Guardianships**
Title 3 - Texas Estates Code
§1001.001. Policy; Purpose of Guardianship
(a) A court may appoint a guardian with either full or limited authority over an incapacitated person as indicated by the incapacitated persons' actual mental or physical limitations and only as necessary to promote and protect the well-being of the incapacitated person.
(b) In creating a guardianship that gives a guardian limited authority over an incapacitated person, the court shall design the guardianship to encourage the development or maintenance of maximum self-reliance and independence in the incapacitated person, including by presuming that the incapacitated person retains capacity to make personal decisions regarding the person's residence.
Proposed Guardians must undergo training and criminal background checks. This is done through the Texas Judicial Branch Certification Commission (JBCC). Information can be found at:
https://www.txcourts.gov/jbcc/register-a-guardianship
The link above will take you to the Texas Judicial Branch website and to the Register a Guardianship page. There are extensive instructions, including slideshows on how to register a guardianship.
The registration and training should be completed as soon as reasonably possible, after the Application for Guardianship has been filed with the County Clerk's Office.
Once a guardianship has been established annual reports on the condition and well-being of the ward (guardian of the person) and/or annual accounting (guardian of the estate), or both are required by statute to be filed and approved by the Court before Letters of Guardianship can be issued.
Forms can be located on the County Courts at Law webpage by choosing the "Probate Information" tab and then scrolling to the bottom of the drop-down menu for "Information for Guardians":
https://www.vctx.org/page/county.court
**All probate cases are required to be filed by a licensed attorney. Please seek legal counsel for any questions.