253.150 - Establishment of office by county commissioners; appointment, designation or contract; compensation.

253.150  Establishment of office by county commissioners; appointment, designation or contract; compensation.

      1.  The board of county commissioners of each county shall establish the office of public guardian.

      2.  The board of county commissioners shall:

      (a) Appoint a public guardian, who serves at the pleasure of the board, for a term of 4 years from the day of appointment;

      (b) Designate an elected or appointed county officer as ex officio public guardian;

      (c) Pursuant to the mechanism set forth in NRS 244.1507, designate another county officer to execute the powers and duties of the public guardian;

      (d) Except in a county whose population is 100,000 or more, contract with a private professional guardian to act as public guardian; or

      (e) Contract with the board of county commissioners of a neighboring county in the same judicial district to designate as public guardian the public guardian of the neighboring county.

      3.  The compensation of a public guardian appointed or designated pursuant to subsection 2 must be fixed by the board of county commissioners and paid out of the county general fund.

      4.  As used in this section, “private professional guardian” means a person who receives compensation for services as a guardian to three or more wards who are not related to the person by blood or marriage. The term does not include:

      (a) A governmental agency.

      (b) A banking corporation, as defined in NRS 657.016, or an organization permitted to act as fiduciary pursuant to NRS 662.245 if it is appointed as guardian of an estate only.

      (c) A trust company, as defined in NRS 669.070.

      (d) A court-appointed attorney licensed to practice law in this State.

      (Added to NRS by 1977, 486; A 1989, 1041; 2003, 804; 2007, 2489; 2009, 593)