New adult guardianship laws may affect existing estate plans

Change in laws marks a good time to update, check in with long-term wishes

LAS VEGAS – This summer, new adult guardianship laws went into effect, possibly affecting thousands of estate plans in Nevada. Gov. Brian Sandoval signed Senate Bill 262, which changed the statute that encompasses laws regarding guardianship, or Nevada Revised Statute 159, in many ways. This change marks a good time to update estate planning documents or check in to make sure plans can still be carried out under the new law, said Brooke Borg of Borg Law Group.

“People with Alzheimer’s Disease or dementia can live for years and still need a guardian to take care of them,” Borg said. “Anytime a new law is passed, they should review their documents. Some people don’t have guardianship language in their documents at all. As people are living longer, this becomes more of an issue.”

Prior to SB 262, guardians had to be Nevada residents, and if they were not, they had to appoint a Nevadan as a co-guardian, someone who could also make all health care and financial decisions for the person in question. Under the new law, nonresident guardians only need to have a registered agent – a business or individual – even a third party – located in Nevada that can accept paperwork from state and local authorities in Nevada on the guardian’s behalf and take other actions of a Registered Agent allowed by Nevada law.

The court will assume the nonresident guardian’s ability to make decisions concerning the guardianship exists when there is a care provider within the state who supervises the adult; the guardian intends to move to Nevada within 30 days of becoming the guardian; or the adult is in a long-term facility.

“In this age of technology, it’s easier for an adult child of a person to live out of state and still make decisions for their parent in Nevada,” Borg said. “This has eased a lot of minds, because so many people are in this situation now.”

Borg Law Group provides legal services to individuals and businesses in the areas of real estate, corporate law, estate planning and probate. The firm’s founder, Brooke Borg, is admitted to the State Bar of Nevada and the State Bar of Michigan.

For more information regarding Borg Law Group, call 702-318-8808 or visit BorgLawGroup.com.