RCW 11.130.090 Qualifications. (Effective January 1, 2021.)

(1) Any suitable person over the age of twenty-one years, or any parent under the age of twenty-one years or, if the petition is for appointment of a professional guardian or conservator, any individual or guardianship or conservatorship service that meets any certification requirements established by the administrator for the courts, may, if not otherwise disqualified, be appointed guardian or conservator of a person subject to guardianship, conservatorship, or both. A financial institution subject to the jurisdiction of the department of financial institutions and authorized to exercise trust powers, and a federally chartered financial institution when authorized to do so, may be appointed to act as a guardian or conservator of a person subject to guardianship, conservatorship, or both without having to meet the certification requirements established by the administrator for the courts. No person is qualified to serve as a guardian or conservator who is:

(a) Under eighteen years of age except as otherwise provided herein;

(b)(i) Except as provided otherwise in (b)(ii) of this subsection, convicted of a crime involving dishonesty, neglect, or use of physical force or other crime relevant to the functions the individual would assume as guardian;

(ii) A court may, upon consideration of the facts, find that a relative convicted of a crime is qualified to serve as a guardian or conservator;

(c) A nonresident of this state who has not appointed a resident agent to accept service of process in all actions or proceedings with respect to the estate and caused such appointment to be filed with the court;

(d) A corporation not authorized to act as a fiduciary, guardian, or conservator in the state;

(e) A person whom the court finds unsuitable.

(2) If a guardian, or conservator is not a certified professional guardian, conservator, or financial institution authorized under this section, the guardian or conservator must complete any standardized training video or web cast for lay guardians or conservators made available by the administrative office of the courts and the superior court where the petition is filed unless granted a waiver by the court. The training video or web cast must be provided at no cost to the guardian, or conservator.

(a) If a petitioner requests the appointment of a specific individual to act as a guardian or conservator, the petition for guardianship or conservatorship must include evidence of the successful completion of the required training video or web cast by the proposed guardian or conservator. The superior court may defer the completion of the training requirement to a date no later than ninety days after appointment if the petitioner requests expedited appointment due to emergent circumstances.

(b) If no person is identified to be appointed guardian or conservator at the time the petition is filed, then the court must require that the petitioner identify within fourteen days from the filing of the petition a specific individual to act as guardian subject to the training requirements set forth herein.

[ 2019 c 437 § 118.]