Guardianship is not one proceeding in Utah. It is four, and they run under different parts of Title 75, Chapter 5, with different standards of proof, different filing fees, and in one case a hearing that is held remotely by default. Picking the wrong one costs months. This page sorts out which track applies to your situation and points to the guide that covers it in detail.

Last updated: September 2026

Key Takeaways

The Four Guardianship Tracks in Utah

A fifth option, added in 2025, is not a guardianship at all. Sections 75-5-701 through 75-5-709 create supported decision-making agreements, where a supporter helps a person decide without taking any authority, and Section 75-5-708(4) forbids a court from treating one as evidence of incapacity.

Which Guardianship Track You Need

1. A child whose parents cannot care for them. Part 2. You need one of the three gateways in Section 75-5-204(1): informed parental consent, terminated parental rights, or parents unwilling or unable. Start with the Utah guardianship guide.
2. A parent with dementia and no signed documents. Part 3, and possibly Part 4 as well if there is property to manage. Check for an existing power of attorney first; it usually answers the necessity question.
3. A disabled child approaching 18. Section 75-5-317 lets you file at 17 years and six months so the order takes effect on the birthday, and it overrides the normal priority list in your favor.
4. Only money is at stake. A conservatorship, not a guardianship. Section 75-5-408(2) says a conservatorship order “has no effect on the capacity of the protected person,” so nothing is taken from their legal status.
5. One transaction needs to happen. Section 75-5-409 lets a court approve a single sale, lease, contract, or trust without appointing anyone.
6. A short, planned absence involving a child. Section 75-5-103 lets a parent delegate parental powers by power of attorney for up to six months, with no court case at all.

What Changed in 2025 and 2026

Three consecutive legislative sessions rewrote this chapter, which is why guidance written before mid-2025 describes law that no longer applies.

• Chapter 543, 2025 added Section 75-5-101.1, the chapter’s first definitions section, defining full guardianship, limited guardianship, legal decision-making, letters of guardianship, court visitor, and specialized care professional. It also enacted all of Part 6.
• Chapter 533, 2025 enacted Part 7, supported decision-making agreements, Utah’s first statutory alternative to a guardianship.
• Chapter 265, 2026 expanded the ward’s bill of rights at Section 75-5-301.5 and, in Subsection (8), allowed those rights to be “enforced through a private cause of action.”

One date matters for existing cases. Section 75-5-301.5(2) provides that a guardianship granted before May 7, 2025 is governed by the rights provisions in effect when it was granted. Orders entered on or after that date get the current list.

What a Guardianship Costs to Start

The court filing fee is $375 under Section 78A-2-301(1)(a). It drops to $35 under Subsection (1)(b)(vii) when the prospective ward is the petitioner’s own biological or adoptive child, which is the rate a parent pays for a disabled adult child.

The larger cost usually surprises people. In an adult case, Section 75-5-303(2)(b) requires the court to appoint an attorney for the allegedly incapacitated person unless they have their own, and that attorney is paid by that person unless they and their parents are indigent. Fee shifting then runs both directions: Section 75-5-303(2)(c) makes a petitioner who brings a meritless petition pay the fees and costs, and Subsection (2)(d) entitles a petitioner who is appointed to reimbursement from the incapacitated person.

What the Court Must Find

For an adult, Section 75-5-304(1) requires clear and convincing evidence of two things: that the person is incapacitated, and that the appointment “is necessary or desirable as a means of providing continuing care and supervision.” The second element is where a well-drafted power of attorney usually ends the case.

Then the court has to take the least it can. Section 75-5-304(2)(a): “The court shall prefer a limited guardianship and may only grant a full guardianship if no other alternative exists,” and if it grants full authority anyway, “a specific finding shall be made that nothing less than a full guardianship is adequate.” Subsection (2)(b) requires the limitations to appear in the order and on the letters of guardianship, which is what a bank or hospital actually reads.

Incapacity itself is a functional test. Section 75-1-201(25) asks whether a person can receive and evaluate information, make and communicate decisions, and provide for necessities, and measures that “even with appropriate technological assistance.” Accommodations count in the person’s favor.

What Happens After the Order

Appointment is the start of a supervised fiduciary role, not the end of the case.

• Accounting. Where no conservator serves, Section 75-5-312(2)(k) requires a full annual accounting for an estate over $50,000 excluding the residence, and an informal report below it. Section 75-5-312(7)(d) exempts a guardian who is the ward’s parent.
• Moving the ward. Absent an emergency, 10 days’ notice must be filed with the court and served on all interested persons.
• Family contact. Section 75-5-312.5 forbids restricting an adult ward’s association with relatives or qualified acquaintances without a court order, puts the burden on the guardian, and allows attorney fees plus a sanction up to $1,000 for bad faith.
• Penalties. Up to $5,000 plus restitution under Section 75-5-312(7), paid by the guardian personally and never from the ward’s estate.

A conservator carries more: a sworn inventory within 90 days under Section 75-5-418(1), a bond unless the court excuses it under Section 75-5-411, and accountings whose approval, under Section 75-5-419(3), adjudicates liability for the matters they cover.

Before You File for Guardianship

Most adult cases are a missing signature. Four documents prevent nearly all of them:

1. A durable financial power of attorney under Title 75A, Chapter 2, which is durable by default in Utah. See the power of attorney overview.
2. An advance health care directive naming an agent. The framework was replaced effective January 1, 2026 and the form moved. See the advance health care directive guide.
3. A written nomination of guardian under Section 75-5-311(1), which the court must follow unless the nominee is disqualified or there is good cause.
4. A funded trust, which keeps property out of a conservatorship entirely. For a beneficiary with a disability, a special needs trust does it without a court.

These belong in an ordinary plan, covered in the Utah estate planning guide.

What This Page Is Not

This is an orientation page. It is deliberately shorter than the full analysis, because the first job in a guardianship matter is choosing the right proceeding rather than reading everything about all of them.

Three things are worth knowing before you go further. First, a guardianship is not permanent by design: Section 75-5-306(1)(b) lets the original order bar a restoration petition for at most one year, and after that the ward or anyone interested in their welfare may ask the court to end it. Second, a nomination beats the statutory priority list. Section 75-5-311(1) requires the court to appoint according to a person’s most recent written, signed nomination made before incapacity, unless that nominee is disqualified or there is other good cause, and the statute prints the form. Third, the guardian’s own compensation is not a fixed percentage; Section 75-5-301.5(3)(i) and (j) require a reasonable rate and court review of payment requests to prevent excessive or duplicative billing.

Where to Get Help

The full legal analysis, including the ward’s rights, the priority list, removal, and the alternatives, is in the Utah guardianship guide. The money side is in the Utah conservatorship guide. If you are weighing permanence rather than authority, compare guardianship and adoption. For a family managing an aging parent, the practical entry point is usually elder law.

Representation is available statewide. See the guardianship lawyer directory for the city nearest you.

Written by Jeremy Eveland, an estate planning and probate attorney licensed in Utah, Nevada, California, and Texas. He builds estate plans for Utah families from offices in Lindon and West Jordan.

This article is general information about Utah law, not legal advice for your situation. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutory provisions are current as of the date above.