Becoming Guardians
By Angie Witt, September 2020
Kati and Kevin Tureman just finished the process of becoming guardians for their 18 year old daughter Sydney on September 11th. They did this process on their own and wanted to share this information. This is not an easy process and it took a few months from start to finish.
They found the paperwork on the Washington State Courts website at www.courts.wa.gov under court forms. This site takes time to navigate. There is a section on guardianship. The form to start with is Requesting a Guardianship. They also used a form called Pro Se Litigant form which means representing self in a civil court action. There is a Lay Guardian Training that is required to watch and is very helpful. This is a two hour training. Kevin and Kati chose to do the Sealed Confidential Guardianship as this seals the records from the public.
There are three different choices for guardianship. One is guardianship of person which covers, healthcare, living arrangements and education. The second option is guardianship of Estate which covers financial matters or thirdly, you can get both guardian of person and Estate. Whichever option you choose you will need to provide medical records, physiological reports and IEP.
Doing the guardianship themselves saved them attorney fees and the court filing fees were waived due to Sydney’s finances as an 18 year old.
