Court Proceedings After the Appointment of a Guardian or Conservator
The protected person, guardian or conservator, or any interested person may file papers with the court to ask the judge to assist with the guardianship.
Restricted accounts
The judge might order that the protected person's money be deposited in a restricted account. A restricted account is one in which the bank will not allow the money to be withdrawn without a court order. To make a withdrawal, the guardian or conservator must first ask the judge for a court order. Getting a court order takes time, so this arrangement works best when the protected person has other money to pay for regular expenses.
If the judge does order that the protected person's money be deposited in a restricted account, the guardian or conservator must file an acknowledgement by a bank representative that the bank is aware of the restriction. To withdraw money from the account, the guardian or conservator must file a motion to withdraw funds and serve it on the interested persons. If the judge grants the motion, the guardian or conservator would present the court order to the bank.
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Motion to change the guardian's or conservator's bond requirements
The guardian or conservator, the protected person, or someone interested in the protected person may file a motion to change the guardian's or conservator's bond requirements.
For more information on these bonds, see our page on Guardian's and Conservator's Bond.
If the court has waived the bond and you think there should be one, or has required a bond in an amount that you think is too high or too low you can ask the judge to order the bond, increase or decrease the amount. There are no approved forms for this particular motion, but for information and general motion forms, see our page on Motions.
Motion for instructions from the court
The guardian or conservator, the protected person, or someone interested in the protected person may file a petition or motion. Some possible circumstances:
- Most of the guardian's and conservator's decisions do not have to be approved by the judge, but there are some that do.
- Or the guardian or conservator might want the extra protection of having a particularly controversial decision approved by an independent authority.
You should ask the court for instructions only if the matter is important and the protected person will not be harmed by the delay. There are no approved forms for this particular motion, but for information and general motion forms, see our page on Motions.
Motion to change the guardian's or conservator's authority
The guardian or conservator, the protected person, or someone interested in the protected person may file a petition or motion. If the protected person's incapacity becomes better or worse, and the guardian and conservator need less or more authority than given in the previous order and letter of appointment, you may ask the judge to change the order and letter to reflect more appropriate authority. There are no approved forms for this particular motion, but for information and general motion forms, see our page on Motions.
If the protected person has regained capacity and no longer needs a guardian and conservator, see our page on Ending a Guardianship or Conservatorship.
Motion to enforce the guardianship order
If the guardian is not allowing the protected person to associate with a relative or qualified acquaintance the protected person, their relative, or a qualified acquaintance may ask the court to enforce the Guardianship Order or to impose sanctions.
A qualified acquaintance is an individual, other than a relative of the protected person, who has established a significant, mutual friendship with the protected person or is clergy in the protected person’s religion or religious congregation.
The person asking the court to enforce the Guardianship Order or to impose sanctions may do this by filing a Motion to Order to Enforce Order.
If the guardian or conservator has harmed the protected person, the judge can impose a penalty against the guardian or conservator. The harm might have been physical, emotional or financial. The penalty might be an order to pay money to the protected person or perform some other service. Or, they can ask the court to remove the guardian or conservator and appoint a new one.
The guardian or conservator, the protected person, or someone interested in the protected person may file a Motion to Review, Terminate, or Remove Guardian or Conservator.