Guardianship Petition - Preparation Worksheet - Delaware

Delaware Family Law Updated August 30, 2026 Free Word and PDF

DO NOT FILE, SIGN, NOTARIZE, OR SERVE THIS PACKET. Use the current
Delaware court website, instructions, and track-specific forms. Counsel must
select the correct court, track, caption, allegations, evidence, notice,
hearing, execution, and proposed relief before preparing separate filing
documents.

DELAWARE GUARDIANSHIP MATTER-CLASSIFICATION AND PETITION-PREPARATION PACKET

Matter control Entry
Person who may need protection [________________________________]
Date of birth [__/__/____]
Current residence and location [________________________________]
Petitioner or referring person [________________________________]
Proposed fiduciary, if any [________________________________]
Current case number, if any [________________________________]
Delaware counsel [________________________________]
Source-check date [__/__/____]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Court and track control
  2. Defined project terms
  3. People and entities
  4. Facts and alternatives
  5. Standards, authority, and powers research
  6. Bond, restriction, and risk research
  7. Post-order duties research
  8. Notice, rights, hearing, and service research
  9. Relief and filing decision
  10. Execution and evidence control
  11. Proposed-order planning
  12. Professional-evidence planning
  13. Proposed-fiduciary documentation

1. COURT AND TRACK CONTROL

Required determination Completed entry Current official source or form Checked on
Adult, minor, emergency, interim, limited, person, property, or combined track [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Court, county, division, and case type [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Residence, presence, domicile, property, and interstate facts relevant to authority [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Existing custody, guardianship, conservatorship, support, protection, or other proceedings [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Current official packet, petition, instructions, and proposed-order form [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Emergency or temporary route, if considered [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]
Transfer, registration, or interstate route, if considered [________________________________] [________________________________] [__/__/____]

2. DEFINED PROJECT TERMS

Do not assign a statutory status before counsel confirms the selected track.

Working term Name or description
Subject person [________________________________]
Petitioner candidate [________________________________]
Proposed fiduciary candidate [________________________________]
Existing decision-maker or supporter [________________________________]
Selected court and form [________________________________]
Requested authority under review [________________________________]

3. PEOPLE AND ENTITIES

Role or relationship Name Address and contact Age or status Source record
Subject person [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Parent, spouse, child, sibling, or other relative [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Existing agent, trustee, representative payee, custodian, or fiduciary [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Proposed fiduciary candidate [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Care provider, school, residence, or service provider [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Other interested or required participant [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]

4. FACTS AND ALTERNATIVES

Topic Verified facts Record or witness Unresolved issue
Decision-making, communication, care, safety, education, housing, or financial concern [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Duration, urgency, and recent changes [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Property, income, benefits, debts, claims, and expected receipts [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Existing powers, directives, trusts, payees, custodians, supports, or agreements [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Family, caregiver, and provider positions [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Conflict, exploitation, abuse, neglect, isolation, or self-dealing concern [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]

Alternatives Review

☐ Supported decision-making or practical assistance

☐ Existing or possible agency, directive, trust, payee, custody, or benefit arrangement

☐ Limited or transaction-specific authority

☐ Protective, health, housing, education, or financial service

☐ Emergency safety plan

☐ Other alternative identified after current-law review: [________________________________]

Do not state that an alternative is legally unavailable or inadequate until counsel records the facts and current authority supporting that conclusion.

5. STANDARDS, AUTHORITY, AND POWERS RESEARCH

Question Counsel's conclusion Current official authority or form Facts supporting conclusion
Status or eligibility definition for the selected track [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Burden and standard of proof [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Required findings and alternatives analysis [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Rights of the subject person and other participants [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Authority over care, residence, treatment, education, services, or benefits [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Authority over money, property, contracts, claims, tax, or litigation [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Powers requiring separate approval or unavailable in the selected track [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Least-restrictive duration and scope [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]

6. BOND, RESTRICTION, AND RISK RESEARCH

Item Selected treatment Current authority or court instruction Amount or control
Bond, surety, restricted account, blocked asset, or other protection [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Inventory, appraisal, title, or account control [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Insurance, professional qualification, background, or conflict review [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Sale, transfer, borrowing, gift, settlement, litigation, or other approval gate [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]

This packet does not impose a bond, waive one, set an insurance minimum, or limit fiduciary liability.

7. POST-ORDER DUTIES RESEARCH

Possible duty Applies? Trigger and deadline from current source Form, recipient, and proof
Qualification, oath, acceptance, bond, or restricted account [YES / NO / TBD] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Inventory, appraisal, or asset acknowledgment [YES / NO / TBD] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Care, residence, treatment, education, or status report [YES / NO / TBD] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Account, tax return, benefit report, or financial statement [YES / NO / TBD] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Change-of-address, incident, death, conflict, or major-decision notice [YES / NO / TBD] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Review, renewal, modification, transfer, resignation, or termination [YES / NO / TBD] [________________________________] [________________________________]

No inventory, care-plan, account, or update deadline is supplied by this packet.

8. NOTICE, RIGHTS, HEARING, AND SERVICE RESEARCH

Person, agency, or entity Role or interest Notice or participation requirement Method and timing Source and proof
Subject person [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Parent, spouse, child, relative, or existing fiduciary [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Proposed fiduciary [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Government, benefits, care, education, or interstate authority [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Other required participant [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]

Counsel must separately determine counsel, visitor, evaluator, jury, hearing, language-access, accommodation, confidentiality, appearance, objection, consent, and service rights for the selected track.

9. RELIEF AND FILING DECISION

☐ No guardianship filing is selected; use an alternative or continue investigation

☐ Adult track selected after current-law and official-form review

☐ Minor track selected after current-law and official-form review

☐ Emergency, temporary, limited, property, person, combined, transfer, or other track selected: [________________________________]

☐ Authority remains unresolved; do not file

Proposed finding, power, restriction, duration, or order term Exact authority and form field Record support Objection or risk
[________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
[________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]

10. EXECUTION AND EVIDENCE CONTROL

Do not sign this packet. Insert no oath, declaration, verification, acknowledgment, notarial certificate, consent, medical certification, or fiduciary acceptance until the current official form or authority supplies the exact required language and signer.

Document or evidence item Current required form Signer or author Execution date or freshness rule Filing or confidentiality treatment
Petition or application [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Medical, functional, educational, or professional evidence [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Proposed-fiduciary consent, disclosure, or qualification [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Notice, service, waiver, objection, or appearance [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]
Proposed order [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________] [________________________________]

11. PROPOSED-ORDER PLANNING

Use only the current order form or format selected by counsel. Map every proposed finding, appointment term, power, restriction, bond or asset control, reporting duty, duration, review date, and service direction to current authority and record support.

12. PROFESSIONAL-EVIDENCE PLANNING

Do not assume the profession, affidavit form, examination method, content, or freshness period. Record the current official requirement and protect medical, disability, educational, and other confidential information.

13. PROPOSED-FIDUCIARY DOCUMENTATION

Topic Verified entry
Identity, address, age, relationship, and availability [________________________________]
Qualifications, training, language, accessibility, and support [________________________________]
Conflicts, debts, claims, transactions, criminal or regulatory history, and disclosures [________________________________]
Proposed compensation and expense treatment [________________________________]
Bond, restriction, insurance, or other protection under review [________________________________]
Required consent, acceptance, oath, disclosure, or background form [________________________________]

This packet is complete only as research and drafting support. It is not a guardianship petition.

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About this template

Last updated
August 30, 2026
Last reviewed
August 30, 2026
Jurisdiction
Delaware
Category
Family Law

Family law covers the paperwork that shapes divorce, custody, child support, adoption, guardianship, and other family matters. These filings are emotional and high-stakes, and they also have to meet strict procedural rules for service, financial disclosure, and parenting plans. Clean, accurate paperwork keeps the focus on getting a workable outcome for the family instead of getting derailed by technical problems that delay hearings or force amended filings.

Not legal advice

This template is provided for informational purposes. We recommend having an attorney review any legal document before signing, especially for high-value or complex matters.

Checked against the law it cites

A reviewer verified this template's legal citations against the official source on August 30, 2026.

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