Guardianship
A guardianship is created when a person is declared incapacitated by the Court, which means they are no longer able to make essential decisions about either their person or their finances. To initiate a guardianship, a petition must be filed by legal counsel with the Court and a hearing set. The alleged incapacitated person is notified by citation and has the right to appear or be represented by counsel in Court to oppose or accept the determination.
Once the Guardian has been appointed, an inventory must be filed within 90 days. An annual report must also be filed by the Guardian.
All of these filings are handled in the Register of Wills/Clerk of Orphans' Court office and the fees for filing are as follows:
Guardianship Petition: $35.00
JCS (State Tax): $40.25
County Auto: $15.00
Inventory: $10.00
Annual Reports: Online GTS $10.00 - Per Report
Annual Reports: Paper in Office $25.00 - Per Report
A booklet entitled "Now That You Are a Guardian" is given to the Guardian the day they are appointed, and any questions they may have from the book can be answered by calling the office at (724) 770-4552 or by contacting their Attorney.
Requirements on New Guardianship
Guardianship Report Instructional Videos
The Office of Elder Justice in the Courts (OEJC) has released a new educational video series, the Guardianship Report Instructional Videos.
As you know, every court appointed guardian is statutorily required to file an Annual Report of the Person and/or Estate each year. Guardians of the estate (financial) are also required to file an Inventory report within the first 90 days of being appointed as guardian. The Guardianship Report Instructional Videos are intended to assist guardians in completing the filing of the Inventory report and annual report(s). Each video guides the guardian step by step through completing all sections of the selected report. These videos are the final piece in the OEJC’s efforts to reframe their Family/Lay Guardian Training series as a selection of digitally downloadable PDF resources and streaming educational videos.
All three of the Guardianship Report Instructional Videos are available on the OEJC website’s “Guardianship in Pennsylvania” page, or directly via the links shared below:
- Video: PA Guardianship Report Training - Estate Report
- Video: PA Guardianship Report Training - Person Report
- Video: PA Guardianship Report Training - Inventory Report
Recursos en Español:
The Office of Elder Justice in the Courts (OECJ) has received requests from courts across the Commonwealth to offer Spanish language resources to assist family/lay guardians and members of the public. We are happy to announce the addition of “Recursos en español,” which is linked on the menu on the right side of the OEJC webpage.
“Recursos en español” contains links to the Language Access page, as well as all available OEJC Spanish language resources, including:
- The Guardian Handbook (Spanish language hardcopies are also available from the OEJC)
- A new Inventory Guide, which is also available in the GTS Help section. This document contains step-by-step directions and accompanying screenshots to support a Spanish speaker guardian as they complete the Inventory Report. Similar guides will be available for the Annual Reports of both the Person and Estate later this fall.
- Transcripts of all videos in the Guardianship Training Series.
As the OEJC continues to develop Spanish language resources, they will be added to “Recursos en español”.
Guardian Tracking System (GTS) Help system information:
Phone number: 1-(877)-227-2672
Email: gtsaopc@pacourts.us