HB 36: Guardian and ward; revise list of providers who are authorized to participate in the processes for appointment of a guardian for an adult

Under current Georgia law, only physicians, psychologists, and licensed clinical social workers can sign the affidavits and conduct the evaluations required before a court appoints a guardian or conservator for an adult. This bill adds physician assistants, psychiatric nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists, and licensed professional counselors to that list throughout Title 29 of the Georgia Code, covering petitions, evaluations, emergency appointments, modifications, and terminations of guardianships and conservatorships. The bill also adds explicit protections stating that a developmental disability alone cannot justify a guardianship or conservatorship; courts must find clear and convincing evidence that the person lacks capacity to make significant decisions about health, safety, or property. It gives proposed wards the right to challenge an evaluator's qualifications and conclusions at hearings, limits emergency conservators' power over a ward's funds, and clarifies definitions like 'gross settlement' for claims a conservator can compromise. The changes apply throughout the guardianship and conservatorship chapters of Title 29.

• Adds physician assistants, psychiatric nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists, and licensed professional counselors to the list of providers who can certify need for a guardian or conservator.
• Bars courts from presuming an adult needs a guardian or conservator solely because the person has a developmental disability, requiring clear and convincing evidence of incapacity instead.
• Gives a proposed ward the right at hearings to challenge the qualifications and conclusions of the person who evaluated them, even if their lawyer did not raise it earlier in writing.
• Adds a special standard for people with developmental disabilities in emergency guardianship and conservatorship cases, requiring proof of immediate risk of serious harm or financial loss.
• Limits emergency conservators so they cannot spend a ward's money without prior court approval, on top of existing limits on their powers.
• Clarifies that 'gross settlement,' the dollar threshold controlling how much authority a conservator has to settle claims without extra approval, includes the present value of cash, medical costs, legal fees, and structured settlement payments.

Adults facing guardianship or conservatorship proceedings, especially those with developmental disabilities, along with their families and court-appointed lawyers. It also affects physicians, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, physician assistants, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and licensed professional counselors who conduct court-ordered evaluations, plus Georgia's probate and superior courts.

More types of licensed health professionals could perform the evaluations that trigger a guardianship or conservatorship, potentially easing bottlenecks in rural or underserved areas. People with developmental disabilities gain stronger legal protection against losing their rights based on diagnosis alone, and wards get a clearer chance to challenge an evaluator's findings in court.

• Section 1 clarifies the definition of 'licensed clinical social worker' by referencing Chapter 10A of Title 43.
• Sections 2 and 12 add language to O.C.G.A. §§ 29-4-1 and 29-5-1 stating a developmental disability alone does not create a presumption of need for a guardian or conservator.
• Sections 3, 6, 13, and 16 expand the list of professionals whose affidavits can support petitions for guardianship, emergency guardianship, conservatorship, and emergency conservatorship.
• Sections 4 and 14 let a proposed ward's lawyer challenge an evaluator's report in writing, and give the ward the right to challenge it directly at the hearing under Sections 5 and 15.
• Sections 5, 15, 8, and 18 add a heightened clear-and-convincing-evidence standard for developmental disability cases in regular and emergency guardianship and conservatorship hearings.
• Section 17 adds new limits on an emergency conservator's power to spend a ward's funds without court approval.
• Section 19 defines 'gross settlement' for purposes of a conservator's authority to compromise claims up to or above $25,000.
• Section 23 extends the fee provisions for evaluators to include the newly added categories of professionals.

1. 2025-07-01Effective Date
2. 2025-05-12Act 114
3. 2025-05-12House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-09House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-04-04House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House)
6. 2025-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2025-04-02Senate Third Read (Senate)
8. 2025-03-28Senate Read Second Time (Senate)

• Rob Leverett (R, HD-123)Primary sponsor
• Mitchell Scoggins (R, HD-14)
• Trey Kelley (R, HD-16)
• Mary Margaret Oliver (D, HD-84)
• Alan Powell (R, HD-33)
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-99)
• Ben Watson (R, SD-1)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 13, 2025

   99 yea, 70 nay (5 not voting, 6 excused)

   PASSAGE: House Vote #33

2. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2025

   38 yea, 13 nay (2 not voting, 3 excused)

   ADOPTION OF AMENDMENT #1 BY THE SENATOR FROM THE 49TH: Senate Vote #409

3. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2025

   49 yea, 4 nay (0 not voting, 3 excused)

   PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTE: Senate Vote #410

4. PassedHouse voteApril 4, 2025

   165 yea, 2 nay (5 not voting, 8 excused)

   Agree to Senate Substitute: House Vote #407

• guardianship law
• conservatorship
• developmental disabilities
• elder law
• mental health providers