Illinois: Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship Petition Requirements
The short answer
Illinois uses one Article XIa petition to seek adjudication of disability and appointment of a limited or plenary guardian of the person, estate, or both. Clear and convincing evidence must separately establish the statutory disability and the functional personal-care or financial-management standard; guardianship may extend only as far as the adult's actual limitations, and plenary authority requires total lack of capacity plus a finding that limited guardianship is insufficient. The adult is personally served at least 14 days before a hearing set within 30 days, receives a guardian ad litem unless the court finds one unnecessary, has counsel appointed on request or when opposing the guardian ad litem, and may demand a six-person jury, present evidence, and cross-examine witnesses.
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This is the general rule in Illinois. Ezel applies current Illinois law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Proceeding and state terminology | One Probate Act Article XIa case may adjudicate disability and appoint a guardian of the person, estate, or both, limited or plenary (§§ 11a-3, 11a-8, 11a-12). Illinois uses 'guardian' for both personal and property authority. |
|---|---|
| Who may file and where | A reputable person, the adult, or the court on its own motion may initiate the case (§ 11a-3). File for an Illinois resident in the county of residence; for a nonresident, in a county where the adult's real or personal estate is located (§ 11a-7). |
| What the petition must contain | State petitioner's relationship/interest; adult's name, birth date, residence, and reasons; existing guardian and power-of-attorney agents; nearest relatives; residence/provider; approximate real and personal estate, annual income/receipts; and proposed guardian's address, age, relationship, and occupation (§ 11a-8). No current alternatives checklist is required. |
| Proof required for appointment | Clear and convincing evidence of statutory disability and, separately, appointment need (§ 11a-3): personal guardian only if disability leaves insufficient understanding/capacity for responsible personal-care decisions; estate guardian only if disability leaves the adult unable to manage estate or finances. Diagnosis alone and communication style do not defeat the presumption of capacity (755 ILCS 9/15). |
| Alternatives the court must address | Article XIa does not currently require the petition to list alternatives. But guardianship must be used only as necessary and only to the extent of actual limitations (§ 11a-3(b)); some remaining capacity plus need requires a limited guardian, and plenary authority requires total incapacity and proof limited guardianship is insufficient (§ 11a-12). |
| Notice, service, and hearing timing | Court sets hearing within 30 days. Unless the adult is petitioner, petition and large-type rights summons must be personally served at least 14 days before hearing; petitioner gives 14-day mail/personal notice to named persons and proposed guardian (§ 11a-10). |
| Counsel and hearing rights | Counsel is discretionary when best serving the adult, but mandatory on the adult's request or when the adult opposes the guardian ad litem (§ 11a-10(b)). Adult may demand a six-person jury, present evidence, confront/cross-examine witnesses, and close the hearing; attendance is required unless excused for refusal or likely harm (§ 11a-11). |
| Medical evidence or court evaluator | Petition should include a functional/clinical report based on recent evaluations and signed by qualified evaluators, ordinarily including a physician; if absent, court orders evaluation and a report at least 10 days before hearing (§ 11a-9). Guardian ad litem usually observes and interviews the adult and reports; independent experts must be appointed on adult/GAL motion or court motion. |
| Limits on the order | Written order must state factual basis, powers, and legal disabilities. Some capacity requires limited guardianship; plenary requires total incapacity and finding limited guardianship insufficient (§ 11a-12). Temporary guardianship is separate: immediate-welfare necessity, enumerated powers, 60-day base term, with a pre-adjudication extension capped at 120 days (§ 11a-4). |
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Requirements one by one
Proceeding and state terminology
Illinois combines the adjudication and appointment requests in one Article XIa
petition. Under §§ 11a-3 and 11a-8, the court may adjudicate disability and
appoint a guardian of the person, a guardian of the estate, or both. The final
authority may be limited or plenary. Illinois does not use a separate
"conservator" label for the ordinary property-management role.
Who may file and where
Section 11a-3(a) allows a reputable person or the adult to petition and also
allows the court to begin the matter on its own motion. For an Illinois
resident, § 11a-7 places the case in the county of residence. For a nonresident,
venue lies in a county where the adult's real or personal estate is located.
What the petition must contain
Section 11a-8 requires the petitioner's relationship and interest; the adult's
name, date of birth, residence, and reasons for guardianship; any existing
guardian or power-of-attorney agents; nearest relatives; the person or facility
where the adult lives; approximate real and personal estate values; expected
annual gross income and receipts; and the proposed guardian's identifying
details, relationship, and occupation.
The current checklist does not require the petition to narrate alternatives
considered or tried. A special rule is already enacted for petitions nominating
a private professional guardian, but P.A. 104-547 does not take effect until
January 1, 2027. New § 11a-26(b) will then require a relative-and-fiduciary
contact affidavit and notice to the public guardian unless a family member makes
the nomination.
Proof required for appointment
Section 11a-3 separates the findings. Clear and convincing evidence must first
establish that the adult meets § 11a-2's disability definition. A guardian of
the person additionally requires clear and convincing proof that the disability
leaves the adult without sufficient understanding or capacity to make or
communicate responsible personal-care decisions. A guardian of the estate
requires the same burden on inability to manage the estate or financial
affairs.
The Supported Decision-Making Agreement Act reinforces the capacity baseline.
Under 755 ILCS 9/15, adults are presumed capable unless a court decides
otherwise; a mental-illness, intellectual-disability, or developmental-
disability diagnosis alone does not erase that presumption, and communication
style is not itself incapacity.
Alternatives the court must address
Current Article XIa does not require a named-alternatives checklist at filing
or a supported-decision-making inquiry at the hearing. It does impose two
limits. Section 11a-3(b) permits guardianship only as necessary and only to the
extent of actual mental, physical, and adaptive limitations. Section 11a-12(b)
requires a limited guardian when the adult lacks some but not all capacity and
guardianship is necessary. Plenary authority is reserved for total lack of
capacity plus a finding that limited guardianship will not provide sufficient
protection.
Illinois separately recognizes supported decision-making for qualifying adults
with intellectual or developmental disabilities as a less-restrictive
alternative under 755 ILCS 9/5. Pending HB 3372 would add an express inquiry
about that alternative to the guardian ad litem's work and the hearing.
Notice, service, and hearing timing
The court sets the hearing within 30 days after filing. Unless the adult filed
the petition, § 11a-10(e) requires personal service of the petition and a
large-type rights summons at least 14 days before the hearing. Under subsection
(f), the petitioner must also give at least 14 days' mail or personal notice to
the people named in the petition, including the proposed guardian, unless they
waive notice.
Counsel and hearing rights
The court may appoint counsel when that best serves the adult, but § 11a-10(b)
makes appointment mandatory when the adult asks or takes a position adverse to
the guardian ad litem. The request may be written or oral, before or at the
hearing, and the summons must explain the right.
Section 11a-11 gives the adult the right to counsel, a six-person jury, evidence,
and confrontation and cross-examination of every witness. The adult, guardian ad
litem, or counsel may request a closed hearing. The adult ordinarily attends,
but the court may excuse attendance on a showing that the adult refuses to be
present or would suffer harm if required to attend; the hearing may be held at
the adult's facility or another convenient place.
Medical evidence or court evaluator
Section 11a-9 says the petition should include a report describing the alleged
disability's functional impact, recent mental and physical evaluations, the
need and scope of guardianship, and a proposed living or treatment plan. The
evaluations ordinarily must be within three months; for intellectual disability,
a licensed clinical psychologist's evaluation may be up to one year old. The
evaluators sign and state their credentials, and one ordinarily must be a
physician, with the intellectual-disability psychologist alternative stated in
the section.
A missing report does not end the case. The court must order qualified
evaluations and require the report at least 10 days before the hearing. On the
adult's or guardian ad litem's motion, or on its own motion, the court must
appoint one or more independent experts. A guardian ad litem ordinarily also
personally observes the adult, explains the petition and rights, asks the
adult's position, and reports before the hearing; the court may omit that
appointment only when it finds the role unnecessary for protection or a
reasonably informed decision.
Limits on the order
If the § 11a-3 basis is not proved, § 11a-12 requires dismissal. If some
capacity remains and guardianship is necessary, the written order must appoint
a limited guardian, state its factual basis, specify the guardian's powers and
duties, and identify the adult's legal disabilities. A plenary order requires
total lack of capacity and a finding that limited guardianship will not provide
sufficient protection.
Temporary guardianship under § 11a-4 is separate. It requires immediate-welfare
necessity, an already-filed or simultaneous general petition, powers specifically
enumerated by court order, and an order identifying the actual harm. The base
term is 60 days. Before adjudication, an extension protecting against abuse,
neglect, self-neglect, exploitation, or other harm may last no more than 120
days from the original appointment; pending HB 2437 would permit up to 90 more
days for good cause.
What trips people up
The medical report is expected, but its absence does not authorize proof by
assertion. Section 11a-9 requires the court to order qualified evaluations and
a report at least 10 days before the hearing when none accompanied the petition.
Counsel and the guardian ad litem are different roles. The guardian ad litem
reports on best interests. Counsel represents the adult, and appointment becomes
mandatory when the adult requests counsel or opposes the guardian ad litem.
A plenary request does not make plenary authority the default. Some remaining
capacity requires a limited guardian when protection is needed; the written
order must identify the exact powers transferred and legal disabilities imposed.
Common questions
Can the adult ask for a jury? Yes. Section 11a-11 permits a demand for a
six-person jury.
Must the adult attend? Ordinarily yes. The court may excuse attendance if
the adult refuses to attend or would suffer harm, and may move the hearing to a
convenient location.
Can the adult obtain an independent examination? Yes. A motion by the adult
or guardian ad litem requires the court to appoint one or more independent
experts under § 11a-9(b-5).
Statutes and sources
- 755 ILCS 5/11a-2 and 11a-3 — disability definition, clear proof, separate
personal/estate standards, and necessity limits.
https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K11a-2.htm and
https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K11a-3.htm (accessed 2026-07-18) - 755 ILCS 9/5 and 9/15 — supported-decision-making purpose, capacity
presumption, diagnosis, and communication.
https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500090K5.htm and
https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500090K15.htm (accessed 2026-07-18) - 755 ILCS 5/11a-7 and 11a-8 — venue and petition contents.
https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K11a-7.htm and
https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K11a-8.htm (accessed 2026-07-18) - 755 ILCS 5/11a-9 — report, evaluations, and independent experts.
https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K11a-9.htm (accessed 2026-07-18) - 755 ILCS 5/11a-10 and 11a-11 — hearing timing, guardian ad litem, counsel,
service, notice, attendance, jury, evidence, and cross-examination.
https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K11a-10.htm and
https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K11a-11.htm (accessed 2026-07-18) - 755 ILCS 5/11a-12 — dismissal, limited/plenary findings, and written order.
https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K11a-12.htm (accessed 2026-07-18) - 755 ILCS 5/11a-4 — temporary-guardianship boundary and duration.
https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/documents/075500050K11a-4.htm (accessed 2026-07-18) - 2026 Ill. P.A. 104-547 — future private-professional-guardian rules,
effective January 1, 2027.
https://www.ilga.gov/Legislation/PublicActs/View/104-0547 (accessed 2026-07-18)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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