People who can apply for a Welfare Guardian Order for themselves or someone else are:
a person who is totally unable to make or communicate decisions about their own care
a relative or attorney of the person who the Order is for
a social worker employed under the Children, Young Persons, and their Families Act 1989
a medical practitioner or doctor
a representative of any non-profit group that provides services and facilities for the welfare of the people covered by the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988
the superintendent, licensee, supervisor or person in charge, if the person is a patient or a resident of a hospital, home or other institution
any other person with the court's permission.
Becoming a welfare guardian
A welfare guardian must be over 20 years old and must:
be able to carry out the duties of a welfare guardian
act in the best interests of the person
agree to be a welfare guardian
not have a conflict of interest with the person.
Generally, unless it is in the best interests of the subject person, only one welfare guardian will be appointed.
The court will try to find out who the person wants to have as their welfare guardian.
You should file your application at the court nearest to where the person who the application is for lives.
If a decision needs to be made urgently, you can file a 'without notice' application to the court for an Interim Order which can last up to 6 months. This can happen while you’re waiting for the court to finalise your application. A specialist lawyer will be urgently appointed to report to the court before a judge considers making an Interim Order. They will contact you about your application and whether an urgent order is necessary.
If you think you need urgent help, you may want to see a lawyer about making an urgent application for you.
After you apply
After the court receives an application for an Order, it appoints a specialist lawyer who will meet with the person and the applicant. The lawyer will then tell the court why the application has been made and what should happen next. Then it’s up to the judge to decide whether to:
hold a short hearing
ask for more information
make the Order.
How a Welfare Guardian Order ends
The court sets a date by which the welfare guardian must ask for a review of the Welfare Guardian Order. The review date must be no later than 3 years from the date of the Order.
If the welfare guardian doesn’t ask for a review by that date, the Order and the powers granted under that Order end.