Missouri: Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship Petition Requirements
The short answer
Missouri separates guardianship of the person from conservatorship of the estate but permits a combined petition. Any person may file in the probate division, with detailed residence, family, agent, trust, property, proposed-appointee, functional, and recent-behavior facts. The petitioner must prove incapacity or disability by clear and convincing evidence, and the court cannot appoint unless identified needs cannot be met by a less restrictive alternative. The adult receives personal service and automatic counsel, may choose a jury and an open or closed hearing, may present and cross-examine evidence, and has a right to attend and appeal. A professional examination is court-discretionary rather than a universal petition attachment, and the final order must make detailed findings and impose no greater restriction than necessary.
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This is the general rule in Missouri. Ezel applies current Missouri law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Proceeding and state terminology | Chapter 475 uses guardianship for personal care and conservatorship for financial resources; limited versions exist, and person/estate requests may be combined without repeating allegations (§§ 475.010, 475.061). |
|---|---|
| Who may file and where | Any person may petition for a guardian, conservator, or limited version (§§ 475.060-.061). File in the probate division where the adult is domiciled, or if no Missouri domicile, where the adult has a statutory significant connection; guardianship venue controls if the two tracks differ (§ 475.035). |
| What the petition must contain | A guardianship petition gives current/recent addresses; assets; relatives/co-residents; agents, trustees, caregiver, existing fiduciaries; proposed appointee's other wards; functional facts tied to serious personal harm; and specific incidents/behaviors. A standalone conservatorship petition cross-references the address, other-ward, and reasons/behavior items and adds inability to manage finances; the two may be combined (§§ 475.060-.061). |
| Proof required for appointment | Petitioner bears clear-and-convincing burden (§ 475.075). Personal incapacity requires inability, even with services and technology, to meet essential care needs such that serious injury, illness, or disease is likely; financial disability requires inability to manage resources (§ 475.010). Appointment also requires that identified needs cannot be met by a less restrictive alternative (§ 475.079). |
| Alternatives the court must address | The court must consider whether needs can be met without appointment through a durable agent, trust, representative payee, supported decision-making or services, assistive technology, emergency ad litem, or limited order (§ 475.075). Full and limited appointments are barred when identified needs can be met less restrictively (§§ 475.079-.080). The petition checklist itself does not expressly require an alternatives narrative. |
| Notice, service, and hearing timing | The court promptly sets a hearing. The adult receives personal service a reasonable time beforehand of the petition, hearing details, appointed counsel, supporting witnesses, and statutory rights; spouse, parents, adult children, fiduciaries, proposed appointee, caregiver, co-tenants/co-depositors, or a closest adult relative receive notice (§ 475.075). No fixed ordinary-day minimum is stated. |
| Counsel and hearing rights | The court immediately appoints counsel, who ordinarily visits at least 24 hours before hearing; retained counsel may substitute only under the statutory withdrawal procedure (§ 475.075). The adult has rights to a jury, evidence, cross-examination, silence, open or closed hearing, presence, civil evidence rules, and appeal. |
| Medical evidence or court evaluator | No physician certificate is a universal filing. The court may order an examination by a physician, licensed psychologist, or trained professional, who explains purpose, silence, and use of statements; the written report goes to the court and all counsel and is subject to objection/admissibility review (§ 475.075). |
| Limits on the order | The order applies the least-restrictive principle, recites detailed personal, financial, placement, supervision, voting, driving, and marriage findings, and states limits in the letters (§ 475.075). A limited order specifies powers and disabilities and promotes maximum self-reliance (§ 475.080). Emergency ad litem authority is separate, for substantial risk of serious harm or irreparable property damage, with a hearing ordinarily within five business days and specified purposes for no more than 90 days at a time (§ 475.075). |
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Requirements one by one
Proceeding and state terminology
Missouri separates personal and financial authority. A guardian handles the person; a conservator handles the estate. Limited versions of both are available. Under § 475.061, a filer may combine the two requests in one petition without repeating allegations.
Who may file and where
Any person may petition under §§ 475.060-.061. The filing goes to the probate division of the circuit court. Section 475.035 ordinarily places venue where the adult is domiciled. If the adult has no Missouri domicile, venue follows the county with a statutory significant connection. If personal and financial venue would differ, guardianship venue controls.
What the petition must contain
For a guardianship, § 475.060 requires current and recent addresses, assets and out-of-state real property, parents, spouse, children, closest relatives, co-residents, fallback siblings and children of deceased siblings, durable-power-of-attorney agents, trustees, caregiver, existing fiduciaries, and the proposed appointee's other wards or protectees.
The personal petition states a functional factual basis tied to the risk of serious injury, illness, or disease and identifies the incidents and specific behaviors supporting appointment. A standalone conservatorship petition under § 475.061 uses the address, other-ward, and reasons/behavior allegations from the guardianship checklist and adds functional inability to manage financial resources. The requests may be combined.
Proof required for appointment
Under § 475.075, the petitioner bears the clear-and-convincing burden. Personal incapacity asks whether the adult, even with appropriate services and technology, cannot manage essential care requirements such that serious physical harm is likely. Financial disability asks whether the adult cannot manage financial resources.
Section 475.079 adds a necessity limit: the court may appoint only when the adult's identified needs cannot be met by a less restrictive alternative.
Alternatives the court must address
Before appointment, § 475.075 requires consideration of a durable agent, trust, representative payee, supported decision-making, services, assistive technology, emergency ad litem, and limited authority. Sections 475.079-.080 make inability to meet identified needs less restrictively part of both full and limited appointment.
The adult-petition checklist in §§ 475.060-.061 does not separately require the petitioner to narrate alternatives tried. Missouri places the express alternatives decision at the hearing and order stages.
Notice, service, and hearing timing
The court promptly sets the hearing. Under § 475.075, the adult receives personal service a reasonable time before hearing of the petition, hearing time and place, appointed counsel, anticipated supporting witnesses, and statutory rights. The ordinary statute gives no fixed number of lead days.
Notice also reaches the spouse, parents, adult children, serving or proposed fiduciaries, persons with financial authority, caregiver or custodian, co-tenants or co-depositors, and a closest adult relative when no spouse, parent, or child is known.
Counsel and hearing rights
Section 475.075 requires the court to appoint counsel immediately after filing. Counsel ordinarily visits at least 24 hours before the hearing. Private counsel may enter, but the appointed lawyer withdraws only after the statutory hearing and cause finding.
The adult has rights to a jury, to present and cross-examine evidence, to remain silent, to choose an open or closed hearing, to attend, to use civil evidence rules, and to appeal.
Medical evidence or court evaluator
Missouri does not make a physician certificate a universal petition attachment. Section 475.075 permits the court to order an examination by a physician, licensed psychologist, or another appropriately trained professional. Before examining, the professional explains the purpose, the right to silence, and the possible use of statements. A written report goes to the court and all counsel, and objections may produce a limited admissibility hearing.
Limits on the order
The court must apply the least-restrictive principle and may not restrict liberty or financial control beyond what protection requires. Section 475.075 demands detailed findings on personal and financial capacity, supervised placement, financial supervision, voting, driving, and marriage. Under § 475.080, a limited order specifies powers, duties, and legal disabilities and promotes maximum self-reliance.
Emergency guardian-ad-litem or conservator-ad-litem authority is a separate boundary. It requires substantial risk of serious physical harm or irreparable property damage, specified purposes, and a term no longer than 90 days at a time; the hearing ordinarily occurs within five business days.
Statutes and sources
- Mo. Rev. Stat. § 475.010 — guardian/conservator terminology, incapacity,
disability, and least-restrictive definition.
https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=475.010 (accessed
2026-07-18) - Mo. Rev. Stat. § 475.035 — domicile and significant-connection venue.
https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=475.035 (accessed
2026-07-18) - Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 475.060-.061 — who may file, personal and financial
petition contents, and combined filing.
https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=475.060 and
https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=475.061 (accessed
2026-07-18) - Mo. Rev. Stat. § 475.075 — personal service, notice recipients, automatic
counsel, optional examination, clear-and-convincing burden, hearing rights,
alternatives, required findings, and emergency boundary.
https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=475.075 (accessed
2026-07-18) - Mo. Rev. Stat. § 475.079 and § 475.080 — less-restrictive bar and full or
limited appointment. https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=475.079
and https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=475.080 (accessed
2026-07-18)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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