2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 62 - South Carolina Probate Code › Article 5 - Protection Of Persons Under Disability And Their Property › Section 62-5-303. Procedure for court appointment of a guardian; summons and petition.

(A) A person seeking a finding of incapacity, appointment of a guardian, or both, must file a summons and petition. When more than one petition is pending in the same court, the proceedings may be consolidated.
(B) The petition shall set forth, to the extent known or reasonably ascertainable, the following information:
(1) interest of the petitioner;
(2) name, age, current address, and contact information of the alleged incapacitated individual, who must be designated as a respondent;
(3) physical location of the alleged incapacitated individual during the six-month period immediately preceding the filing of the summons and petition; and, if the alleged incapacitated individual was not physically present in South Carolina for that period, sufficient information upon which the court may make a determination that it has initial jurisdiction pursuant to Section 62-5-707;
(4) to the extent known and reasonably ascertainable, the names and addresses of the following persons, who must be designated as corespondents:
(a) the alleged incapacitated individual's spouse and adult children; or, if none, his parents; or, if none, at least one of his adult relatives within the nearest degree of kinship;
(b) a person known to have been appointed as agent for the alleged incapacitated individual under a general durable power of attorney or health care power of attorney;
(c) a person who has equal or greater priority for appointment pursuant to Section 62-5-308 as the person whose appointment is sought in the petition; and
(d) a person, other than an unrelated employee or health care worker, who is known or reasonably ascertainable by the petitioner to have materially participated in caring for the alleged incapacitated individual within the six-month period preceding the filing of the petition;
(5) name and address of the proposed guardian and the basis of his priority for appointment;
(6) reasons why a guardianship is necessary, including why less restrictive alternatives are not available or appropriate, and a brief description of the nature and extent of the alleged incapacity;
(7) a statement of any rights that a petitioner is requesting be removed from the alleged incapacitated individual, any restrictions to be placed on the alleged incapacitated individual, and any restrictions sought to be imposed on the guardian's powers and duties; and
(8) to the extent known and reasonably ascertainable, a general statement of the alleged incapacitated individual's assets, with an estimate of value, and the source and amount of any income of the alleged incapacitated individual.
(C) A person may initiate guardianship proceedings by filing a summons and petition for guardianship of a minor child up to one hundred eighty days prior to the date the child reaches the age of eighteen if the petitioner anticipates the minor child will require a guardian upon attaining the age of eighteen. The court has jurisdiction over the proceedings in this subsection beginning one hundred eighty days prior to the date the child reaches the age of eighteen. The minor shall be provided all due process rights conferred upon an alleged incapacitated individual pursuant to this chapter including, but not limited to, the appointment of an attorney and a guardian ad litem. An order appointing a guardian pursuant to this subsection shall be issued upon the minor's eighteenth birthday or as soon thereafter as possible.
HISTORY: 1986 Act No. 539, Section 1; 2010 Act No. 244, Section 25, eff June 7, 2010; 2017 Act No. 87 (S.415), Section 5.A, eff January 1, 2019; 2023 Act No. 10 (S.341), Section 3, eff May 8, 2023.
Effect of Amendment
2023 Act No. 10, Section 3, added (C).