Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship Petition Requirements in Rhode Island
At a glance
| Proceeding and state terminology | R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 33-15. Limited/full guardian may cover health care, finances, residence and relationships; full guardianship requires total incapacity. Separate § 33-15-44 conservator manages property for a person unable to do so by disability or own election. |
|---|---|
| Who may file and where | Any person may file verified guardian petition in probate court of city/town where adult resides, or where out-of-state adult has property (§§ 33-15-2–3). Adult or one or more relatives/friends may petition for property conservator in probate court of adult's town (§ 33-15-44). |
| What the petition must contain | Guardian petition states adult identity/address, physician-based current decision-making assessment, limited-vs-full need, requested powers, steps taken to use less restrictive alternatives, and proposed guardian's qualifications (§§ 33-15-2, 33-15-4). Conservator petition content is not itemized beyond request for property conservator under § 33-15-44. |
| Proof required for appointment | Guardian: clear and convincing proof; full only on assessment finding total incapacity, otherwise powers limited to proved decision-making areas, and no appointment if needs are/can be met less restrictively (§§ 33-15-4–5). Conservator: after hearing, appointment if adult appears incapable of properly caring for property; § 33-15-44 states no named burden. |
| Alternatives the court must address | Guardian petition must state steps taken to use alternatives; court cannot appoint if needs are or can be met by alternatives and must preserve maximum autonomy (§§ 33-15-1, 33-15-2, 33-15-4). The separate conservator statute has no express alternative-failure prerequisite (§ 33-15-44). |
| Notice, service, and hearing timing | Guardian: adult personally served with petition/notice at least 14 days before hearing; spouse/heirs, facility administrator and protective-service providers mailed notice at least 10 days before (§ 33-15-17.1). Temporary petition uses 5-day periods unless court shortens. Conservator: adult gets at least 14 days' notice if not petitioner (§ 33-15-44). |
| Counsel and hearing rights | Guardian: mandatory guardian ad litem; counsel appointed if adult contests, seeks limits, objects to nominee, requests counsel, or GAL finds counsel in best interest. Adult may attend all stages, compel/present/confront/cross-examine evidence (§§ 33-15-5, 33-15-7). Conservator § 33-15-44 does not state comparable GAL, counsel, or evidence rights. |
| Medical evidence or court evaluator | Guardian petition must include decision-making assessment completed by primary-care physician if available, otherwise treating/examining physician; additional assessments allowed. Guardian ad litem personally visits, explains rights, reviews assessment/petition/notice, interviews nominee, and reports at least 3 days before hearing unless waived (§§ 33-15-4, 33-15-7). No assessment/visitor specified for § 33-15-44 conservator. |
| Limits on the order | Absent total-incapacity finding, guardian powers limited to decision areas adult cannot handle; limited order states scope, is not legal-incompetence finding, and preserves all rights not specifically suspended (§§ 33-15-4, 33-15-8). Temporary guardian may be appointed for cause after notice pending case/appeal and serves until appointment is decided or court discharge (§§ 33-15-10–11). |
Requirements one by one
Proceeding and state terminology
Rhode Island's main adult proceeding under chapter 33-15 appoints either a limited guardian or full guardian. The order may reach health care, money, residence, relationships, or another proved decision area. Section 33-15-44 separately preserves an older property-only conservator proceeding for someone unable to care for property because of disability or the person's own election.
Who may file and where
Section 33-15-2 allows any person to file the verified guardian petition in the probate court of the city or town where the adult resides. For an out-of-state adult, property in the city or town supplies the filing connection, consistent with § 33-15-3.
Under § 33-15-44, the adult or one or more relatives or friends may seek a property conservator in the probate court of the adult's town of residence.
What the petition must contain
The guardian petition under §§ 33-15-2 and 33-15-4 identifies the adult and requested decision areas, states whether limited or full help is needed, lists the requested powers, describes steps taken to use less restrictive alternatives, and states the proposed guardian's qualifications. It must include the current decision-making assessment tool.
Section 33-15-44 does not supply a comparable conservator checklist. It requires a property-conservator petition but leaves the detailed filing form and local probate procedure to the court.
Proof required for appointment
Section 33-15-5 makes clear and convincing evidence the guardian standard. Under § 33-15-4, a full guardian requires an assessment-based finding of total incapacity. Otherwise the court limits authority to the particular decision areas the adult cannot handle, and it cannot appoint at all if an alternative can meet the needs.
The property-only standard is older and different. Section 33-15-44 asks whether the adult appears incapable of properly caring for property. It does not name a clear-and-convincing or preponderance burden.
Alternatives the court must address
Section 33-15-2 requires the guardian petition to state what has been done to use less restrictive alternatives. Section 33-15-4 then bars appointment if the adult's needs are being met or can be met that way and requires the narrowest decision authority consistent with the assessment. Section 33-15-1 makes maximum participation and minimal interference the chapter's organizing goal.
The separate conservator section, § 33-15-44, contains no express less-restrictive-alternative prerequisite.
Notice, service, and hearing timing
Under § 33-15-17.1, the adult receives personal service of the guardian petition and plain-language rights notice at least 14 days before hearing. The server must present and read the notice. The spouse and heirs, facility administrator, and known protective-service providers receive mailed notice at least 10 days before hearing. Court advertisement is also required for an ordinary petition.
A temporary guardian petition ordinarily reduces both notice periods to five days, unless the court orders less. A conservator respondent who did not file the petition receives at least 14 days' notice under § 33-15-44.
Counsel and hearing rights
Section 33-15-7 mandates a guardian ad litem in every adult guardian case. If the adult contests, asks for limits, objects to the nominee, requests counsel, or the guardian ad litem concludes counsel is in the adult's best interest, the court appoints counsel when none has been secured.
Section 33-15-5 gives the adult the right to attend every stage, compel witnesses, present evidence, and confront and cross-examine witnesses. The separate conservator section, § 33-15-44, requires notice and hearing but does not state the guardian track's guardian-ad-litem, counsel, or evidence rights.
Medical evidence or court evaluator
Section 33-15-4 requires a decision-making assessment with every ordinary guardian petition. The adult's primary-care physician completes it when available; otherwise a physician who examined and treated the adult does so. Other professionals or acquainted people may submit additional assessments.
The guardian ad litem under § 33-15-7 personally visits the adult, explains the case and rights, reviews the assessment, petition and notice, interviews the proposed guardian, determines the adult's wishes and objections, and ordinarily reports at least three days before hearing. Section 33-15-44 specifies no assessment or visitor for a conservator petition.
Limits on the order
Section 33-15-4 requires limited authority unless total incapacity is found and states that limited appointment is not a finding of legal incompetence. The adult retains every legal and civil right not specifically suspended. Section 33-15-8 confines a limited guardian to the order's powers.
Temporary appointment is separate under §§ 33-15-10 and 33-15-11. For cause and after notice, the court may appoint a temporary person-and-estate, person-only, or estate-only guardian while the petition or appeal is pending. The statute does not set a fixed day cap; authority ends when appointment is decided or the court discharges the temporary guardian.
What trips people up
The conservator track does not borrow all guardian safeguards. Its short statute supplies a property standard, hearing, and 14-day notice, but not the mandatory physician assessment, guardian ad litem, counsel triggers, clear-and-convincing label, or alternatives finding found in the guardian track.
Temporary guardianship has no numeric duration. The ordinary notice period shrinks to five days, but §§ 33-15-10 and 33-15-11 tie duration to the underlying appointment decision or a court discharge rather than a fixed number of days.
Common questions
Is full guardianship the default?
No. Section 33-15-4 requires limited authority unless the assessment supports total incapacity and no less restrictive alternative can meet the needs.
Is a physician assessment filed with the petition?
Yes, in an ordinary guardian case. Section 33-15-4 allows omission only for a temporary petition in extraordinary or emergency circumstances with other competent evidence.
Is counsel automatic in every guardian case?
No. A guardian ad litem is automatic. Counsel becomes mandatory on the contest, limit, objection, request, or best-interest triggers in § 33-15-7.
Does a limited guardian remove every legal right?
No. Sections 33-15-4 and 33-15-8 preserve every right not specifically suspended and confine the guardian to powers stated in the order.
Statutes and sources
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-15-1: least-interference purpose and participation. Official text (accessed 2026-07-19).
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-15-2: guardian standing, venue and petition contents. Official text (accessed 2026-07-19).
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-15-3: local probate-court appointment power. Official text (accessed 2026-07-19).
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-15-4: assessment, alternatives, limited scope and rights. Official text (accessed 2026-07-19).
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-15-5: hearing, participation, evidence and burden. Official text (accessed 2026-07-19).
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-15-7: guardian ad litem and counsel triggers. Official text (accessed 2026-07-19).
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-15-8: limited-guardian authority. Official text (accessed 2026-07-19).
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-15-10: temporary appointment pending case or appeal. Official text (accessed 2026-07-19).
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-15-11: temporary-guardian tenure. Official text (accessed 2026-07-19).
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-15-17.1: personal and mailed notice, rights and timing. Official text (accessed 2026-07-19).
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-15-44: property conservator petition, notice and standard. Official text (accessed 2026-07-19).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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