Indiana Limited Guardianship

Indiana Has No Conservatorship — Only Guardianship

If you've been researching guardianship law online, you've probably seen the term "conservatorship" used alongside "guardianship." In Indiana, those are not separate legal roles. Indiana Code Article 3 uses the single term "guardianship" to cover authority over both the person and the estate. There is no Indiana conservator statute.

Other states split the roles — a guardian handles personal and medical decisions while a conservator manages finances. Indiana handles both under one guardianship framework, but the court can appoint a guardian over the person only, the estate only, or both. The effect is similar to the guardian/conservator split, just under a single legal label.

Guardian of the Person vs. Guardian of the Estate

The distinction matters because most families don't need authority over everything. Indiana courts can and should tailor guardianship orders to the specific areas of demonstrated incapacity.

Guardian of the Person — authority over personal and medical decisions: healthcare consent, residential placement, daily care, and behavioral plans. The guardian makes these decisions for the ward, who loses the right to make them independently.

Guardian of the Estate — authority over financial and property decisions: managing bank accounts, paying bills, signing contracts, buying or selling property. The court may require a fiduciary bond, and the guardian must file a 90-day inventory of all assets for a non-temporary guardianship and submit biennial financial accountings to the court.

Guardian of the Person and Estate — full authority over both domains. This is the most common request but also the most restrictive.

A family that needs medical decision-making authority but whose adult child manages money adequately (perhaps with an SDM agreement or an informal budget system) should petition for guardianship of the person only. This preserves financial autonomy and avoids the estate-related bond, inventory, and financial-accounting requirements.

Limited vs. Plenary: What the Court Decides

Within any guardianship — person, estate, or both — the court can set the scope:

Limited guardianship restricts the guardian's authority to specific, judicially carved-out areas. A limited guardian of the person might have authority only over medical decisions and residential placement, while the ward retains the right to make choices about personal relationships, daily routines, employment, and voting. A limited guardian of the estate might have authority only over bank accounts and specified financial matters, while the ward retains the right to earn wages and make small purchases.

Plenary guardianship gives the guardian total authority over the designated domain. A plenary guardian of the person makes all personal and medical decisions. A plenary guardian of the estate controls all financial matters. The ward is stripped of most civil rights in the covered domain.

Indiana courts are statutorily required to consider limited guardianship before granting plenary authority. The physician's report should identify specific areas of incapacity, not just check "totally incapacitated." If the clinical evaluation shows partial capacity, the court should issue a limited order that addresses the demonstrated deficits and nothing more.

What Rights the Ward Retains Under Limited Guardianship

This is the whole point of the limited framework: the adult keeps every right not specifically assigned to the guardian by the court order. Common retained rights include:

• The right to vote
• The right to marry or enter into personal relationships
• The right to choose their daily routine
• The right to manage specific financial matters (if the limitation excludes them)
• The right to make educational or employment decisions
• The right to social activities and community participation

A limited guardianship order should read like a specific list of delegated authorities, not a blanket assignment of power. If the order is vague or overbroad, it functions as plenary guardianship with a different label.

The Termination and Modification Process

Guardianship is not necessarily permanent. Under IC § 29-3, any interested person can petition the court to modify or terminate a guardianship by demonstrating changed circumstances — typically through a new physician's report showing restored capacity or evidence that less-restrictive alternatives can now meet the adult's needs.

In practice, terminating a plenary guardianship is extremely difficult. Courts are reluctant to restore rights once they've been removed, and the burden of proof falls on the petitioner. Limited guardianship is easier to modify because the scope is already defined — you're asking the court to narrow or remove specific authorities, not to reverse a total incapacity finding.

This is another reason to push for limited guardianship from the start: if circumstances improve, the path to restoring rights is more straightforward.

Before You Petition for Any Guardianship

Indiana's less-restrictive alternatives may eliminate the need for court involvement entirely. A durable power of attorney handles financial authority. A Health Care Advance Directive handles medical decisions. Supported Decision-Making covers information processing across every domain. An Educational Representative preserves school advocacy.

If those alternatives don't fully address your family's situation, petition for limited guardianship over only the specific areas where alternatives fall short. The Indiana Adult Guardianship & Alternatives Guide walks through the full evaluation — from self-executed alternatives through limited and plenary guardianship — so you can identify the minimum level of intervention your family actually needs.

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