusted person to help you manage your finances and property. Read Durable Power of Attorney to learn more.
• Living Trust: Your money or property is held by a trustee, someone whose job it is)to manage your money or property for your benefit.
• Representative Payee: A government agency, such as Social Security or Veterans Administration, chooses a trusted person or organization to receive and manage your benefits for you.
• Individual Indian Money (IIM) Account: If you're Native American, this might be an option. Read Frequently Asked Questions for IIM Accounts to learn more.  
• Joint Banking Account: You hold your money in an account with another person who can help you manage your finances. Be aware: this person can take money out without your permission. Also, if the other joint account holder has debts, the creditors can come after all the money in your account.
• Authorized Signor: This person isn't a joint account holder. They're just permitted to manage money in the account.
• Joint Property Arrangements: This lets you own property with someone you trust who can help you manage the property.
• Supported Decision-Making Agreements Read Alternatives to Guardianship: Supported Decision Making Agreements (SDM) to learn more.

• Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions:  You choose a trusted friend or relative to help you with your health care. Visit Durable Power of Attorney to learn more.
• Health Care Directive (or Living Will): You put in writing what kind of medical treatment you do or don't want if you're terminally ill or permanently unconscious and you cannot make decisions for yourself. You can also write down your health care values. Visit Health Care Directives (or Living Will) to learn more.
• Mental Health Advance Directives: You put in writing what kind of mental health treatment you do or don't want if you can't make decisions for yourself. Read Mental Health Advance Directive and Living with Dementia Mental Health Advance Directive to learn more.
• Consent to Health Care Law: Washington's state law lists specific people who can make health care decisions for an adult if you can't do it yourself. This can include, for example, your power of attorney, spouse, domestic partner, adult children, parents, and siblings. Read the Honoring Choices hierarchy.
• Supported Decision-Making: Read Alternatives to Guardianship: Supported Decision Making Agreements (SDM) to learn more.