See our Blog Post HERE: https://www.cowlitzsuperiorcourt.us/newsfeed/court-news/entry/guardianship-rules-changing-january-1-2022
As of January 1, 2022, Guardianship cases involving Adults are governed by RCW 11.130, the Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, and other Protective Arrangements Act. The act applies to all cases in which final guardianship orders are entered after 1/1/22 and to most existing Guardianships currently in effect. The new law is a complete re-write and replacement for Washington's Guardianship laws, and re-defines many of the participants.
Guardian if the Person remains unchanged, however Guardian of the Estate is now called a Conservator. The former Guardian ad Litem is now called a Court Visitor.
All reports due after 1/1/22 will be on the new forms which can be found on the State Court Website at STATE FORMS. Click on "Guardianship".
Cowlitz county currently maintains a registry of Guardian ad Litems, and will be replacing that with a registry of Court Visitors. You can contact Court Administration at 1-360-577-3085 for more information.
All Guardianship dockets are at 1:45 P.M each Wednesday and are virtual hearings currently heard via the ZOOM video conferencing platform. You can observe these dockets on our YouTube page, and if you are a participant in a case, you can find your Zoom session links at: ZOOM HEARINGS.
The State Court's have a good resource page for Guardianship which is located at: www.courts.wa.gov/guardianportal/
