What Is the Difference Between Guardianship and Conservatorship in Georgia?
In Georgia, a guardianship gives someone legal authority over another adult’s personal and health-related decisions, such as where they live and what medical care they receive. A conservatorship gives someone legal authority over that adult’s finances and property. A probate court appoints each role separately, under different statutes, and a person may need a guardian, a conservator, or both, depending on the kind of decision-making capacity they’ve lost. If someone qualifies for a court-ordered small estate affidavit or already has a valid power of attorney, that can change whether a conservatorship is needed at all.
Guardianship vs. Conservatorship in Georgia at a Glance
| Category | Guardianship | Conservatorship |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Authority over personal and health-related decisions | Authority over financial and property decisions |
| Decisions covered | Where the ward lives, medical treatment, day-to-day care | Paying bills, managing accounts, handling real estate and other property |
| Medical and personal authority | Yes — this is the core of the role | No — a conservator does not make medical or personal-care decisions |
| Money, property, income, and benefits | No — a guardian does not manage finances | Yes — this is the core of the role |
| Person appointed | Guardian (often called the “protected person’s guardian”; the adult is the “ward”) | Conservator |
| When both may be involved | When one adult has lost the capacity to make personal decisions and to manage property | Same trigger, applied separately to each area; the court can appoint the same person or different people to each role |
| Availability of a limited appointment | Yes — a limited guardianship covers only specific personal decisions | Yes — a limited conservatorship covers only specific financial powers |
| Governing statute | O.C.G.A. § 29-4-1 | O.C.G.A. § 29-5-1 |
| Georgia court involved | Probate court of the county where the proposed ward is domiciled or found | Probate court of the county where the proposed ward is domiciled or found |
Which Situation Applies to You
The right starting point depends on the kind of help the person needs, and what planning documents already exist. This section is educational information, not a determination of what your family’s situation requires — a probate court makes that finding after a petition is filed and evidence is reviewed.
The person needs help with healthcare, housing, or personal decisions, but manages money independently. This points toward guardianship alone. A conservatorship petition would not be the right filing if property and financial management are not in question.
The person needs help managing money, property, income, or benefits, but can still make personal and medical decisions. This points toward conservatorship alone. O.C.G.A. § 29-5-1 addresses financial capacity specifically, separate from the personal-decision standard in the guardianship statute.
The person needs help in both areas. A single petition can ask the probate court to appoint a guardian and a conservator at the same time, for the same person. The court decides each appointment separately, based on the evidence presented for each type of capacity.
A power of attorney or advance directive already exists. If a valid, properly executed financial power of attorney is in place and the named agent is able to act, a conservatorship may not be necessary. The same applies to a health care directive and guardianship. A court-ordered guardianship or conservatorship is generally sought when no such document exists, when the document does not cover what’s needed, or when the named agent is unable or unwilling to serve.
A disabled child is approaching age 18. Parental authority does not continue automatically once a child turns 18 under Georgia law, regardless of the young adult’s diagnosis or level of need. Families in this position should look at this decision well before the birthday — see the section below.
The person can still make some decisions independently. This is where a limited guardianship or conservatorship may be appropriate, rather than a plenary (full) appointment. Georgia law directs the probate court to consider a limited appointment before granting a plenary one.
What Decisions Can a Guardian Make in Georgia?
A guardian makes personal decisions for the ward, including where the ward lives, what medical treatment the ward receives, and day-to-day care arrangements. Guardianship in Georgia is governed by O.C.G.A. § 29-4-1. Under this statute, a probate court can appoint a guardian for an adult only if it finds that the adult lacks sufficient capacity to make or communicate significant, responsible decisions about their own health or safety.
The court does not grant guardianship because a family member asks for it. The appointment must serve the ward’s best interest, and the court must consider less restrictive alternatives, including a limited guardianship, before granting full (plenary) authority. Once appointed, a guardian is a fiduciary: Georgia law requires the guardian to encourage the ward to participate in decisions and, where possible, act on the ward’s own behalf, and to consider the ward’s expressed wishes and values, under O.C.G.A. § 29-4-22. If a guardianship petition is denied, Georgia law generally bars a new petition for the same person within two years, unless circumstances have significantly changed.
What Does a Conservator Manage in Georgia?
A conservator manages the ward’s property and finances: paying bills, managing bank and investment accounts, and handling real estate or other property on the ward’s behalf. Conservatorship is governed by O.C.G.A. § 29-5-1, which applies the same basic standard as the guardianship statute — capacity, best interest, and less restrictive alternatives — but to financial decision-making rather than personal and health decisions.
A conservator’s authority and obligations continue after appointment. Georgia law requires a conservator to file an annual verified return with the probate court, covering receipts and expenditures, an updated inventory of the ward’s assets and liabilities, and an updated plan for managing the property, within 60 days of the anniversary of the conservator’s appointment, under O.C.G.A. § 29-5-60. The conservator sends a copy of that return to the ward, the ward’s guardian (if any), and the surety on the conservator’s bond.
Conservatorship is sometimes confused with a power of attorney, but the two are not the same kind of authority. A power of attorney is a document someone signs voluntarily, while they still have capacity, naming an agent to handle their affairs. A conservatorship is a court-ordered arrangement, established after someone has lost the capacity to manage their own finances. If a valid power of attorney already exists and is being honored by the agent, a conservatorship may not be necessary.
Can Someone Need Both a Guardian and a Conservator?
Yes. Guardianship addresses personal and health-related decisions; conservatorship addresses financial and property decisions. These are separate legal findings under separate statutes, so a person who has lost both kinds of capacity may need both appointments. A family can file a single petition asking the probate court to appoint a guardian and a conservator for the same adult, and the court reviews the evidence for each role.
The court can appoint the same individual to serve as both guardian and conservator, or it can appoint different people to each role — for example, one family member handling personal and medical decisions while another, or a professional fiduciary, handles finances. Which arrangement fits depends on who is available, willing, and suited to each responsibility, and that’s a question for the family and the court, not something this article can resolve in the abstract.
Can Guardianship or Conservatorship Be Limited?
Yes. Neither guardianship nor conservatorship in Georgia is an all-or-nothing designation. A plenary guardianship gives the guardian broad authority over the ward’s personal decisions. A limited guardianship restricts the guardian’s authority to the specific areas where the ward needs assistance, leaving the ward free to decide everything else. The same limited-versus-plenary structure applies to conservatorship for financial decision-making.
Because O.C.G.A. § 29-4-1 requires the court to consider less restrictive alternatives before granting guardianship, and O.C.G.A. § 29-5-1 requires the same for conservatorship, Georgia probate courts look at whether a limited appointment would meet the person’s needs before granting a plenary one. In practice, the scope of a guardianship or conservatorship is shaped by what the person needs help with, not set at the broadest level by default. A limited appointment can, for example, authorize a guardian to make medical decisions only, while leaving the ward free to decide where to live, or authorize a conservator to manage a single account or property while leaving other assets under the person’s own control.
What Happens When a Disabled Child Turns 18 in Georgia?
Georgia treats a person as a legal adult at 18, even if that person has a developmental or intellectual disability that limits their ability to manage their own health or finances. Parental authority does not carry over automatically once a child reaches that birthday. A parent who wants to continue making decisions for a disabled adult child generally needs to petition the probate court for guardianship, conservatorship, or both, depending on what kind of decisions the young adult cannot yet make independently.
Georgia law allows a petition for guardianship of a minor approaching adulthood to be filed up to six months before the minor turns 18, with the guardianship taking effect on or after the birthday, under O.C.G.A. § 29-4-10. Families in this situation benefit from starting the evaluation and filing process before the birthday arrives, rather than after, since the appointment cannot take legal effect until the child is legally an adult. Some families in this position also explore supported decision-making arrangements or a limited guardianship that preserves the young adult’s authority over decisions they can still make — see the limited-appointment section above.
How Do Existing Powers of Attorney Affect the Decision?
A validly executed, currently effective power of attorney can reduce or eliminate the need for a conservatorship, and a health care directive can do the same for guardianship, provided the named agent is willing and able to act and the document covers what’s needed. Georgia’s guardianship petition process requires the petitioner to disclose whether a living will, durable power of attorney for health care, advance directive for health care, or similar instrument already exists, under O.C.G.A. § 29-4-10. The probate court reviews that information as part of deciding whether guardianship is the right and necessary step, since a court-ordered appointment is not meant to duplicate authority a person already granted voluntarily while competent.
If no such document exists, if the agent named in an existing document is unavailable or unwilling to serve, or if the document doesn’t extend to the decisions now in question, a guardianship or conservatorship petition may be the remaining option for a family that needs legal authority to act.
Where Is a Guardianship or Conservatorship Petition Filed?
A guardianship or conservatorship petition is filed in the probate court of the county where the proposed ward is domiciled, or the county where the proposed ward is currently found, under O.C.G.A. §§ 29-4-10 and 29-5-10. The county-where-found option does not apply if there’s evidence the proposed ward was moved to that county for the sole purpose of filing the petition there. For families spread across different counties or states, the filing location follows the proposed ward’s residence, not the petitioner’s.
In the Atlanta and Alpharetta area, Fulton County Probate Court handles the largest volume of these matters, and Forsyth County and DeKalb County probate courts also serve families in this region, depending on where the proposed ward lives.
What Happens During the Georgia Probate Court Process?
Any interested person, including the proposed ward, may file a guardianship or conservatorship petition. The petition must set out the facts supporting the court’s jurisdiction, the proposed ward’s name and county of domicile, the petitioner’s relationship to the proposed ward, the reasons the appointment is sought, any foreseeable limits on the appointment, and whether existing planning documents (power of attorney, advance directive, and similar instruments) are already in place, under O.C.G.A. § 29-4-10 for guardianship and O.C.G.A. § 29-5-10 for conservatorship.
After filing, the probate court reviews the petition and any supporting affidavit to determine whether there is probable cause to believe the proposed ward needs a guardian or conservator, under O.C.G.A. § 29-4-11. If the court finds no probable cause, it dismisses the petition. If probable cause exists, the court orders an evaluation by a physician, psychologist, or licensed clinical social worker, and a written report is filed with the court within seven days of that evaluation.
The proposed ward has the right to independent legal counsel in this process. The court must inform the proposed ward of that right and will appoint counsel within two days of service unless the proposed ward has already retained an attorney, under O.C.G.A. § 29-4-11. The proposed ward’s attorney receives a copy of the petition, any affidavit, and the evaluation order, and has the right to be present at the evaluation (though not to participate in it). The court, on its own motion or on the motion of any interested person, also decides whether to appoint a guardian ad litem under O.C.G.A. § 29-9-2.
Once the evaluation report is filed, the court reviews the pleadings and the report together. If the court finds probable cause based on that review, it schedules a hearing on the petition under O.C.G.A. § 29-4-12. The proposed ward or the proposed ward’s attorney can waive the ward’s appearance at the hearing.
After a guardian or conservator is appointed, the appointment does not end the court’s involvement. A conservator must file a verified annual return with the probate court, including an updated inventory and accounting, within 60 days of the anniversary of appointment, under O.C.G.A. § 29-5-60. A guardian remains subject to the fiduciary obligations set out in O.C.G.A. § 29-4-22, including the duty to act in the ward’s best interest and to involve the ward in decisions where possible.
Which Path Fits Your Family
Guardianship, conservatorship, and advance planning documents each address a different kind of decision-making gap. A guardianship addresses personal and health decisions. A conservatorship addresses financial and property decisions. A power of attorney and health care directive, signed while someone still has capacity, can let a named agent step in for either kind of decision without a court appointment at all — and a living trust can keep property out of probate court by letting a successor trustee manage trust assets directly.
Reviewing whatever planning documents already exist is a reasonable first step before filing a petition, since an existing, valid document may already grant the authority a family is trying to establish through the probate court. Where no such document exists, or where it doesn’t cover what’s needed, a probate court petition for guardianship, conservatorship, or both is the remaining path.
Next Steps
If a family member can no longer make personal or financial decisions and no planning documents are in place, Hampton and Hampton can discuss a guardianship or conservatorship petition in Fulton, Forsyth, or DeKalb County probate court for your situation. Our Atlanta and Alpharetta probate and estate administration teams can walk you through what that process looks like.
If you’re planning ahead, for yourself or for a family member, to reduce the chance of a future guardianship or conservatorship proceeding, Hampton and Hampton’s Atlanta and Alpharetta estate planning attorneys can discuss a power of attorney, health care directive, or living trust before a health event makes the issue urgent.
Contact our Atlanta or Alpharetta office to start either conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Does a power of attorney replace the need for guardianship or conservatorship in Georgia?
A valid, currently effective power of attorney can remove the need for a conservatorship if the named agent is willing and able to act and the document covers the decisions in question. It does not automatically prevent a guardianship petition if personal or medical decision-making authority isn’t addressed in the document.
Q2. Can one person serve as both guardian and conservator for the same ward?
Yes. Georgia’s probate court can appoint the same individual to both roles, or appoint different people to each, depending on the petition and the court’s findings.
Q3. Does a guardianship or conservatorship petition have to be filed in the county where the family lives?
No. It’s filed in the probate court of the county where the proposed ward is domiciled or currently found, which may be a different county than where the petitioning family member lives.
Q4. What happens if a guardianship petition is denied?
Georgia law generally bars filing a new petition for the same person within two years of a denial, unless there has been a significant change in circumstances.
Q5. Does the proposed ward get a lawyer during the guardianship process?
Yes. Georgia law requires the court to inform the proposed ward of the right to independent legal counsel and to appoint counsel if the ward hasn’t retained one within two days of being served.
Q6. How is the scope of a guardianship or conservatorship decided?
The probate court reviews the petition, the evaluation report, and the hearing evidence, and considers whether a limited appointment addressing only specific decisions would meet the person’s needs before granting a plenary (full) appointment.
Q7. Can a disabled child’s guardianship be set up before they turn 18?
A petition can be filed up to six months before the minor turns 18, but the guardianship itself does not take legal effect until on or after the birthday.
Disclaimer
This article provides general legal information about Georgia guardianship and conservatorship law. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Hampton and Hampton. Every family’s situation is different, and you should talk with a licensed Georgia attorney about your specific circumstances before making decisions about guardianship, conservatorship, or estate planning.