Guardianship & Conservatorship Administration

Guardianship Administration is the process by which a court oversees the guardianship of a protected person. The law requires annual reports to the court, copies of which must also be provided to other interested persons such as family members. In a guardianship proceedings, the report details the actions taken by the guardian on behalf of the protected person, the status of the protected person's health and whether there is a continuing need for a guardianship.

Conservatorship proceedings often parallel guardianship proceedings and similar annual reporting requirements exist. The conservator's responsibility includes presenting a detailed inventory and accounting of the protected person's resources, income and expenses.

Our firm has a great deal of experience in fulfilling the guardianship -- and conservatorship -- administration requirements.

South Dakota law says that every person is presumed to be competent, but this presumption can be overcome to provide protection to a person who has lost competency. In a court proceeding to establish a guardianship or conservatorship, such a person is simply declared to be a person "in need of protection."

The fact that an individual may make bad decisions does not necessarily establish the basis for a guardianship or conservatorship. However, bad decisions may be evidence of incompetence when those decisions are inconsistent with past decisions that the person made.

Under South Dakota law, a person is declared to be "in need of protection" if the court is satisfied that the person is "an individual whose ability to respond to people, events, and environments is impaired to such an extent that the individual lacks the capacity of meeting the essential requirements for his health, care, safety, habitation or therapeutic needs without the assistance or protection of a guardian or conservator." A guardian/conservator can also be appointed for a minor.

A guardian makes decisions regarding a person's lifestyle, residence, healthcare, and personal matters, while a conservator is responsible for a person's finances, assets, and property.

Our attorney's represent guardians and conservators as well as "protected persons" (i.e., "wards") in several ways. Representation is critical in having a guardianship or conservatorship established or terminated when circumstances chance. Representation is also important in administering the proceeding over the years.