Iowa: Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship Petition Requirements

Requirements one by one

Proceeding and state terminology

Iowa Code § 633.3 uses guardian for custody of the person and
conservator for custody and control of property. A person may need either
role or both. Section 633.627 permits the two petitions to be combined, and
§ 633.27A treats a combined filing as one proceeding and docket while preserving
the separate requirements attached to each role.

Who may file and where

Under § 633.556, the adult or any other person with an interest in the adult's
welfare may file the verified petition. Section 633.12 places a resident's
guardianship or conservatorship in the Iowa district court sitting in probate
for that county. For a nonresident, that section expressly permits a
conservatorship in a county where the person has property.

What the petition must contain

Section 633.556 requires more than a diagnosis or a label. The petition must
give a concise factual basis and explain why no less restrictive alternative
will work. It must identify the adult, petitioner, proposed guardian, spouse,
adult children, parents, a six-month caregiver or residential facility, legal
representatives and representative payees, and agents under health-care or
financial powers of attorney. A conservatorship request must also estimate the
adult's real property, personal property, and gross annual income.

Proof required for appointment

Sections 633.551, 633.552, and 633.553 put the burden on the petitioner and
require clear and convincing evidence. For personal authority, the impairment
must prevent the adult from caring for personal safety or providing necessities
without risk of physical injury or illness. For property authority, the
impairment must prevent the adult from making, communicating, or carrying out
important financial decisions. Each appointment must also be in the adult's
best interest.

Alternatives the court must address

The petition's § 633.556 statement and the court's § 633.551 inquiry are related
but not identical. The petitioner must explain why no less restrictive
alternative exists. The court must consider credible evidence of alternatives,
including third-party help, and must consider a limited guardianship or
conservatorship. But § 633.551 expressly says neither party bears the burden to
produce evidence about alternatives.

Notice, service, and hearing timing

Under § 633.558, the adult receives the petition through original-notice
service. Other known people listed in the petition receive notice in the manner
the court prescribes and must be told how to register for later hearing and
proceeding notices. Section 633.560 ordinarily places the hearing at least 20
days after hearing notice is served, although the court may shorten that period
for good cause under the referenced probate-notice rule.

Counsel and hearing rights

Section 633.561 requires appointed counsel when an adult respondent did not file
the petition. A self-petitioning adult receives counsel if the court finds the
adult entitled to representation, and retained counsel may replace court-
appointed counsel. Appointed counsel must personally interview the adult,
explain the proceeding and rights, and advocate for the adult's reasonably
ascertainable wishes.

Section 633.560 gives the adult the right to attend every proceeding and
requires reasonable accommodations. The court may excuse attendance only for
good cause and must record the reason. Another interested person does not
participate automatically; that person applies, and the court may impose
conditions if participation serves the adult's best interest.

Medical evidence or court evaluator

Section 633.563 does not make a medical certificate a universal petition
attachment. Instead, at or before the hearing the court must order a
professional evaluation unless it already has enough information or the
petitioner or adult filed one. An ordered evaluator may be a licensed physician,
psychologist, social worker, or another qualified professional. The ordinary
report addresses functional and cognitive abilities, mental and physical
condition, prognosis and supports, evaluator qualifications and conflicts, and
the examination date.

A court visitor is a separate, discretionary role under § 633.562. If appointed,
the visitor interviews the adult, explains the case and rights, obtains the
adult's views on the proposed appointee and powers, and reports on limited
authority and available alternatives.

Limits on the order

Section 633.551 requires findings supporting the powers actually conferred.
Under § 633.635, a guardian order states its factual basis and powers; when the
court gives specially limited responsibility, every unassigned area remains
with the adult. Section 633.637 ordinarily restricts a protected person's power
to transfer property after conservator appointment, but the court may preserve
specified control over the person's own funds.

Emergency relief follows a different track. Section 633.569 requires immediate
or irreparable harm and insufficient time for the ordinary petition and
hearing, limits the temporary powers to the emergency, and ordinarily ends the
appointment within 30 days.

What trips people up

The 20-day rule is keyed to service of the hearing notice, not simply the
date the petition was filed. The petition itself is served as original notice
under § 633.558, while § 633.560 separately directs the court to set and serve
the hearing notice. A court can shorten the hearing-notice period for good
cause, but the ordinary sequence should not be compressed into a flat
"20 days after filing" rule.

The evaluation rule is also easy to overstate. Section 633.563 makes an ordered
professional evaluation the default at or before the hearing, but it supplies
two important adult-case exceptions: the court already has enough information,
or the petitioner or adult has filed an evaluation. The statute does not say
that every initial petition is defective without an attached physician's
certificate.

Common questions

Can the adult file the petition?

Yes. Section 633.556 expressly includes the adult within the people who may
file. Counsel is not automatic merely because the adult self-petitions; the
court decides entitlement under § 633.561.

Can one filing request both personal and financial authority?

Yes. Section 633.627 permits combined petitions. The court still applies the
separate personal-capacity test in § 633.552 and financial-capacity test in
§ 633.553, and the docket continues to identify whether the proceeding is for
guardianship, conservatorship, or both.

Does appointment mean the adult is legally of unsound mind for every purpose?

No. Iowa Code § 633.636 states that appointment of a guardian or conservator
does not itself constitute an adjudication that the protected person is of
unsound mind. Other rights and capacities depend on the order and the law that
governs the specific decision.

Statutes and sources

• Iowa Code § 633.3 — definitions of guardian, conservator, and the
  functional incompetency categories. Official text
  (accessed July 18, 2026).
• Iowa Code §§ 633.12, 633.27A, and 633.627 — county jurisdiction and
  combined proceedings. § 633.12,
  § 633.27A, and
  § 633.627 (accessed July
  18, 2026).
• Iowa Code §§ 633.551–633.553 — burden, alternatives, limited orders, and
  the separate personal and financial appointment tests.
  § 633.551,
  § 633.552, and
  § 633.553 (accessed July
  18, 2026).
• Iowa Code §§ 633.556, 633.558, and 633.560–633.563 — petition contents,
  service, hearing timing, counsel, visitor, and professional evaluation.
  § 633.556,
  § 633.558,
  § 633.560,
  § 633.561,
  § 633.562, and
  § 633.563 (accessed July
  18, 2026).
• Iowa Code §§ 633.635, 633.637, and 633.569 — guardian-order limits,
  conservatorship effects, and emergency appointments.
  § 633.635,
  § 633.637, and
  § 633.569 (accessed July
  18, 2026).