Kentucky Guardianship Evaluation Process: The Interdisciplinary Team Explained

Why Kentucky Requires an Interdisciplinary Evaluation

Kentucky does not let a single doctor decide whether an adult is disabled for guardianship purposes. Under KRS 387.540, the District Court must order an independent assessment by an Interdisciplinary Evaluation Team (IDT) before a regular guardianship hearing can proceed. This requirement exists to prevent unnecessary guardianships and ensure that multiple professional perspectives inform the court's decision.

The IDT process is one of the strongest procedural safeguards in Kentucky guardianship law—and one of the least understood by families entering the system for the first time.

Who Serves on the Evaluation Team

The IDT must include three distinct professionals:

1. A licensed physician (or an advanced practice registered nurse or physician assistant)
2. A licensed psychologist
3. A social worker or an employee of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) with relevant expertise

SB 74 (effective January 1, 2025) expanded the third slot to include CHFS cabinet employees with expertise in disability services, not just licensed social workers. This change addressed a persistent bottleneck in rural Kentucky counties where finding a qualified social worker willing to serve on an IDT was difficult.

The court appoints the evaluators. Families do not choose them, though the petitioner can share relevant medical history and existing evaluations with the team. Each evaluator conducts their assessment independently and files their own written report.

What the Evaluators Assess

Each IDT member evaluates the respondent's (the person alleged to be disabled) functional capacity across several domains:

• Physical health and daily living skills — Can the person feed, bathe, and dress themselves? Do they manage medications? Can they navigate their community safely?
• Cognitive and psychological functioning — Does the person understand the consequences of decisions? Can they communicate preferences? Do they have the capacity to execute legal documents like a power of attorney?
• Social and adaptive functioning — Does the person have support networks? Can they maintain employment? Do they manage relationships and living arrangements?
• Financial capacity — Can the person handle money, pay bills, and avoid exploitation?

The report must contain current evaluations of the respondent's social, intellectual, physical, and educational condition, adaptive behavior, and social skills. Those evaluations may be based on prior evaluations not more than three months old, except that individual intelligence test scores (IQ tests) may be up to one year old. The separate 90-day validity question depends on local court practice; it is not a universal deadline.

Timeline and a Possible 90-Day Validity Limit

Once the court issues an Order of Examination (Form AOC-750), the IDT members must complete their evaluations and file written reports at least ten days before the scheduled hearing date.

Here is the timing trap many families hit: Some local court practices treat IDT reports as valid for only 90 days from the date of the evaluation. If a hearing is delayed—because the court's docket is backed up, because appointed counsel needs more time, or because an evaluator files late—this local window can expire, and the court may require a new IDT process. Confirm the rule with the local court.

This means a hearing delay of even a few weeks can reset the clock and add months to the guardianship timeline. Families should monitor the hearing date closely and push back on unnecessary continuances.

How to Prepare for the Evaluation

You cannot choose the evaluators, but you can make their job easier and ensure they have complete information:

Compile existing records. Gather recent medical records, psychological evaluations, IEP documents, therapy notes, and any prior functional assessments. Give copies to the court-appointed evaluators when they schedule their sessions.

Write a functional summary. A one-page description of your child's daily life—what they can do independently, where they need help, what specific situations create risk—gives evaluators concrete context that clinical records often lack.

Prepare your child. Explain that they will meet with a doctor, a psychologist, and a social worker who will ask questions and possibly conduct tests. These are not adversarial encounters, but they can be stressful for someone who does not understand why strangers are evaluating them.

Know the limits. The IDT evaluates capacity, not character. Their reports address whether the respondent meets the statutory definition of disability under KRS Chapter 387—not whether guardianship is the right choice. That decision belongs to the jury or judge at the hearing.

What Happens After the Reports Are Filed

The IDT reports are filed with the court and shared with the respondent's appointed attorney, the County Attorney, and the petitioner. If all three evaluators unanimously agree that the respondent is disabled or partially disabled, the court may consider a bench trial instead of the default six-person jury trial—but only if the respondent, their attorney, and the County Attorney all agree to waive the jury.

If the evaluators disagree—for example, the psychologist finds capacity in some domains while the physician does not—the matter proceeds to a full jury trial where each evaluator may testify and be cross-examined.

Our Kentucky Adult Guardianship & Alternatives Guide walks through how to sequence the IDT process within the broader guardianship timeline and what to do if an evaluation comes back with findings you did not expect.

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