A competent adult who is physically infirm may petition the probate court of the county in which the petitioner resides, to place, for a definite or indefinite period of time, the petitioner's person, any or all of the petitioner's real or personal property, or both under a conservatorship with the court. A petitioner either may grant specific powers to the conservator or court or may limit any powers granted by law to the conservator or court, except that the petitioner may not limit the powers granted to the court by this section and may not limit the requirement for bond as determined by the court. The petition shall state whether the person of the competent adult will be placed under the conservatorship, shall state with particularity all real and personal property that will be placed under the conservatorship, shall state the powers granted and any limitation upon the powers of the conservator or court, and shall state the name of a proposed suitable conservator.

After a hearing, if the court finds that the petition was voluntarily filed and that the proposed conservator is suitable, the court shall issue an order of conservatorship. Upon issuance of the order, all sections of the Revised Code governing a guardianship of the person, the estate, or both, whichever is involved, except those sections the application of which specifically is limited by the petitioner, and all rules and procedures governing a guardianship of the person, the estate, or both, shall apply to the conservatorship, including, but not limited to, applicable bond and accounting requirements.

A conservatorship shall terminate upon a judicial determination of incompetency, the death of the petitioner, the order of the probate court, or the execution of a written termination notice by the petitioner. A termination notice shall take effect upon execution by the petitioner, and shall be filed with the court and served upon the conservator. A termination notice executed by a petitioner relative to a conservatorship of the estate and the termination of a conservatorship of the estate based upon a termination notice are void unless the termination notice is filed with the court within fourteen days after its execution. Modification of the powers of a conservator or the court may be made by the petitioner upon motion to the court at any time during the conservatorship. Neither the establishment of a conservatorship nor the filing of a petition for conservatorship with the probate court shall be considered as evidence of mental impairment under section 2111.01 of the Revised Code.

Upon motion to the probate court and a showing of good cause, the court may make confidential, or remove from confidential status, any file, record, petition, motion, account, or paper, except for an index, docket, or journal, that pertains to a conservatorship and that is in the possession of the court.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.52, SB 124, §1, eff. 1/13/2012.

Effective Date: 01-01-1990 .