Serve the Child's Relatives
When you file paperwork asking to be named a guardian, you have to serve a copy of the Petition and the Citation on many of the child's relatives. The court does not serve these documents for you; you are required to make sure the right people are properly served or your hearing will be cancelled. Visit this section to find out how to serve the relatives.
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 can't find some relatives? Learn about options for relatives you cannot find.
Get ready for the hearing.
CAUTION!
Many guardianships are delayed because not all relatives and required agencies are properly notified. Be sure to carefully read and follow the information on this page!
Who to Serve
The people you must serve generally includes:
- the child's parents;
- the child's grandparents;
- the child's brothers and sisters who are 14 years or older;
- the child if the child is 14 years or older;
- the Department of Health and Human Services if the child received (now or in the past) Medicaid.
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!
CAUTION!
The child's relatives are entitled to know about the guardianship even if the relatives are not involved in the child's life. The relatives must be notified of the proposed guardianship and must be given a chance to object. If you do not know where to find some of the relatives, please read about Serving by Publication to find out how to get them served.
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 required relatives.
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.
Get a signed consent and waiver of service.
If a parent or other relative will agree to take the papers from you and also agrees to you being the guardian, the person can sign a “Consent and Waiver of Service.” All consents must be filed.
Consent and Waiver for Parent - 1 child (pdf fillable)
Consent and Waiver for Parent - 2-3 children (pdf fillable)
Consent and Waiver for Parent - 4-6 children (pdf fillable)
Consent and Waiver - Any Other Relative (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 (1 child)
Certificate of Mailing (2-3 children)
Certificate of Mailing (4-6 children)
Personal service.
You can have a neutral person (not you, and not a relative or 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 (pdf) Affidavit 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 find the relatives, you can ask the Court to waive service on the relatives, or instead, for permission to publish the citation in a newspaper and mail a copy of the citation and the petition to the relative’s last known address. You will have to detail all of the efforts you made to find the missing relative.
To ask the Court to waive service or to allow publication, follow these steps:
- Mail a copy of the Petition and Citation to the last known address you have for each relative. You must send the Petition and the Citation to each person's last known address by regular mail.
- After mailing the Petition and Citation, fill out the following forms. Fill out the forms in the packet below. You must complete a SEPARATE Affidavit of Due Diligence for each relative that you cannot find, so download as many extras of those as you need.
There are two orders in the packet: one to waive service and one to allow service by publication. Complete both of them, since it will be up to the judge to decide whether to waive service or require publication. Do not put anything on the judge's signature line.
Publication Packet (pdf)
Publication Packet (pdf fillable)
Affidavit of Due Diligence (pdf) - fill out a separate form for each relative
Affidavit of Due Diligence (pdf fillable) - fill out a separate form for each relative - File all of the affidavits with the Court. E-file them or mail them.
- Submit the proposed Orders to the judge. Fill out the orders and mail or email them to the department assigned to your case. To email them, find the letter that your case is assigned to (for example, Dept C, 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.
- Wait for your answer. If the judge believes that you have done enough and the relatives truly cannot be found, the judge will sign one or both of the orders to waive service or require you to serve by publication. If not, you will receive a memo from the judge's staff letting you know what needs to be fixed.
- If the judge signs your Order to Serve by Publication, contact a newspaper to arrange for publication. The popular Clark County newspapers you may want to contact to arrange for publication are the Nevada Legal News (702-382-2747) and the Las Vegas Review-Journal (702-383-0383). 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 Order to Serve by Publication. 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 usually files this for you, but if they do not, be sure to ask for a copy of the Affidavit of Publication and file it yourself.
TIP!
If you know that some relatives will have to be served by publication, be sure to ask the clerk to set your hearing far enough out so that you will have enough time to finish publication before the hearing. If there is not enough time to complete publication before a hearing that you already have scheduled, set a new hearing date before you begin publication.
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.