Conservatorship in Illinois: Guardianship Process, Costs, and Alternatives

Conservatorship in Illinois is handled under a different name: guardianship. The state’s Probate Act of 1975 doesn’t use the word “conservator” at all. Instead, a court can appoint a guardian of the estate to manage someone’s finances (the role most states call a conservator), a guardian of the person to handle their care and medical decisions, or both. Either appointment requires clear and convincing evidence that the adult cannot manage their own affairs, and Illinois law pushes courts to take away only the specific decision-making powers the person truly can’t exercise.

Why Illinois Calls It Guardianship

If you’ve been searching for conservatorship information and keep landing on guardianship pages, that’s the reason. Illinois folds both functions into one statutory framework. A guardian of the estate manages money and property. A guardian of the person handles housing, healthcare, and daily welfare. The court can appoint one, the other, or both, depending on what the adult actually needs.¹ Everything that follows uses “guardianship” in the Illinois sense, covering both roles.

Who the Court Can Appoint a Guardian For

A petition only succeeds if the court finds the adult meets the statutory definition of a “person with a disability.” Section 11a-2 of the Probate Act covers three categories of adults 18 or older:

Someone whose mental deterioration or physical incapacity prevents them from fully managing personal care or financial affairs.
Someone with a mental illness or developmental disability that prevents them from fully managing their person or estate.
Someone whose gambling, substance abuse, or similar self-destructive conduct is wasting their estate to the point of real hardship for them or their dependents.

The proof standard is clear and convincing evidence, not the ordinary preponderance used in most civil cases. Guardianship takes away fundamental rights, and the higher bar reflects that.¹

How the Court Process Works

A “reputable person” — usually a family member, friend, or social worker — files a petition in the circuit court for the county where the adult lives.¹ The adult (called the respondent) can also petition on their own behalf.

A physician’s written report must accompany the petition, based on an evaluation done within the previous three months. The report has to describe the nature of the disability, how it affects the person’s ability to function, and whether guardianship is needed and in what form. If the petition arrives without a report, the court orders evaluations and requires the report at least 10 days before the hearing.²

The hearing must be scheduled within 30 days of filing. The respondent must be personally served with the petition and summons at least 14 days before the hearing, and other interested parties (family members, the proposed guardian) also get notice within that window.³

The Guardian Ad Litem

The court appoints a guardian ad litem (GAL) in nearly every case to investigate and report on the respondent’s best interests. The statute allows the court to skip appointing a GAL only if it finds one isn’t necessary to protect the respondent. The GAL must visit the respondent in person, explain the petition and the rights at stake, try to understand what the respondent actually wants, and file a written report before the hearing with their observations and recommendation.³

Rights the Respondent Has at the Hearing

The respondent can request a court-appointed attorney at any time, through any means — a phone call, a letter, or speaking up in court. If the respondent disagrees with the GAL’s recommendation, the court must appoint counsel.³ The respondent can attend the hearing, cross-examine witnesses, put on evidence, and demand a six-person jury to decide the question of disability.⁴ A guardianship order can determine where the person lives, how their money is spent, and what medical treatment they receive, and the legislature built in these checkpoints for exactly that reason.

Full vs. Limited Guardianship

The statute is explicit that guardianship should be ordered “only to the extent necessitated by the individual’s actual mental, physical and adaptive limitations.”¹ A plenary (full) guardianship transfers all decision-making to the guardian and should be reserved for people who truly cannot make any decisions independently.

A limited guardianship confines the guardian’s authority to the specific areas where help is actually needed. Someone with early-stage dementia might handle their own daily routines but struggle with complex financial choices; a limited guardianship of the estate would cover only the finances and leave personal and medical decisions with the person. The Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission has observed that many physicians aren’t familiar with limited guardianship, and petitioners and their attorneys should evaluate the limited option independently instead of defaulting to the physician’s recommendation.⁵

What a Guardian Can Do and Must Do

Guardians are fiduciaries. They have to put the ward’s interests ahead of their own in every decision, and the court enforces that through oversight, reporting, and the possibility of a surety bond.

Guardian of the Person

A guardian of the person is responsible for the ward’s housing, healthcare, education, and day-to-day support, within whatever scope the court order sets. The guardian must arrange care, keep the ward safe and comfortable, and support as much independence as possible. One notable power: the statute lets the guardian of the person act as a surrogate decision-maker for life-sustaining treatment without a separate court order.⁶

Guardian of the Estate

A guardian of the estate manages the ward’s money, property, and financial affairs. The Probate Act directs the guardian to manage the estate “frugally” and use income and principal for the ward’s “comfort and suitable support,” which includes housing, medical care, education, and support of any dependents. For bigger moves — making gifts from the estate, entering contracts, creating trusts, handling investments or retirement accounts — the guardian petitions the court for expanded authority with notice to interested parties, keeping the court involved in major financial decisions.⁷

Reporting and Bond

When the court directs, a guardian of the person files periodic reports covering the ward’s mental, physical, and social condition; current living arrangements; medical and professional services received; the guardian’s own visits and activities; and a recommendation on whether the guardianship should continue.⁸ A guardian of the estate has additional accounting duties, with detailed records of income, expenses, and assets.

The court can also require a surety bond before the guardian takes office. The bond is a financial guarantee: if the guardian mismanages the ward’s money, the bonding company covers the loss and then goes after the guardian for reimbursement. Bond amounts generally track the value of the estate, and premiums are a small percentage of the bond amount that varies with estate size and the guardian’s credit.

If a guardian neglects their duties, acts against the ward’s interests, or engages in misconduct, the court can revoke the letters of guardianship and appoint a successor.⁷

Federal Benefits and Taxes Don’t Transfer Automatically

Appointment as guardian does not hand you control of every piece of the ward’s financial life. Two federal matters need separate action.

For taxes, a court-appointed guardian files IRS Form 56 to notify the IRS of the fiduciary relationship. After that, the IRS treats the guardian as the taxpayer for filing returns and paying taxes for the ward, and the guardian signs the return in their own name noting the fiduciary capacity.⁹ The obligation runs every year until the guardianship ends, when a second Form 56 notifies the IRS the relationship has terminated.

For Social Security and SSI, guardianship does not give you authority over benefits. The Social Security Administration runs its own Representative Payee Program with a separate application, and you have to apply through SSA to manage the ward’s benefits.¹⁰ Spending Social Security money for the ward without being appointed representative payee is a common mistake that creates real problems with the agency.

What Guardianship Costs

Court filing fees vary by county, so check with the circuit clerk where you plan to file. Attorney fees are usually the biggest expense, and the total depends heavily on whether the case is contested — hearings on medical evidence, disputes among family members, and repeated court appearances all drive the bill up. The guardian ad litem’s compensation is set by the court and typically paid from the ward’s estate.

Ongoing costs include surety bond premiums when a bond is required, periodic accounting work, and the time and legal expense of preparing the required reports. A larger estate may justify a professional guardian or corporate fiduciary, whose fees also come out of the estate. Before filing, it’s worth asking whether a less expensive tool like a power of attorney could do the same job.

Ending or Changing a Guardianship

A guardianship isn’t permanent. The ward, or anyone acting on the ward’s behalf, can petition to terminate or modify it at any time, and the request can be informal — a letter, phone call, or visit to the court is enough to start the process.¹¹

Termination requires clear and convincing evidence that the ward has regained capacity to manage their own affairs. A physician’s report is not required to terminate; the court can rely on other evidence of restored capacity. The court can also modify the guardianship to be more or less restrictive as the ward’s condition changes.¹¹

Section 11a-20(b-5) adds a streamlined route when the guardian and the ward agree the guardianship should end or change. If a current evaluation supports the change, the ward wants it, and the guardian states the change is in the ward’s best interest, the court can act without the full adversarial process unless someone shows by clear and convincing evidence that the ward still cannot manage independently.¹¹

Alternatives That Can Avoid Court

Illinois treats guardianship as a last resort. The Guardianship and Advocacy Commission advises that “all possible alternatives should be explored before instituting guardianship proceedings.”⁵ Two tools can keep the matter out of court entirely, but only if they’re signed while the person still has legal capacity.

Power of Attorney

A durable power of attorney for property lets a chosen agent manage finances if the principal becomes incapacitated. A power of attorney for healthcare does the same for medical decisions. Under the Illinois Power of Attorney Act, you can also nominate your agent to serve as your guardian if a court later decides one is needed, and if that happens the court must appoint that person without requiring a bond.¹² The advantage is choosing your own agent instead of leaving the pick to a judge. The limitation is timing: once capacity is gone, it’s too late to sign.

Revocable Living Trust

With a revocable living trust, the person creating the trust transfers assets like real estate, bank accounts, and investments into the trust while still competent. A named successor trustee automatically takes over management if the creator becomes incapacitated, without court involvement. The trust document can define what “incapacity” means and how it’s determined, for example by requiring written confirmation from two physicians. Because the trust is revocable, the creator can change its terms or pull assets back at any time while competent.

Neither alternative helps after incapacity has set in. If the person has already lost the ability to make decisions and never signed these documents, guardianship through the probate court is likely the only path forward.

1
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 755 ILCS 5/11a-3
2
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 755 ILCS 5/11a-9
3
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 755 ILCS 5/11a-10
4
Illinois Guardianship & Advocacy Commission. The Guardianship Process
5
Illinois Guardianship & Advocacy Commission. Frequently Asked Questions About Guardianship
6
Illinois Guardianship & Advocacy Commission. Powers and Duties
7
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 755 ILCS 5 – Probate Act of 1975
8
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 755 ILCS 5/11a-17
9
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 56, Notice Concerning Fiduciary Relationship
10
Social Security Administration. Representative Payee Program
11
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 755 ILCS 5/11a-20
12
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 755 ILCS 45 – Illinois Power of Attorney Act