Oftentimes due to age, accident, mental illness, incapacity or another event, an individual may not be able to make their own health care or financial decisions. If the appropriate estate planning is not in place a Nevada guardianship, or conservatorship, as they are sometimes called, may be necessary.
Please call us at 702-938-2244 to schedule a free one hour consultation regarding your guardianship issues.
The fiduciary duties and responsibilities of a guardian may appear to be overwhelming at first glance. Our staff and the guardianship attorneys at Grant Morris Dodds are committed to providing you with excellent legal representation and assistance in your guardianship matters, whether it be in an uncontested or contested guardianship proceeding.
In Nevada, there are various types of guardianships that are available to address the needs of individuals who are not able to care for their own financial, medical or legal needs, e.g. minor guardianship, adult guardianship, temporary guardianship or special guardianship.
In all of these specific guardianships, an individual may petition the court to be appointed as a guardian of the ward’s person ( authority to make decisions regarding healthcare, housing, rehabilitation) and/or guardian of the ward’s estate (authority to manage and account for the ward’s assets).
Who’s Eligible to be a Guardian
In order to be eligible to serve as a guardian, a petitioner may not be incompetent, a minor, a convicted felon, a disbarred or suspended attorney, a nonresident (generally), or one determined to have committed abuse or neglect.
A ward may have also nominated a guardian to serve for him or her in the event of incapacity. If that is the case, the court will generally defer to the ward’s nomination if the proposed guardian is not otherwise ineligible or unable to serve.
If no guardian has previously been nominated by the ward, the Nevada Revised Statute 159.061 sets out a priority list for those individuals entitled to serve.
A guardian is a fiduciary, and as such, owes fiduciary duties to the ward and to the court. In Nevada, a duly appointed guardian is to take possession of a ward’s assets and file an inventory with the court within 60 days of appointment.
Thereafter, every year, within 60 days of the anniversary date of appointment, a guardian will be required to file an annual report and an accounting of the ward’s assets.
There are specific provisions of the guardianship code that will also allow a guardian to seek authority to continue a ward’s business, to create and implement appropriate estate planning on behalf of the ward, or to lease/sell real property belonging to the ward.
