Developmental Disability Checklist
Filing Fees
No initial filing fee
- Petition for Appt of Guardian, Individual with Alleged Developmental Disability - PC 658
- Report to Accompany Petition – Report and Evaluation completed within one year of filing - PC 659
- Lapeer County Form – Criminal History Form for Proposed Fiduciary
- Notice of Right to Request Dismissal of Guardian or Modification of Guardianship Order - PC 661
- Notice of Hearing - PC 562
- Declaration of Intent to Give Notice by Publication - PC 617 (Used if the address for an interested party is unknown)
- Publication of Notice of Hearing - PC 563 (Used if the address for an interested party is unknown)
- Proof of Service - PC 564
- Acceptance of Appointment - PC 571
- Personal Identifying Information Form - MC 97
- Personal Identifying Information Addendum - MC 97a
Forms after guardian is appointed
- Report of Guardian on Condition of Individual with Developmental Disability - PC 663 - Report is due annually on the date of the anniversary of the appointment
- Proof of Service – Annual report must be served on the Ward and all interested parties - PC 564
- Account of Fiduciary - PC 583 or PC 584 - An account must be filed annually if the guardian has also been appointed over the estate
- Petition to Allow Account - PC 585a
Interested Persons
The interested persons need to be listed on the petition along with their proper address. Per MCr5.125(C)(19), the interested persons are the individual, the individual’s attorney, the petitioner, the individual’s presumptive heirs, preparer of the report or another appropriate person who performed an evaluation, director of any facility where the individual may be residing, the individual’s guardian ad litem, if appointed, and any other person the court may determine. If an interested person is not included or is not properly served, the hearing cannot be held. Per MCL 330.1614 the following people must be served with the Notice of Hearing:
- The respondent
- The respondent’s presumptive heirs
- Spouse, if no spouse then children, if none then parents, etc.
- The preparer of the report
- The director of the facility where the respondent resides
- The respondent’s legal counsel
- The respondent’s guardian ad litem, if one has been appointed
- The respondent’s legal counsel
- The respondent’s guardian ad litem, if one has been appointed
Service
The petitioner must serve a copy of the Petition and Notice of Hearing on the person to be protected and all interested persons. The interested parties must be served 14 days prior to the hearing if served by mail, or 7 days prior to the hearing if served personally. The person to be protected must be served personally and must be served with PC 661 – Notice of Right to Request Dismissal of Guardian or Modification of Guardianship Order.
The petition must then submit a Proof of Service PC 564 prior to the hearing date confirming all interested persons were served. If all interested persons did not receive proper service, the Judge may dismiss the petition or adjourn the hearing to a later date. Proper notice of the new hearing date will have to be served on the interested persons by the petitioner. An interested person can waive notice of the hearing and consent to the relief requested in the petition by completing PC651, Waiver/Consent.
Publication
May be completed for interested persons whose address or whereabouts are unknown. In such situations, the petitioner must complete PC 617 – Declaration of Intent to Give Notice by Publication and PC 563 – Publication of Notice of Hearing. The notice must be published in a Lapeer County newspaper once at least 14 days prior to the hearing. The publication fee is paid directly to the newspaper. For more information on publication, you may wish to contact the newspaper directly. The newspaper will provide the petitioner with a Proof of Publication, which the petitioner must file with the court prior to the hearing.
Hearing Date
The petition will be set for a hearing by the Court, which will typically be held within 30 days from the date of filing. The petitioner must attend the hearing, or the petition will be dismissed. The subject of the proceeding and his/her counsel must also attend the hearing.
Appointment of an Attorney
The Court must appoint an attorney for the individual named in the petition, MCL 330.1615. It will be the attorney’s responsibility to visit the person and make a recommendation to the court as to whether or not the guardianship is necessary. The attorney charges a fee for their service, which is the responsibility of the petitioner to pay. The fee does not have to be paid at the time of the filing, but the Court will send a notice to you at a later date of the amount and allowing 30 days to pay the fee.
Suitability of Proposed Guardian
To evaluate the suitability of the proposed guardian, the Court will request a criminal history check of the proposed fiduciary. Therefore, the proposed guardian will need to complete the Criminal History Authorization form and submit it to the Court. The form and the results of the search will be maintained confidentially.