Rhode Island DMAT Form PC-2.5 — What Your Doctor Needs to Evaluate

The DMAT Is the Gatekeeper

For a non-temporary guardianship petition, Form PC-2.5 must be filed with the petition under R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-15-4(a)(2). The court may excuse the DMAT only for a temporary guardianship in extraordinary or emergency circumstances and upon other competent evidence. The court uses this document to determine whether the proposed ward actually lacks the functional capacity to make decisions in specific life domains, and if so, which ones.

The DMAT isn't a formality. It's the clinical evidence the probate judge relies on to decide whether guardianship is necessary and, critically, whether it should be limited or full.

What the Physician Evaluates

The DMAT conforms to the statutory form in R.I. Gen. Laws § 33-15-47. The physician must assess the individual's cognitive and functional capacity across relevant domains, including:

• Memory — ability to retain and recall information relevant to daily decisions
• Attention — capacity to focus on tasks, conversations, and instructions long enough to process options
• Judgment — ability to weigh consequences, compare alternatives, and make reasoned choices
• Communication — capacity to express preferences through speech, sign language, assistive technology, or behavioral indicators
• Physical mobility — functional ability to carry out the physical acts required by daily decisions (banking, attending appointments, managing personal care)

In the summary, the physician renders an opinion on whether the individual needs a substitute decision-maker in four areas: healthcare, finance, relationships, and residence. A finding of incapacity in one area doesn't mean incapacity in all — and Rhode Island's least-restrictive-alternative mandate requires the court to strip away only the specific rights where functional capacity is documented as insufficient.

How to Prepare for the DMAT Appointment

The DMAT should be completed by the young adult's primary care physician, who has a longitudinal understanding of their functional abilities. If no primary care relationship exists, an examining physician can complete the form based on a clinical evaluation.

Before the appointment, gather documentation that helps the physician assess functional capacity accurately:

• IEP progress reports and transition assessments that document the young adult's daily living skills, communication methods, and decision-making participation
• Psychological or neuropsychological evaluations with standardized measures of adaptive behavior (Vineland, ABAS) and cognitive functioning
• BHDDH SIS-A assessment results if available — the 57-item support needs profile covers many of the same functional domains the DMAT evaluates
• Notes from service providers (day program staff, job coaches, residential counselors) describing how the young adult handles decisions in real-world settings

Physicians aren't guardianship specialists. Providing this context helps them complete the DMAT with specific, evidence-based findings rather than vague clinical impressions that the probate judge may find insufficient.

Supplemental DMATs

The probate court may also consider supplemental DMATs completed by non-physician clinicians acquainted with the individual — psychologists, social workers, speech-language pathologists, or occupational therapists. These don't replace the mandatory physician DMAT, but they can provide additional functional detail, particularly for communication and behavioral domains where a specialist may have deeper assessment data.

Where the DMAT Fits in the Filing Sequence

The DMAT is one piece of a larger filing packet submitted to your municipal probate clerk. The complete packet includes the Petition for Limited Guardianship or Guardianship (Form PC-2.3), the physician-completed DMAT (PC-2.5), and a BCI background check from the Rhode Island Attorney General's office. The 2024 Isaac's Law reform also requires the petition to explicitly declare which less restrictive alternatives — SDM agreements, powers of attorney, representative payee — were explored and why each was deemed inappropriate.

The physician-completed DMAT is filed with the petition. Unless the court waives the requirement, the Guardian ad Litem's independent report must be submitted to the probate judge at least three days before the scheduled hearing.

If the probate court finds the individual partially incapacitated, the scope of the guardianship is limited to exactly the domains where the DMAT documents insufficient capacity. This is why precision in the DMAT matters — a vague assessment can lead to a broader guardianship than the young adult's functional profile actually requires.

The Rhode Island Adult Guardianship & Alternatives Guide includes a doctor-ready DMAT preparation checklist and a domain-by-domain worksheet that walks through what to document before the physician appointment.

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