In order to get guardianship of a child or incapacitated adult, a person must retain an attorney and work with them to prove that they have a thorough understanding of their needs and finances, obtain sufficient consent from the allegedly incapacitated person, and testify at a hearing.

The process for gaining guardianship is taken very seriously because a guardian is granted control of an individual’s property and responsibility for their wellbeing. As such, the best qualified person will be selected, considering people with priority.

The priority list considered when choosing a guardian is as follows:

• Person named in durable power of attorney
• The incapacitated person’s spouse
• The incapacitated person’s adult child
• The incapacitated person’s parent (or person named in a deceased parent’s will)
• Person related to incapacitated person with whom they have lived for more than 6 months
• Person nominated by incapacitated person
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