Section 463:5 Procedure for Appointment.
I. Any person may nominate a guardian of the person or of the estate or of both of the person's minor child in a will, by petition, or by written consent to a petition by another. The judge of probate may, for cause, refuse to appoint a person so nominated.
II. A minor 14 years of age or older, or any person or authorized agency interested in the welfare of the minor, may petition for appointment of a guardian of the person or of the estate or of both.
III. The petition shall:
(a) Be verified;
(b) Request that a guardian of the person, of the estate, or both, be appointed;
(c) Specify the name, age, address, and occupation of the proposed guardian and the relationship of the proposed guardian to the minor;
(d) Specify the name and date of birth of the minor; and
(e) State that the appointment is in the best interests of the minor.
IV. The petition shall set forth, so far as is known to the petitioner:
(a) Alternate names and addresses of the minor; the names and addresses of the parents of the minor, and any person or persons alleged to have had the principal care and custody of the minor during the 60 days preceding the filing of the petition; and any person named as testamentary guardian of the person or of the estate of the minor in the will of a decedent--parent.
(b) The probable value and general character of the minor's real and personal property including the minor's right to receive local, state, or federal benefits and entitlements, and the probable amount of the minor's debts.
(c) The existence of any pending adoption, juvenile proceedings, including those pursuant to RSA 169-B, 169-C, 169-D, or 170-C, or other pending proceedings affecting the minor or the parents of the minor including, but not limited to, domestic violence, marriage dissolution, domestic relations, paternity, legitimation, custody, or other similar proceeding.
(d) Whether guardianship is being sought by the department as part of the permanent plan for a child in the department's custody pursuant to the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, Public Law 105-89.
(e) Whether an adoption of the minor by the proposed guardian or guardians is contemplated.
V. The petition shall include a statement describing specific facts concerning actions or omissions or actual occurrences involving the minor which are claimed to demonstrate that the guardianship of the person or of the estate or both is in the best interests of the minor.
VI. (a) In all guardianships of the person, except when an agency or institution is named as the proposed guardian, the court shall review the proposed guardian's record of criminal convictions maintained by the New Hampshire division of state police and any record of founded complaints of child abuse or neglect by the proposed guardian in the child abuse and neglect registry maintained by the department of health and human services.
(b) The petitioner shall file releases provided by the court and signed by the proposed guardian authorizing the release of any record of criminal convictions and a search of the abuse and neglect registry. The court may, in its discretion, accept a petition without the signed releases and may appoint a guardian prior to receiving the proposed guardian's record of criminal convictions or the results of the search of the abuse and neglect registry or both. When the court appoints a guardian prior to the receipt of the records, the court shall review the records upon their receipt and may reexamine the appointment of the guardian based on the information contained in the records.
(c) The court may, in its discretion, request the same information from similar agencies in other states as appropriate.
Source. 1995, 222:1. 2001, 146:1. 2004, 11:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2005.