How does adult guardianship work in Arizona?

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## Two routes to adult guardianship

Arizona law provides two distinct routes: an advance appointment made by a parent or spouse , and a court-supervised appointment begun by petition and decided at a hearing .

### 1. Advance appointment by a parent or spouse

- A parent may, by will or other signed writing, appoint a guardian for an unmarried child the parent believes is incapacitated, and an individual may do the same for a spouse believed to be incapacitated; in either case the appointer may specify desired limitations on the guardian's powers and may revoke or amend the appointment before court confirmation .
- Until the court confirms the appointment, the incapacitated person, the person having care or custody (if other than the appointing parent or spouse), or the adult nearest in kinship may file a written objection; the filing terminates the appointment, though the objection may be withdrawn and does not bar the court from later appointing the same person .
- The court may treat a filed objection as a petition for a temporary guardian or for a limited or general guardian and proceed accordingly .
- On the appointing parent's or spouse's petition, and on finding that person will likely become unable to care for the incapacitated person within two years, the court may confirm the selection before it takes effect and terminate others' right to object .

### 2. Court appointment by petition and hearing

- The alleged incapacitated person or any person interested in that person's affairs or welfare may petition for a guardian or another appropriate protective order .
- The petition must state that the guardian's authority may include withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment, including artificial food and fluid, and must include, to the extent known, items such as the petitioner's interest, the person's identifying information, the proposed guardian's identity and priority, the nearest relative, a general statement of the person's property, the reasons an appointment is necessary, and the type of guardianship requested; a request for general guardianship must state that other alternatives have been explored and why limited guardianship is not appropriate, while a request for limited guardianship must state the specific powers sought . The petition must also disclose whether the person is a principal under a health care or durable power of attorney (attaching copies) and whether the person has a present vested interest in a trust .
- On filing, the court sets a hearing on incapacity; unless the person has independent counsel, the court appoints an attorney; a court-appointed investigator interviews the person, and a court-appointed physician, psychologist, or registered nurse examines the person, with both submitting written reports; the investigator also interviews the proposed guardian and visits the person's current and proposed residence .
- The alleged incapacitated person is entitled to be present at the hearing, to see or hear all evidence, to be represented by counsel, to present evidence, to cross-examine witnesses (including the court-appointed examiner and investigator), and to trial by jury, and the hearing may be closed at the request of the person or counsel ; at the initial hearing, the court reads the notice of the right to a jury trial into the record .
- The court may appoint a general or limited guardian only on clear and convincing evidence that the person is incapacitated, that the appointment is necessary to provide for demonstrated needs, and that those needs cannot be met by less restrictive means, including appropriate technological assistance ; the court must encourage the development of the person's maximum self-reliance and independence, and a limited guardianship may carry time limits and specified limits on the guardian's powers .
- The appointed guardian must file an acceptance of appointment ; the court may require a proposed guardian to furnish fingerprints for a criminal background investigation at that person's cost, except for licensed fiduciaries and employees of financial institutions ; and the court must make a specific finding whether the appointment is due solely to the ward's physical incapacity .

### Who the court may appoint

- Any qualified person may be appointed guardian, and the court may consider candidates in a statutory priority order: an existing guardian, conservator, or fiduciary from the jurisdiction where the person resides; an individual or corporation nominated by the incapacitated person if the court finds sufficient capacity to make an intelligent choice; the person nominated in the most recent durable or health care power of attorney; the spouse; an adult child; a parent (including someone nominated in a deceased parent's will or writing); a relative with whom the person resided for more than six months before the petition; the nominee of a person caring for or paying benefits to the person; the department of veterans' services for veterans and certain of their family members; a licensed non-public fiduciary; and a licensed public fiduciary .
- A person holding priority as a spouse, adult child, parent, co-residing relative, or caregiver's nominee may nominate someone in writing to serve in that person's place, and among persons of equal priority the court selects the best qualified .
- If the petition is filed for an incapacitated minor approaching adulthood or within two years after the person's eighteenth birthday, the court must appoint whoever held sole legal decision-making when the person turned eighteen — or both holders of joint legal decision-making as co-guardians — unless the court finds the appointment contrary to the person's best interest ; co-guardians may be appointed and share decision-making equally unless the court orders otherwise .
- For good cause — including an invalid power of attorney, a determination that honoring the power of attorney would not serve the person's physical, emotional, or financial best interests, or fiduciary fees that would impair the estate's ability to cover reasonable living expenses — the court may pass over a person with priority ; a person passed over may, within ten days after entry of the order, request a specific finding of good cause .

### The guardian's powers and duties

- A guardian generally has the same powers, rights, and duties respecting the ward that a parent has respecting an unemancipated minor child, but is not liable to third persons for the ward's acts solely by reason of the guardianship .
- Core powers and duties include: custody of the ward and establishing the ward's place of abode; providing for the ward's care, comfort, maintenance, and, when appropriate, training and education; consenting to medical and other professional care; reporting to the court on the ward's condition and any estate under the guardian's control; encouraging the ward's self-reliance and actively working toward limiting or terminating the guardianship; finding the most appropriate and least restrictive setting for the ward; securing appropriate medical, psychological, and social services and educational and vocational opportunities; and taking the ward's values and wishes into account in decisions .
- If no conservator has been appointed, the guardian may bring proceedings to compel support and may receive and apply money and property deliverable to the ward for the ward's support, care, and education, but may not use estate funds for room and board furnished by the guardian or the guardian's spouse, parent, or child without a court order made on notice to at least one of the ward's next of kin .
- If a conservator has been appointed, the guardian must pay the ward's excess estate funds to the conservator and account for funds expended, while controlling the ward's custody and care and receiving reasonable sums for services and for room and board as agreed with the conservator .

This overview is general information, not legal advice; for guidance on a specific situation, consult a licensed attorney.