Iowa Guardianship Laws: Adults, Minors and Conservators (2026)

In Iowa, a court may appoint a guardian, who has custody of the person (care, residence and medical decisions), a conservator, who has custody and control of the person's property, or both (Iowa Code § 633.3(9), (22)). For an adult, the district court may appoint a guardian only if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that the respondent's decision-making capacity is so impaired that the respondent cannot care for their own safety or provide for necessities such as food, shelter, clothing or medical care, and that a guardian is in the respondent's best interest (Iowa Code § 633.552(1)).

Iowa splits the subject across two chapters. Guardianships and conservatorships for adults, and conservatorships for minors, are in Iowa Code chapter 633, sections 633.551 to 633.682. Guardianship of a child is in a separate law, chapter 232D, the "Iowa Minor Guardianship Proceedings Act," and the juvenile court has exclusive jurisdiction over it (Iowa Code §§ 232D.101, 232D.103). The statute calls a person under guardianship or conservatorship a "protected person" and the person a petition is about the "respondent." For how other states handle these questions, see our guardianship laws by state overview.

Information last verified on October 20, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Iowa state law on guardianship and conservatorship of adults (Iowa Code chapter 633), guardianship of minors (chapter 232D), conservatorship of a minor's property, the standby petition procedure and the alternatives the statutes require courts to consider. It does not cover custody disputes between parents (see Iowa child custody laws), grandparent visitation (see Iowa grandparents' rights), adoption, emancipation, what happens to a person's estate after death (see Iowa probate), child-in-need-of-assistance and foster-care cases under chapter 232, which are a separate juvenile-court track, or civil commitment and mental-health holds.

Iowa guardianship terms and where the law lives

Iowa's guardianship statutes sit in three places:

• Iowa Code chapter 633, Subchapter XIII (§§ 633.551 to 633.632): opening guardianships for adults and conservatorships for adults and minors.
• Iowa Code chapter 633, Subchapter XIV (§§ 633.633 to 633.682): administering guardianships and conservatorships, including powers, reports and termination.
• Iowa Code chapter 232D: the Iowa Minor Guardianship Proceedings Act, for guardianship of a child.

The "Iowa Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act" (§§ 633.700 to 633.722) governs interstate questions. The adult provisions were rewritten by 2019 Iowa Acts chapter 57 and the minor guardianship act was created by 2019 Iowa Acts chapter 56; 2024 Iowa Acts chapter 1009 later amended many sections of both.

Iowa's definition of "incompetent" is the threshold for both roles:

"Incompetent" means the condition of any person who has been adjudicated by a court to meet at least one of the following conditions: a. To have a decision-making capacity which is so impaired that the person is unable to care for the person's personal safety or to attend to or provide for necessities for the person such as food, shelter, clothing, or medical care, without which physical injury or illness may occur. b. To have a decision-making capacity which is so impaired that the person is unable to make, communicate, or carry out important decisions concerning the person's financial affairs. c. To have a decision-making capacity which is so impaired that both paragraphs "a" and "b" are applicable to the person.

Iowa Code § 633.3(25)

How to get guardianship of a child in Iowa

Guardianship of a child (a grandchild, niece, nephew or any other minor) runs through the juvenile court under chapter 232D, not the probate court (§ 232D.103). The act gives the court four bases for appointing a guardian:

1. After termination or in a child-in-need-of-assistance case. A guardian may be appointed after all parental rights have been terminated or in a child-in-need-of-assistance case (§ 232D.201).
2. Both parents have died. The court may appoint a guardian if both parents are deceased (§ 232D.202(1)).
3. With the parent's consent. The custodial parent knowingly and voluntarily consents, the minor needs a guardian because of the parent's illness, incarceration, active military duty or other good cause, and the appointment is in the minor's best interest, with a parent-guardian agreement filed (§ 232D.203).
4. Without the parent's consent. The court must find the grounds in § 232D.204 by clear and convincing evidence (below).

Guardianship over a parent's objection

When a parent with legal custody does not consent, § 232D.204 sets two routes, each requiring clear and convincing evidence of all of its elements. Under § 232D.204(1), the court must find that "there is a person serving as a de facto guardian of the minor" and that "there has been a demonstrated lack of consistent parental participation in the life of the minor by the parent." In deciding the second point, the court may consider the parent's intent in placing the minor with the de facto guardian, the amount of the parent's communication and visitation during that time, and any refusal to comply with conditions for retaining custody set in earlier court orders (§ 232D.204(1)(b)); the term means a parent's refusal to meet the duties of the parent-child relationship, including providing food, clothing, shelter, health care, education and other care and supervision (§ 232D.102(4)). Under § 232D.204(2), the court must find that no parent having legal custody of the minor is willing or able to exercise the powers the court would give the guardian, and that "appointment of a guardian for the minor is in the best interest of the minor." Before appointing a guardian without consent, the court must consider whether a child-in-need-of-assistance petition is appropriate (§ 232D.204).

The petition, notice and lawyers

Any person with an interest in the minor may file a petition, and the petition must state whether a limited guardianship is appropriate (§§ 232D.301, 232D.302). The minor and the minor's known parents are served with notice as an original notice, and the hearing is set not less than 20 days after notice (§§ 232D.301 to 232D.306).

The court appoints an attorney for the minor if the minor's interests may be inadequately represented. It must also appoint an attorney for a parent named in the petition if all of the conditions in § 232D.304 are met:

1. The parent objects to the appointment of a guardian for the minor. 2. The parent requests appointment of an attorney and the court determines that the parent is unable to pay for an attorney ...

Iowa Code § 232D.304

The child's voice and who is preferred

A minor 14 or older is presumed to be of an age appropriate to attend the hearing (§ 232D.306(2)). In appointing a guardian, "the court shall give preference, if qualified and suitable, to a person requested by a minor fourteen years of age or older" (§ 232D.308(3)).

What a guardian of a child may decide

A guardian of a minor may be given powers over the minor's custody and residence, medical care, education and benefits (§ 232D.401). Some decisions need prior court approval: withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining procedures, an abortion, sterilization, moving the minor's residence outside Iowa, and consent to the minor's marriage or emancipation (§ 232D.401(4)).

Contact with the parents has its own rule:

The guardian shall obtain prior court approval for denial of all visitation, communication, or interaction between the minor and the parents of the minor. The court shall approve such denial of visitation, communication, or interaction upon a showing by the guardian that significant physical or emotional harm to the minor has resulted or is likely to result to the minor from parental contact. The guardian may place reasonable time, place, or manner restrictions on visitation, communication, or interaction between the minor and the minor's parents without prior court approval.

Iowa Code § 232D.401(5)

The guardian of a minor is a fiduciary and is not required to use the guardian's own funds for the minor (§§ 232D.402, 232D.504(1)). A guardian of a minor files an initial care plan within 60 days and an annual report within 30 days of the close of the reporting period (§ 232D.501(1)).

When a child's guardianship ends

A minor guardianship terminates "on the minor's death, adoption, emancipation, or attainment of majority" (§ 232D.503(1)). Before that, a minor 14 or older, the guardian or another interested person may petition to end it, and the rule depends on how it began (§ 232D.503):

• Consent guardianships (§ 232D.203). The court must terminate the guardianship if its basis is not currently satisfied, unless the court finds that termination "would be harmful to the minor and the minor's interest in continuation of the guardianship outweighs the interest of a parent of the minor in the termination of the guardianship" (§ 232D.503(2)).
• Guardianships without consent (§ 232D.204). Once the petitioner makes the prima facie showing § 232D.503(3) requires, "the guardian shall have the burden of going forward to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the guardianship should not be terminated."

Parent-versus-parent custody and grandparent visitation are separate subjects, covered on our Iowa child custody laws and Iowa grandparents' rights pages.

A child's money and property

A guardian of a minor deals with the child's person; a conservator manages the child's property. The court may appoint a conservator for a minor if it finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the appointment is in the minor's best interest and that one of the grounds listed in § 633.554 is true. The parents, or either of them, if qualified and suitable, "shall be preferred over all others for appointment as conservator" (§ 633.566).

Smaller sums can avoid a conservatorship. If no conservator has been appointed for a minor, money or other property due to the minor, "not exceeding in the aggregate fifty thousand dollars in value," must be paid or delivered to one of the options § 633.555(1) lists, which include a custodian under the uniform transfers to minors act, a custodial trust, a 529 plan, an ABLE account or a structured settlement obligor. Property over $50,000 in the aggregate may go to those options only if the court authorizes the transfer (§ 633.555(2)).

Can a parent name a guardian in a will in Iowa?

A parent may nominate a guardian in a will, and the nomination gives that person a preference when the court appoints, rather than an automatic appointment. Under § 232D.202(2), when both parents have died, "the court shall give preference to a person, if qualified and suitable, nominated as guardian for a minor by a will that was executed by the parent or parents having legal custody of the minor at the time of the parent's or parents' death, and that was admitted to probate under chapter 633." The court still appoints the guardian through a chapter 232D proceeding, and a minor 14 or older may request a person, who also receives a preference if qualified and suitable (§ 232D.308(3)).

For a child's property, a person nominated as conservator by a will executed by the parent having custody of the child receives preference after the parents themselves (§ 633.566).

Standby petitions: planning ahead for a child

Iowa's standby procedure is a petition signed in advance that a court acts on later. Under § 232D.310(1), "an adult person having physical and legal custody of a minor may execute a verified petition for the appointment of a guardian of the minor upon the express condition that the petition shall be acted upon by the court only upon the occurrence of an event specified or the existence of a described condition of the mental or physical health of the petitioner." The petition may name a nominee and alternates, and the court must appoint the nominee unless the person is not qualified or for other good cause (§ 232D.310(2)). It may be deposited with the clerk, and a petitioner of sound mind may revoke it at any time before the court appoints a guardian (§ 232D.310(3), (4)). When the event or condition occurs, the petition is filed with the court together with a verified statement that it has occurred (§ 232D.310(5)). An appointment made on it "shall only be effective until the minor attains full age," and it does not override a parent's will (§ 232D.310).

A standby petition for a conservator of a minor's property is available under § 633.591A, and adults may sign standby petitions for their own future guardian (§ 633.568) or conservator (§ 633.591). The court then acts on the petition; none of these sections makes the named person a guardian or conservator automatically when the triggering event occurs.

For a young person approaching adulthood, a guardian or conservator may be appointed for a person at least 17 years and 6 months old, to take effect at 18 (§§ 633.567, 232D.311).

Letting a relative care for a child without going to court

Chapter 232D contains no procedure for a parent to delegate parental powers to a relative by power of attorney or caregiver affidavit; its court-supervised options are the consent guardianship (§ 232D.203) and the standby petition (§ 232D.310).

One separate Iowa statute covers military families. Under § 598C.204, "a deploying parent, by power of attorney, may delegate all or part of the deploying parent's custodial responsibility to an adult nonparent for the period of deployment if no other parent possesses custodial responsibility under a law of this state other than this chapter, or if a court order currently in effect prohibits contact between the child and the other parent." The deploying parent may revoke it by signing a revocation.

How to become guardian of an adult in Iowa

The petition

A person with an interest in the adult's welfare, including the adult, may file a verified petition (§ 633.556). Among other contents, it must identify the proposed guardian or conservator and the respondent's spouse, adult children, parents, caregiver, representative payee and any health-care or financial power-of-attorney agent, and it "shall contain a concise statement of why there is no less restrictive alternative to the appointment of a guardian or a conservator" (§ 633.556(3)).

Notice and the hearing date

The respondent is served with the notice as an original notice (§ 633.558(1)). If the respondent is an adult, "the notice shall clearly advise the respondent of the respondent's rights to representation by an attorney and the potential deprivation of the respondent's civil rights" (§ 633.570(3)).

The court must set the hearing for a time "not less than twenty days after the date the notice is served unless the court finds there is good cause shown to shorten the time period" (§ 633.560(1)). The respondent "shall be entitled to attend the hearing on the petition and all other proceedings," and the court must make reasonable accommodations to enable the respondent to attend. The court may waive the respondent's attendance for good cause shown and must make a record of the reason for the respondent's nonattendance (§ 633.560(2)).

A lawyer for the respondent

Counsel depends on who filed. If the respondent is an adult and is not the petitioner, the respondent is entitled to representation by an attorney, and "upon the filing of the petition, the court shall appoint an attorney to represent the respondent" (§ 633.561(1)(a)). If the respondent is the petitioner, or the proceeding is on a standby petition, the court decides whether representation is needed (§ 633.561). Section 633.561(3) provides for the county to pay the appointed attorney when the respondent is indigent under the income test in that subsection.

The appointed attorney must personally interview the respondent and must "advocate for the wishes of the respondent to the extent those wishes are reasonably ascertainable. If the respondent's wishes are not reasonably ascertainable, the attorney shall advocate for the least restrictive alternative consistent with the respondent's best interests" (§ 633.561(4)).

Court visitor, evaluation and background checks

The court may appoint a court visitor if it finds that doing so is in the respondent's best interest; the visitor interviews the respondent in person, explains the proceeding and learns the respondent's views (§ 633.562).

At or before the hearing, "the court shall order a professional evaluation of the respondent" unless the court finds it already has sufficient information to decide whether the criteria in § 633.552 or § 633.553 are met, or a professional evaluation has already been filed by the petitioner or an adult respondent, among the criteria § 633.563(1) lists. The evaluation may be done by a licensed physician, psychologist, social worker or other qualified person.

Every proposed guardian or conservator, other than a financial institution with Iowa trust powers, must undergo a check of criminal records, the child abuse and dependent adult abuse registries and the sex offender registry (§ 633.564).

The burden of proof and limited guardianship

The petitioner carries the burden of persuasion in an initial proceeding, and a finding that an adult is incompetent must be supported by clear and convincing evidence (§ 633.551(1), (2)). Section 633.552(1) states the findings:

On petition and after notice and hearing, the court may appoint a guardian for an adult if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that all of the following are true: a. The decision-making capacity of the respondent is so impaired that the respondent is unable to care for the respondent's safety, or to provide for necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, or medical care without which physical injury or illness may occur. b. The appointment of a guardian is in the best interest of the respondent.

Iowa Code § 633.552(1)

Limited guardianship and alternatives are part of every decision. "In determining whether a guardianship or conservatorship is to be established, modified, or terminated, the district court shall consider if a limited guardianship or conservatorship pursuant to section 633.635 or 633.637 is appropriate" (§ 633.551(3)). The court must also "consider credible evidence as to whether there are other less restrictive alternatives, including third-party assistance, that would meet the needs of the respondent or the protected person," although "neither party to the action shall have the burden to produce such evidence" (§ 633.551(4)). The court's findings of fact must support each power it grants.

Who serves as guardian

Section 633.565 does not rank relatives. It directs that "the court shall appoint as guardian or conservator for an adult any qualified and suitable person who is willing to serve as guardian or conservator." When no private guardian, conservator or representative payee is available, Iowa's State Office of Public Guardian and local offices of public guardian, created by the Iowa Public Guardian Act, provide guardianship, conservatorship and representative-payee services to adults, and the court may appoint them (Iowa Code §§ 231E.2(2)(a), 231E.6, 231E.7).

What an Iowa guardian can decide, and what needs court approval

Except as limited by the appointing order, the court may grant a guardian powers over the protected person's care, maintenance, health, education, welfare and safety, residence, medical consent and supportive relationships (§ 633.635(2)). The court may give a guardian only a specially limited responsibility; it then states the areas the guardian supervises, and all others are retained by the protected person. The court may also make a finding that the protected person lacks the capacity to contract a valid marriage (§ 633.635(4)). Other decisions need the court's approval before the guardian acts:

a. Changing, at the guardian's request, the protected person's permanent residence to a nursing home, other secure facility, or secure portion of a facility that restricts the protected person's ability to leave or have visitors, unless advance notice of the change was included in the guardian's initial care plan that was approved by the court. ... b. Consenting to the following: (1) The withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining procedures from the protected person in accordance with chapter 144A or 144D. (2) The performance of an abortion on the protected person. (3) The sterilization of the protected person.

Iowa Code § 633.635(3)

Denying the protected person all communication or visitation also requires prior court approval (§ 633.635).

A 2026 change for end-of-life decisions. House File 2305 (2026 Iowa Acts chapter 1071, effective July 1, 2026) amends § 633.635 by adding subsection 6: "Notwithstanding subsections 2 and 3, a guardian may make a decision for a protected person pursuant to sections 135J.3A, 144A.7, and 144A.7B without court approval." Those sections cover hospice admission, withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining procedures, and withholding or withdrawing resuscitation for a patient in a terminal condition who cannot communicate. Sections 144A.7 and 144A.7B require consultation and written agreement between the attending provider, another physician, advanced registered nurse practitioner or physician assistant, and the guardian, with a witness present when the decision is made, and § 144A.7B applies only to patients in listed health care, health and certified hospice facilities. The same act adds the protected person's end-of-life and hospice wishes to the guardian's initial care plan and annual report (§ 633.669). The new subsection is in § 633.635, the adult guardian section; the minor guardianship statute, § 232D.401, separately lists withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining procedures among the decisions a guardian of a minor needs prior court approval to make.

Voting. Under § 633.552(3), when a guardian is appointed because of an intellectual disability, the court makes a separate determination about the person's competency to vote, and "the court shall find a protected person incompetent to vote only upon determining that the person lacks sufficient mental capacity to comprehend and exercise the right to vote."

Guardian and conservator reports

A guardian must file these reports, "which shall not be waived by the court" (§ 633.669(1)):

• Initial care plan, within 60 days of appointment, covering matters such as living arrangements, health, finances, family contact and the powers requested (§ 633.669(1)(b)).
• Annual report, within 60 days of the close of the reporting period, "unless the court otherwise orders on good cause shown" (§ 633.669(1)(c)).

A conservator must file an initial financial management plan within 90 days after appointment, which the court may not waive, except as otherwise ordered by the court under § 633.670(7), and must file annual reports (§ 633.670(1)). The order of appointment states the date the first reporting period ends (§ 633.635(1)), and delinquent reports lead to notices and possible removal.

Bond. Section 633.633 applies the probate code's bond rules to guardians and conservators, "except that a guardian shall not be required to give bond unless the court, for good cause, finds that the best interests of the protected person require a bond."

Conservatorship for an adult

The property-side standard mirrors the guardian standard. Under § 633.553(1), the court may appoint a conservator for an adult only if it finds by clear and convincing evidence that "the decision-making capacity of the respondent is so impaired that the respondent is unable to make, communicate, or carry out important decisions concerning the respondent's financial affairs" and that "the appointment of a conservator is in the best interest of the respondent." The same petition, notice, counsel, evaluation and limited-conservatorship rules apply (§§ 633.551 to 633.564). A conservator's court-approved powers are set out in the order approving the financial management plan (§ 633.642).

Emergency (temporary) guardianship in Iowa

Adults. The court may enter an ex parte order appointing a temporary guardian or conservator only if there is not time for a petition and hearing, the appointment is necessary to avoid immediate or irreparable harm, and there is reason to believe the basis for a guardianship or conservatorship exists (§ 633.569(3)). The temporary guardian's powers are limited to what the emergency requires (§ 633.569(6)). Notice of the ex parte order goes to the respondent, the respondent's attorney and anyone else the court designates, and an adult respondent may file a written request for a hearing, which must be held no later than seven days after the request is filed (§ 633.569(4), (5)). The order is short:

7. The temporary guardianship or conservatorship shall terminate within thirty days after the order is issued. 8. The court may order an extension of the temporary guardianship or conservatorship for up to sixty days for good cause shown, including a showing that a hearing on a petition for a guardianship or conservatorship under section 633.556 or 633.557 cannot be scheduled within sixty days after the order for a temporary guardianship or conservatorship is issued.

Iowa Code § 633.569(7), (8)

Minors. The juvenile court may enter an ex parte order appointing a temporary guardian for a minor if there is not time for a petition and hearing and a temporary guardian is necessary to avoid immediate or irreparable harm; the powers are limited to the emergency, and the minor's parents and any other person legally responsible for the minor's custody or care may file a written request for a hearing, which must be held no later than seven days after it is filed (§ 232D.309(5), (6)). The ex parte order "shall terminate within thirty days after the order is issued," and the court may extend it for up to 60 days for good cause shown (§ 232D.309(7), (8)).

How an adult guardianship ends or rights are restored

A guardianship or conservatorship terminates on the protected person's death or when the court finds it is no longer necessary for any other reason, and the court must terminate a guardianship if the basis for it under § 633.552 has not been established (§ 633.675). The protected person may petition to terminate it at any time after the appointment (§ 633.679(1)).

The burden shifts once the protected person makes a threshold showing:

In a proceeding to terminate a guardianship or conservatorship, if the protected person is the petitioner, the protected person shall make a prima facie showing of some decision-making capacity. Once a prima facie showing is made, the burden of persuasion is on the guardian or conservator to show by clear and convincing evidence that the protected person is incompetent.

Iowa Code § 633.551(2)

A person found incompetent to vote may ask for reinstatement of that right in the same petition (§ 633.679). There is a waiting period after a denial: "If any petition for terminating such guardianship or conservatorship shall be denied, no other petition shall be filed therefor until at least six months shall have elapsed since the denial of the former one" (§ 633.680).

Alternatives to guardianship in Iowa

Iowa builds alternatives into the procedure rather than into a separate agreement statute. The petition must explain why there is no less restrictive alternative (§ 633.556(3)), the respondent's attorney advocates for the least restrictive alternative when the respondent's wishes cannot be ascertained (§ 633.561(4)), and the court must consider credible evidence of less restrictive alternatives, including third-party assistance (§ 633.551(4)). The Iowa Public Guardian Act states the legislature's finding that "a process should exist to assist individuals in finding alternatives to guardianship, conservatorship, or representative payee services and less intrusive means of assistance before an individual's independence or rights are limited" (§ 231E.2(1)(b)).

Supported decision-making. Chapters 633 and 232D contain no supported decision-making agreement procedure; the less-restrictive-alternative rules above are where the guardianship statutes address options short of guardianship.

Powers of attorney. A financial power of attorney and a health-care power of attorney are signed while a person still has capacity, and the guardianship petition must name any such agent (§ 633.556). The signing rules are on our Iowa power of attorney laws page. Free drafting tools are available for an Iowa power of attorney and an Iowa advance directive; a tool is not legal advice, and any document must be signed under the Iowa rules described on the power of attorney page.

Federal benefits. The Social Security Administration decides for itself whether to appoint a representative payee, and a legal guardian is one person it may choose rather than an automatic payee (20 C.F.R. § 404.2001(b)(2)); the guardianship hub covers the federal layer.

Moving to or from Iowa with a guardianship

Iowa enacted the "Iowa Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act" (§§ 633.700 to 633.722). It includes sections on transferring a guardianship or conservatorship to another state (§ 633.716), accepting one transferred from another state (§ 633.717), and registering out-of-state guardianship orders (§ 633.718) and protective orders (§ 633.719). For a minor, the guardianship petition must attach an affidavit with the information § 598B.209 of the child custody jurisdiction law requires (§ 232D.301(5)).

Iowa guardianship at a glance

Related Iowa pages

• Guardianship laws by state
• Iowa power of attorney laws
• Iowa child custody laws
• Iowa grandparents' rights
• Iowa probate

This article provides general legal information about Iowa guardianship and conservatorship law, not legal advice. Guardianship cases turn on their facts and on local court practice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Iowa or the court that would hear the case.

Last updated: October 20, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get guardianship of my grandchild in Iowa?

Guardianship of a minor is decided by the juvenile court under Iowa Code chapter 232D (§ 232D.103). The court may appoint a guardian with the custodial parent's knowing and voluntary consent when the § 232D.203 conditions are met, when both parents have died, after parental rights are terminated or in a child-in-need-of-assistance case, or without consent only on clear and convincing evidence of the grounds in § 232D.204.

Can I get guardianship of a child in Iowa if the parent objects?

Only on clear and convincing evidence of one of the two routes in Iowa Code § 232D.204: a de facto guardian plus a demonstrated lack of consistent parental participation (the court may weigh the parent's intent in placing the child, the parent's contact and visitation, and compliance with earlier court orders), or that no parent with legal custody is willing or able to exercise the guardian's powers and the appointment is in the child's best interest. The court must first consider whether a child-in-need-of-assistance petition is appropriate.

Does Iowa have a power of attorney to let a relative care for my child?

Chapter 232D, Iowa's minor guardianship act, has no parental delegation procedure; its options are a consent guardianship (§ 232D.203) and a standby petition (§ 232D.310). A deploying military parent may delegate custodial responsibility to an adult nonparent by power of attorney for the period of deployment under the conditions in Iowa Code § 598C.204.

What must be proved to get guardianship of an adult in Iowa?

The court must find by clear and convincing evidence that the respondent's decision-making capacity is so impaired that the respondent cannot care for their safety or provide for necessities such as food, shelter, clothing or medical care, and that a guardian is in the respondent's best interest (Iowa Code § 633.552(1)).

Does the adult get a lawyer in an Iowa guardianship case?

If the adult respondent is not the petitioner, the court must appoint an attorney when the petition is filed (Iowa Code § 633.561(1)(a)). If the respondent filed the petition, or the case is on a standby petition, the court decides whether an attorney is needed.

Can an Iowa guardian move someone into a nursing home?

Only with court approval, unless advance notice of the move was included in the guardian's initial care plan that the court approved (Iowa Code § 633.635(3)(a)).

How long does an emergency guardianship last in Iowa?

An ex parte temporary guardianship or conservatorship of an adult terminates within 30 days after the order is issued, and the court may extend it for up to 60 days for good cause shown (Iowa Code § 633.569(7), (8)). A temporary guardianship of a minor follows the same 30-day and 60-day rules (§ 232D.309).

Does Iowa have supported decision-making agreements?

Iowa's guardianship chapters, 633 and 232D, contain no supported decision-making agreement procedure. Instead, the petition must explain why no less restrictive alternative exists, and the court must consider credible evidence of alternatives, including third-party assistance (Iowa Code §§ 633.556(3), 633.551(4)).

How can an Iowa guardianship be ended?

When the protected person petitions, the person must make a prima facie showing of some decision-making capacity; the guardian or conservator then must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the person is incompetent (Iowa Code § 633.551(2)). If a termination petition is denied, another may not be filed until at least six months have passed (§ 633.680).