Guardianship

First, persons must meet Wake County residency requirements for Human Services to serve as guardian. If a person receives Medicaid through Wake County, he/she is considered a Wake County resident. If the person is an inpatient in a Wake County medical or psychiatric facility, the county in which he/she lived before admission to the facility is considered the county of residence.

Types of Guardianships:

• Ward means a person who has been judged incompetent or an adult or minor for whom a guardian has been appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction.
• General guardian means a guardian of both the estate and the person.
• Guardian of the estate means a guardian appointed solely for the purpose of managing the property, estate and business affairs of a ward.
• Guardian of the person means a guardian appointed solely for the purpose of performing duties relating to the care, custody and control of a ward.
• Interim guardian means a guardian, appointed prior to being judged incompetent and for a temporary period, for a person who requires immediate intervention to address conditions that constitute imminent or foreseeable risk of harm to the person's physical well-being or to the person's estate.
• Guardian ad litem means an attorney appointed by the court to represent the interests of the adult in question.

1. A petition must be filed with the Wake County Clerk of Court. Anyone who has knowledge of the situation may file and should be prepared to provide names and addresses of interested parties and the address of the person in question. The "proposed guardian" section on the petition may be left blank.
   
2. The Office of the Clerk of Court will appoint an attorney called a "guardian ad litem" to represent the individual unless other legal arrangements have been made.
   
3. The Clerk of Court sets a date and time for the hearing and notifies the petitioner and all interested parties. The Sheriff's Department notifies the individual in question.
   
4. The hearing is held at the Office of the Clerk of Court. The petitioner should be prepared to testify or to provide a written affidavit by a medical professional familiar with the person in question. Evidence should speak specifically to the person's decision-making abilities.
   
5. The Clerk of Court determines the person's competency and, if incompetent, the scope of the guardianship.
   
6. The Clerk of Court appoints a person or agency to serve as guardian.