Adult guardianship by state

Each state guide explains the usual court, the local name for the case, official forms, self-help resources, filing fees, and common alternatives. Start with your state, or use local search if you already know the county or ZIP.

Number = verified local listingsDashed = general info and who to call (no verified state data yet)

State-by-state summary

Alabama: In Alabama, adult guardianship and conservatorship matters are handled through county probate courts under the Alabama Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act.
Alaska: In Alaska, adult guardianship and conservatorship cases are heard in the Superior Court, and the Alaska Court System has a detailed statewide self-help section just for these cases.
Arizona: In Arizona, adult guardianship and conservatorship petitions are handled in Superior Court, usually through probate departments, and the Arizona Judicial Branch provides statewide probate forms.
Arkansas: Arkansas adult guardianship petitions are filed in circuit court, probate division, and the Arkansas Judiciary publishes statewide official probate forms including the petition for appointment of guardian of the person and estate.
California: In California, adult cases are usually conservatorships, not adult guardianships, and conservatorship cases are heard in the probate department and filed with the probate clerk.
Colorado: Colorado adult guardianship and conservatorship cases are generally filed in the district court in the county where the adult lives, except that filings in Denver County go to the Denver Probate Court.
Connecticut: Connecticut handles most adult incapacity cases in its Probate Courts as conservatorships rather than general adult guardianships.
Delaware: Delaware adult guardianship petitions are filed in the Court of Chancery, which handles guardianship of an adult person, an adult person's property, and some related matters.
District of Columbia: In the District of Columbia, adult guardianship and conservatorship cases are filed in the Probate Division of the Superior Court as intervention proceedings.
Florida: Florida adult guardianship cases are handled in the circuit court’s probate or probate-and-guardianship division.
Georgia: Georgia adult guardianship and conservatorship petitions are filed in probate court.
Hawaii: Hawaiʻi publishes adult guardianship forms through the Family Court self-help pages and probate/conservatorship materials through the circuit court probate system.
Idaho: Idaho handles guardianship and conservatorship as magistrate-division matters within the district court system.
Illinois: Illinois adult guardianship is an Article XIa Probate Act matter handled in the circuit court's probate division.
Indiana: Indiana treats adult guardianship as a probate matter, and forms are largely maintained at the county level rather than as one statewide public petition packet.
Iowa: Iowa adult guardianship and conservatorship proceedings are handled in the Iowa District Court sitting in probate.
Kansas: Kansas adult guardianship and conservatorship matters are filed in district court under the Kansas Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship and Other Protective Arrangements Act.
Kentucky: Kentucky adult guardianship and conservatorship for disabled persons is handled in District Court.
Louisiana: Louisiana handles adult incapacity cases through interdiction, not the guardian/conservator terminology used in many states.
Maine: Maine adult guardianship and conservatorship cases are handled in the county Probate Courts under the Maine Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship and Protective Proceedings Act.
Maryland: Maryland splits adult guardianship into guardian of the person and guardian of the property, both handled in circuit court.
Massachusetts: Massachusetts adult guardianship and conservatorship cases are handled in the Probate and Family Court, with county-based divisions such as Suffolk, Worcester, and Middlesex North/Lowell or South/Woburn.
Michigan: Michigan adult guardianship and conservatorship petitions are generally filed in probate court under the Estates and Protected Individuals Code.
Minnesota: Minnesota handles adult guardianship and conservatorship matters in district court probate divisions, with county probate courts such as Hennepin and Ramsey providing local procedures.
Mississippi: Mississippi moved its modern guardianship and conservatorship law into Title 93, Chapter 20, with the 2019 act effective January 1, 2020.
Missouri: Missouri handles adult guardianship and conservatorship in the probate division of the circuit court under Chapter 475, RSMo.
Montana: Montana’s judiciary publishes a dedicated Guardianship and Conservatorship page with adult definitions, reporting forms, and selected statutes.
Nebraska: Nebraska adult guardianship and conservatorship matters are filed in county court, and the Judicial Branch says establishment limits the protected person’s rights and includes multiple safeguards.
Nevada: Nevada’s adult guardianship process uses district court forms and statewide self-help materials, with county-specific instructions in Clark and Washoe.
New Hampshire: New Hampshire adult guardianship of an incapacitated person is handled in the Probate Division of the New Hampshire Circuit Court and is e-filed.
New Jersey: New Jersey adult guardianship cases are processed through the county Surrogate’s Office and the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part.
New Mexico: New Mexico separates personal and financial authority: a guardian makes personal and medical decisions, while a conservator manages finances and property.
New York: New York adult guardianship of an incapacitated person is usually an Article 81 case in Supreme Court or County Court.
North Carolina: North Carolina adult guardianship cases are special proceedings handled by the clerk of superior court, not by a separate probate court.
North Dakota: North Dakota adult guardianship and conservatorship are district court matters, and the judiciary’s self-help pages split the topics between adult guardianship and conservatorship of adults and minor children.
Ohio: Ohio adult guardianship is handled in county probate courts, and the Supreme Court of Ohio publishes statewide probate forms while local probate courts add county procedures and costs.
Oklahoma: Oklahoma guardianship and conservatorship matters are handled in the district court’s probate jurisdiction under Title 30.
Oregon: Oregon protective proceedings are handled in circuit court probate departments under ORS chapter 125.
Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania adult guardianship petitions are handled in the Orphans’ Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas.
Rhode Island: Rhode Island handles adult guardianship and conservatorship in local probate courts rather than a single statewide trial court.
South Carolina: South Carolina uses county Probate Courts for adult guardianship and conservatorship.
South Dakota: South Dakota handles guardianship and conservatorship in the state circuit courts, with statewide forms and self-help materials published by the Unified Judicial System.
Tennessee: In Tennessee, adult conservatorship and guardianship practice is handled by the county court exercising probate jurisdiction, and the local court structure matters a lot.
Texas: In Texas, adult guardianship proceedings are generally probate matters handled in county courts, county courts at law with probate jurisdiction, or statutory probate courts depending on the county.
Utah: Utah uses the district court for adult guardianship and conservatorship cases, and the Utah State Courts provide a centralized self-help system with statewide forms and instructions.
Vermont: Vermont’s current judiciary self-help materials treat adult guardianship as a Probate Division matter and describe one adult guardian who may be appointed for personal care, financial affairs, or both.
Virginia: Virginia adult guardianship and conservatorship petitions are filed in circuit court, and the statewide court system has a dedicated guardianship/conservatorship information portal plus a self-help forms page.
Washington: Washington handles adult guardianship and conservatorship in Superior Court under RCW 11.130, with statewide mandatory forms and a Lay Guardian Toolkit explaining the process.
West Virginia: West Virginia’s adult guardianship and conservatorship cases are filed with the circuit clerk, and the petition fee is set directly in the Guardianship and Conservatorship Act at $110.
Wisconsin: Wisconsin adult guardianship cases use statewide circuit court forms, including GN-3100 for a petition due to incompetency, and counties commonly route filings through probate offices within the circuit court.
Wyoming: Wyoming adult guardianship cases are filed in the district court of the county where the proposed ward lives or is present, and the Judicial Branch provides a dedicated adult guardianship self-help page with forms and instructions.