Serving the Adult and the Relatives

When you file to be a guardian, you have to serve a copy of the Petition and the Citation on the adult, many of the adult's relatives, and possibly some other agencies. The court does not serve these documents for you; you have to make sure they are properly served or your hearing will be cancelled. Visit this section to find out how to properly serve the relatives and any other required agencies. 

 Who to serve.  There are many people you will have to send the documents to.  
 What to serve.  There are 2 forms you have to serve. 
 How to serve.  There are different ways to serve people - you can choose what works for you. 
 What if I don't have an address for some people?  Learn about options for relatives you cannot find.  
 Get ready for the hearing.  

 Who to Serve

You must serve the person you want to be the guardian over, everyone listed on Exhibit A of the Petition, plus some other agencies if applicable.

The people you must serve generally includes the person you are asking to be the guardian over (the "proposed protected person"), their spouse, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, and older grandchildren (age 14 and older). 

If the adult is in a hospital or care facility, or receiving Medicaid or Veteran's benefits, those agencies must be notified as well.  A full list of the people you must serve is on the Who Must Be Told About a Guardianship page. Make sure you serve all of the required people, or your case may be delayed!

 What to Serve

You must send a copy of the Petition (the document you filled out asking to be named the guardian) and the Citation (the document that sets a court hearing) to the adult, the required relatives, and agencies.

 How to Serve

There are three ways to have the required people served.  You can use different methods for different relatives depending on what works best for you.

 Personal service.

You can have a neutral person (not you, a relative, or a significant other) hand-deliver the documents to any of the required people.  This must be done at least 10 days before the hearing. The person who served should complete a separate Affidavit of Service for each relative that is personally served.  File the Affidavit of Service. 

Affidavit of Service - General (pdf fillable) 

The adult who you want to be the guardian over must be personally served, even if they are unresponsive.  This is mandatory and cannot be avoided under any circumstance.  Someone who is not involved in the case must hand-deliver the documents to the adult (even if it means just placing the documents on their hospital bed) and complete an Affidavit of Service below. 

Whoever serves the adult has to fill out the Declaration of Service form below.  Make sure it is filed with the court.  This is a MANDATORY form.

 Declaration of Service on Adult (pdf fillable)

 Certified mail, return receipt requested.

You can send the documents by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 20 days before the hearing.  When you mail the documents, use the "green cards" at the post office.  You will receive the signed “green cards” back from the post office when people sign for the mail. When you get the green cards back, complete the Certificate of Mailing, tape the green cards to a blank sheet of paper, and attach the paper with the cards to the Certificate of Mailing. File the Certificate of Mailing. 

Certificate of Mailing (pdf fillable)
 

 Get a signed consent and waiver of service

If a person is willing to accept the papers from you without being formally served, the person can sign a “Consent and Waiver of Service.” All consents must be filed.

Consent and Waiver of Service (pdf fillable)

 What if I don’t know where to find some relatives?

You must do everything you can to locate any missing relatives. Contact friends, family members, employers, coworkers, or anyone who might know where the relatives can be found. Search for the relatives online through social networking sites and by email. You can also check the Post Office for forwarding information. Check with any source that might lead you to a good address for the relative. This is called doing your “due diligence.” 

If you still cannot get addresses for some of the relatives, you need to file paperwork to let the Court know who you cannot locate and your proposal for how you think they could be served.  The judge can order any or all of these things:

• The judge can allow you to serve in some other reliable way if you have some contact - but no address - for some of the relatives. 
• The judge can require you to publish the citation in a newspaper if there are relatives you have no contact with.
• The judge can waive service on some relatives if the judge believes that is appropriate. 

To ask the Court for permission to serve in an alternate way or to waive service, follow these steps:

1. Mail a copy of the Petition and Citation to the last known address you have for each relative. Send the filed forms to each person's last known address by regular mail.  
    
2. After mailing the Petition and Citation, fill out the following forms: 
   
   Ex Parte Motion to Serve by Alternate Means, by Publication, or to Waive Service (pdf fillable)    
   List all of the relatives you cannot locate in this form.  Give a proposal for how you think they could be served, or if you do not believe they cannot be served at all. 
    
   Declaration of Due Diligence (pdf fillable) 
   This form lists all of the detailed efforts made to locate the relative.  Fill out a separate declaration form for each relative you cannot locate. 
   
   Order Approving Service by Alternate Means, Publication, or Waiving Service (pdf fillable)
   Pre-fill out the information on page 1 and sign page 3.  The judge will fill out the rest if the judge approves your request.
   
   
3. File the ex parte motion and the declarations of due diligence with the Court.  E-file them, mail them, or file in person at the court.  
    
4. Submit the proposed Order to the judge. You can mail it, bring it to the court, or email it to your judge for review.  To email, find the department letter that your case is assigned to (for example, Dept W, Dept F, etc.).  Insert the department letter where the _ is in the following email format: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and send it by email. 
    
5. Wait for your answer. The judge will issue an order that lists how you must serve the missing relatives and/or if the judge will waive service on them.  Follow any instructions in the order to get relatives served in the manner approved by the judge.
    
6. If the judge orders some relatives to be served by publication, contact a newspaper to arrange for publication. You will have to provide the newspaper with a copy of the Citation (that includes the names of ALL the relatives you are serving by publication) and the judge's order. The popular Clark County newspapers the judge may require you to publish in are the Nevada Legal News (702-382-2747) and the Las Vegas Review-Journal (702-383-0383).  The citation must be published once a week for 4 consecutive weeks. The last date of publication must be at least 20 days before the hearing in your case.  Make sure the Affidavit of Publication is filed with the court. The newspaper may file this for you, but if they do not, be sure to ask for a copy of the Affidavit of Publication and file it yourself.  
    
7. File Proof of Alternate Service. If the judge approved alternate service for some of the relatives, fill out the form below and attach proof of when and how you sent the documents (such as a screenshot, sent email, etc). 
   
   Proof of Alternate Service (pdf fillable)

 Get ready for the hearing

Once the relatives have been served, you will need to prepare for the hearing with the judge.  Visit the Guardianship Hearing page to learn how to prepare for your hearing and find out what to expect at the hearing.