Title 26 — Title 26

The court has continuing jurisdiction to revoke or modify an order made pursuant to this division upon a petition filed, noticed, and heard in the same manner as the original petition was filed. History: (Act 2016-404, §2.)

(a) Upon petition and after notice and hearing in accordance with the provisions of this division, the court may appoint a conservator or make any other protective order for cause as provided in this section. (b) Appointment of a conservator or other protective order may be made …

Persons. Subject to Section 26-2A-31, after the service of notice in a proceeding seeking the appointment of a conservator or other protective order and until termination of the proceeding, the court in which the petition is filed has: (1) Exclusive jurisdiction to determine the …

Venue for proceedings under this division is: (1) In the court at the place in this state where the person to be protected resides whether or not a guardian has been appointed in another place; or (2) If the person to be protected does not reside in this state, in the court at an…

(a) The person to be protected or any person who is interested in the estate, affairs, or welfare of the person, including a parent, child, guardian, custodian, or any person who would be adversely affected by lack of effective management of the person’s property and business aff…

AMENDED BY ACT 2026-488, EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2027. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. (a) On a petition for appointment of a conservator or other protective order, the requirements for notice described in Section 26-2A-103 apply, but (i) if the person to be protected has disappeared …

(a) Upon receipt of a petition for appointment of a conservator or other protective order because of minority, the court shall set a date for hearing. If the court determines at any time in the proceeding that the interests of the minor are or may be inadequately represented, it …

January 1, 2027.] AMENDED BY ACT 2026-488, EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2027. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. (a) The court shall exercise the authority conferred in this division to encourage the development of maximum self-reliance and independence of a protected person and make protecti…

(a) If it is established in a proper proceeding that a basis exists for the appointment of a conservator or protective order as described in Section 26-2A-130, the court, without appointing a conservator, may authorize, direct, or ratify any transaction necessary or desirable to …

(a) The court may appoint an individual or a corporation with general power to serve as trustee or conservator of the estate of a protected person. The following are entitled to consideration for appointment in the order listed: (1) A conservator, guardian of property, or other l…

(a) The court must require a conservator to furnish a bond payable to the judge of probate conditioned upon faithful discharge of all duties of the trust according to law, with sureties as it shall specify. Unless otherwise directed, the bond must be in the amount of the aggregat…

(a) The following requirements and provisions apply to any bond required under Section 26-2A-139. (1) Sureties are jointly and severally liable with the conservator and with each other. (2) By executing an approved bond of a conservator, the surety consents to the jurisdiction of…

By accepting appointment, a conservator submits personally to the jurisdiction of the court in any proceeding relating to the estate which may be instituted by any interested person. Notice of any proceeding must be delivered to the conservator or mailed by registered or certifie…

(a) If not otherwise reasonably compensated for services rendered, any court representative, attorney, physician, conservator, or special conservator appointed in a protective proceeding and any attorney whose services resulted in a protective order or in an order that was benefi…

The court, on petition or on its own motion, may remove a conservator for good cause, upon notice and hearing, or accept the resignation of a conservator. Upon the conservator’s death, resignation, or removal, the court may appoint another conservator. A conservator so appointed …

(a) Any person interested in the welfare of a person for whom a conservator has been appointed, any person interested in the proper administration of the estate, or the court on its own motion, may file a petition in the appointing court or the court to which the conservatorship …

A conservator, in relation to powers conferred by this division, or implicit in the title acquired by virtue of the proceeding, shall observe the standards in dealing with the estate of the protected person that would be observed by a prudent person dealing with the property of a…

(a) Within 90 days after appointment, each conservator shall prepare and file with the appointing court a complete inventory of the estate subject to the conservatorship together with an oath or affirmation that the inventory is believed to be complete and accurate as far as info…

Each conservator shall account to the court for administration of the conservatorship upon resignation or removal and at other times as the court may direct, but if not otherwise directed, the conservator must, at least once in three years, account to the court. If the conservato…

(a) The appointment of a conservator vests in the conservator title as trustee to all property, or to the part thereof specified in the order, of the protected person, presently held or thereafter acquired, including title to any property theretofore held for the protected person…

(a) Except for property unaffected by the appointment of a conservator specified in Section 26-2A-148(a), letters of conservatorship are evidence of transfer of all assets, or the part thereof specified in the letters, of a protected person to the conservator. An order terminatin…

Voidable; Exceptions. Any sale or encumbrance to or purchase from a conservator, the spouse, agent, attorney of a conservator, any person related to the conservator by blood or marriage within the fourth degree, or any corporation, trust, or other organization in which the conser…

(a) A person who in good faith either assists or deals with a conservator for value in any transaction other than those requiring a court order as provided in Section 26- 2A-136 is protected as if the conservator properly exercised the power. The fact that a person knowingly deal…

(a) Subject to limitation provided in Section 26-2A-154, a conservator shall have all of the powers conferred in this section and any additional powers now or hereafter conferred by law on trustees in this state. In addition, a conservator of the estate of an unmarried minor as t…

(a) A conservator may expend or distribute income or principal of the estate without court authorization or confirmation for the health, support, education, or maintenance of the protected person and dependents in accordance with the following principles: (1) The conservator shal…

Subject to the restrictions in Section 26-2A-136(c), a court having equity jurisdiction may confer on a conservator at the time of appointment or later, in addition to the powers conferred by Sections 26-2A-152 and 26-2A-153, any power that the court itself could exercise under S…

In (i) investing the estate, (ii) selecting assets of the estate for distribution under subsections (a) and (b) of Section 26-2A-153, and (iii) utilizing powers of revocation or withdrawal available for the support of the protected person and exercisable by the conservator or the…

(a) A conservator may pay or secure from the estate claims against the estate or against the protected person arising before or after the conservatorship upon their presentation and allowance in accordance with the priorities stated in subsection (d). A claim may be presented by …

(a) Unless otherwise provided in the contract, a conservator is not personally liable on a contract properly entered into in fiduciary capacity in the course of administration of the estate unless the conservator fails to reveal the representative capacity and identify the estate…

(a) The protected person, conservator, or any other interested person may petition the court to terminate the conservatorship. A protected person seeking termination is entitled to the same rights and procedures as in an original proceeding for a protective order. If the conserva…

Without Local Proceedings. (a) Any person indebted to a protected person or having possession of property or of an instrument evidencing a debt, stock, or chose in action belonging to a protected person may pay or deliver it to a conservator, guardian of the estate, or other like…

If a conservator has not been appointed in this state and no petition in a protective proceeding is pending in this state, a conservator appointed in the state in which the protected person resides may file in a court of this state in a [county] in which property belonging to the…

(a) This chapter shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying purposes and policies. (b) The underlying purposes and policies of this chapter are to: (1) Simplify and clarify the law concerning the affairs of minors, missing or disappeared persons, protected…

2027.] AMENDED BY ACT 2026-488, EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2027. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. As used in this chapter the following terms shall have the following meanings, respectively, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: (1) CLAIMS. In respect of a protected person, incl…

Unless displaced by the particular provisions of this chapter, the principles of law and equity supplement its provisions. History: (Acts 1987, No. 87-590, p. 975, §1-103.)

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, it applies to: (1) Affairs and estates of disappeared persons, and persons to be protected, domiciled in this state; (2) Property located in this state of nondomiciliaries who are disappeared persons or persons to be protected, or pro…

(a) To the full extent permitted by the constitution and as permitted under Article 2 of Chapter 2B of this title, the court has jurisdiction over all subject matter relating to estates of protected persons and protection of minors and incapacitated persons. (b) The court has ful…

(a) If a proceeding under this chapter could be maintained in more than one place in this state, the court in which the proceeding is first commenced has the exclusive right to proceed. (b) If proceedings concerning the same estate, protected person, or ward are commenced in more…

Unless specifically provided to the contrary in this chapter or inconsistent with its provisions, the rules of civil procedure including the rules concerning vacation of orders and appellate review govern proceedings under this chapter. History: (Acts 1987, No. 87-590, p. 975, §1…

The clerk of court shall keep a record for each ward or protected person involved in any document that may be filed with the court under this chapter, including petitions, requests, and any orders or responses by the court relating thereto, and establish and maintain a system for…

(a) Except for proceedings in a court having general equity jurisdiction, a party is entitled to a trial by a jury of six disinterested persons in any proceeding to determine the incapacity of the individual and in other proceedings as to which a party has a constitutional right …

Appellate review, including the right to appellate review, interlocutory appeal, provisions as to time, manner, notice, appeal bond, stays, scope of review, record on appeal, briefs, arguments, and power of the appellate court, is governed by Title 12, Chapter 22, and the Alabama…

If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provision…

This chapter is a general act intended as a unified coverage of its subject matter and no subsequent legislation shall be construed to repeal by implication any part of this chapter if that construction reasonably can be avoided. History: (Acts 1987, No. 87-590, p. 975, §1-105.)

(a) If notice of a hearing on any petition is required, other than a notice meeting specific notice requirements otherwise provided under Sections 26-2A-103, 26-2A- 107.1, 26-2A-134, and 26-2A-136.1, the petitioner shall cause notice of the time and place of the hearing of any pe…

A person, including a guardian, guardian ad litem, conservator, or other fiduciary, may waive notice by a signed writing. A person for whom a guardianship or other protective order is sought, a ward, or a protected person may not waive notice. History: (Acts 1987, No. 87-590, p. …

2027.] AMENDED BY ACT 2026-488, EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2027. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. At any point in a proceeding, a court may appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the interest of a minor or other person if the court determines that representation of the interest otherwis…

Upon payment of any required fee, an interested person who desires to be notified before any order is made in a guardianship proceeding, including any proceeding subsequent to the appointment of a guardian under Section 26-2A-111, or in a protective proceeding under Section 26-2A…

(a) Any person under a duty to pay or deliver money or personal property to a minor may perform the duty, in amounts as provided in this subsection, by paying or delivering the money or personal property to: (1) Any person having the care and custody of the minor and with whom th…

(a) A parent who has custody, or a guardian, of a minor or incapacitated person, by a properly executed power of attorney, may delegate to another person, for a period not exceeding one year, any power regarding health, support, education, or maintenance of the person or property…