Adult guardianship

General information

Guardianship involves the court appointing someone to make decisions for another person because the other person is not capable of managing their own affairs.

The State Court has an Introduction to Guardianship and Conservatorship, Alternatives, and Overview of Petitioning.

Washington LawHelp has:

Adult guardianship laws changed effective January 1, 2022. If you have a guardianship that was in place prior to that date, or want to learn more about the new law, the Administrative Office of the Courts has information about the transition to the new laws.

Forms and instructions

Washington state's official mandatory pattern forms for adult guardianship, conservatorship, or other protective arrangements cases are on the State Court website.

State Court forms for specific situations include:

Additional forms (with some instructions) are available:

  • Spokane County Superior Court has a website with instructions, a checklist, and forms for guardianship proceedings. Some of their checklists and instructions may be a helpful addition to the official court forms.

If there are problems with the guardianship, conservatorship, or other protective arrangement:

Additional resources

Resources that are available from the State Court include:

The Family and Volunteer Guardian's Handbook answers some questions about the process. It was written for the prior law but offers some valuable general information.

The law library has some specialized forms for Clark County that apply to specific circumstances after a case is filed.

The Clark County Volunteer Lawyers Program has a program to assist you with a guardianship if you meet the income qualifications. They can be reached at 360.695.5313.