SB 48 — "Karilyn's Law" (Guardianship Reform)

• Establishes a rebuttable presumption in favor of allowing visitation or other contact between a ward (or minor) and their family, which may only be denied upon clear and convincing evidence that contact is not in the ward's best interests
• Requires a full reevaluation of the need for guardianship every 3 years, including an examination by an examining committee and an adjudicatory hearing conducted by a different judge than the one who presided over the initial hearing
• Requires juries to be impaneled to determine whether a power of attorney should be suspended, to evaluate the validity of a ward's trust, trust amendment, power of attorney, or will, and to review the continued need for a guardian when alternatives to guardianship are alleged
• Mandates that public guardians be appointed on a rotating basis and requires the verified inventory and annual accounting of a ward's property be made available to the ward's family, next of kin, and beneficiaries or heirs under a valid will
• Requires petitions for guardian appointment to disclose whether the alleged incapacitated person has a valid trust, trust amendment, durable power of attorney, or will, and to explain why alternatives to guardianship — including a valid will — are insufficient