Explained in plain English
What the work involves, before you sign anything.
Probate · Adult guardianship
When someone in your family can no longer decide.
A guardianship is how a Nevada court gives one person the authority to care for another adult. It is a serious step, and sometimes it is the only one available.
The short answer
An adult guardianship is a court order that gives a guardian legal authority over another adult’s care, their money, or both, because that person can no longer make or communicate those decisions safely. Nevada treats it as a last resort. The court must be satisfied that nothing less restrictive will do, the person at the center of it has their own attorney and their own rights, and the guardian answers to the court for as long as the guardianship lasts. If a power of attorney or a trust is already in place, a guardianship may not be needed at all.
When families reach this point
It tends to build slowly and then become urgent. It might be a parent with dementia who has stopped paying the bills, or a spouse after a stroke. It might be an adult child with a disability who has just turned eighteen, which ended a parent’s legal authority overnight, or a relative being steered by someone who should not be near their checkbook. In each case a decision has to be made, and the person who would ordinarily make it cannot.
What to try first
Nevada law asks the court to consider whether something less restrictive would work, and so should the family. If the person signed a financial power of attorney and an advance directive while they were able, the people they named may already have all the authority that is needed. A funded living trust lets a successor trustee manage what the trust holds. Nevada also recognizes supported decision-making agreements, under which an adult who needs help keeps the decision and chooses who helps them make it. A guardianship is for when none of those exist, or when they are not enough.
What a Nevada guardianship is
Of the person, of the estate, or both
A guardian of the person makes decisions about care, medical treatment, and where someone lives. A guardian of the estate manages money and property. One guardian can hold both roles, or the court can divide them.
As narrow as the need
For a person with limited capacity, the court can appoint a guardian with authority over only the matters they cannot manage, and leave the rest with them. Where there is immediate risk, a temporary guardianship can be put in place while the full petition is heard.
The protected person’s rights
Nevada calls the person at the center of a guardianship the protected person. The court appoints an attorney for them, they are entitled to be at the hearing, and Nevada’s statutes set out a bill of rights that stays with them throughout: to be treated with dignity, to take part in decisions as far as they are able, to see family and friends, and to ask the court to change or end the guardianship.
What the court needs to see
A petition explaining why a guardianship is necessary and why this guardian is suitable, a medical professional’s assessment of the person’s capacity, and notice to the close family, who may support the petition, propose someone else, or object.
What it asks of a guardian
More than most people expect. A guardian of the estate files an inventory of what the person owns, keeps their money separate from everyone else’s, and accounts to the court for every dollar, year after year. A guardian of the person reports to the court on how the person is living and being cared for. Major steps, such as selling the person’s home or moving them to another state, need the court’s approval first. The guardianship lasts until the person recovers capacity or dies, or the court ends it.
When a guardianship is needed, these duties are worth taking on. They are also why the law prefers the documents that make one unnecessary, and why a family should hear all of it before deciding.
The firm guides family members through obtaining an adult guardianship.
If you are not sure it has come to this, bring whatever papers your relative signed. They may already be enough.
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Questions
Do we need a guardianship if Mom already signed a power of attorney?
Often not. If she signed a financial power of attorney and a health-care directive while she was able, the people she named may already have the authority that is needed. A guardianship is for when those documents do not exist or are not enough.
What is the difference between a guardian of the person and a guardian of the estate?
A guardian of the person decides about care, medical treatment, and where someone lives. A guardian of the estate manages their money and property. One person can be appointed to both roles, or the court can divide them.
Does my relative get a say?
Yes. Nevada appoints an attorney for the person, they are entitled to attend the hearing, and a statutory bill of rights protects their dignity and their part in decisions for as long as the guardianship lasts.
My child with a disability is turning eighteen. What happens to my authority?
It ends on their birthday, because the law then treats them as an adult. Depending on what they can decide for themselves, the answer may be a supported decision-making agreement, powers of attorney they sign themselves, or a guardianship limited to what they need.
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When you’re ready
What’s already signed may be enough.
You’ll hear the whole process first, then the first step and what it costs.