{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/51.5-151.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/51.5-151.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/51.5-151.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/51.5-151.html"}],"law_id":56088,"edition_id":1,"section_id":56088,"structure_id":14462,"section_number":"51.5-151","catch_line":"Minimum requirements for local programs; authority","history":"1998, c. 787, \u00a7 2.1-373.14; 2001, c. 844, \u00a7 2.2-713; 2006, c. 854; 2010, c. 792; 2012, cc. 463, 803, 835; 2023, c. 476.","full_text":"Every local or regional program with which the Department contracts to provide services as a public guardian or conservator shall (i) furnish bond with corporate surety in an amount deemed sufficient by the Department to afford adequate financial protection to the maximum number of incapacitated persons to be served by the program; (ii) have in place a multidisciplinary panel to (a) screen cases for the purpose of ensuring that appointment of a guardian or conservator is appropriate under the circumstances and is the least restrictive alternative available to assist the incapacitated person and (b) continually review cases being handled by the program as required by the Department; (iii) accept only appointments as guardian or conservator that generate no fee or would generate a minimal fee as defined by regulation payable from a public source of funds and not from the estate of the incapacitated person; and (iv) have a direct service staff to client ratio that is consistent with that specified by regulation of the Department. Volunteers shall not be counted for purposes of ascertaining compliance with the staff to client ratio specified by the Department.\n\t\tA local or regional program that exceeds the specified staff to client ratio shall not be disqualified from serving as a guardian or conservator except as provided by regulation or if the court or the Department finds that there is an immediate threat to the person or property of any incapacitated person or that exceeding the specified ratio is having or will have a material and adverse effect on the ability of the program to properly serve all of the incapacitated persons it has been designated to serve.\n\t\tA local or regional program appointed as a guardian or conservator shall have all the powers and duties specified in Article 2 (\u00a7 64.2-2019 et seq.) of Chapter 20 of Title 64.2, except as otherwise specifically limited by the court. In addition, a public guardian or conservator shall have a continuing duty to seek a proper and suitable person who is willing and able to serve as guardian or conservator for the incapacitated person. A public guardian or conservator shall have authority to make arrangements for the funeral and disposition of remains, including cremation, interment, entombment, memorialization, inurnment, or scattering of the cremains, or some combination thereof, if the public guardian or conservator is not aware of any person that has been otherwise designated to make such arrangements as set forth in \u00a7 54.1-2825. A public guardian or conservator shall have authority to make arrangements for the funeral and disposition of remains after the death of an incapacitated person if, after the public guardian or conservator has made a good faith effort to locate the next of kin of the incapacitated person to determine if the next of kin wishes to make such arrangements, the next of kin does not wish to make the arrangements or the next of kin cannot be located. Good faith effort shall include contacting the next of kin identified in the petition for appointment of a guardian or conservator. The funeral service licensee, funeral service establishment, registered crematory, cemetery, cemetery operator, public guardian or conservator shall be immune from civil liability for any act, decision, or omission resulting from acceptance of any dead body for burial, cremation, or other disposition when the provisions of this section are met, unless such acts, decisions, or omissions resulted from bad faith or malicious intent.\n\t\tA public guardian shall not have authority to approve or authorize a sterilization procedure except when specific authority has been given pursuant to a proceeding in the circuit court. A public guardian may authorize admission of an incapacitated person to a mental health facility as provided in subsection B of \u00a7 37.2-805.1 and may authorize mental health treatment, including the administration of psychotropic medication, unless the appointing court specifically provides otherwise.\n\t\tA local or regional program appointed as a guardian or conservator may delegate the powers, duties, and responsibilities to individual volunteers or professional staff as authorized in the contract with the Department.\n\t\tIn addition to funds received from the Department, a local or regional program may accept private funds solely for the purposes of providing public education, supplemental services for incapacitated persons, and support services for private guardians and conservators, consistent with the purposes of this article.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":205584,"text":"Every local or regional program with which the Department contracts to provide services as a public guardian or conservator shall (i) furnish bond with corporate surety in an amount deemed sufficient by the Department to afford adequate financial protection to the maximum number of incapacitated persons to be served by the program; (ii) have in place a multidisciplinary panel to (a) screen cases for the purpose of ensuring that appointment of a guardian or conservator is appropriate under the circumstances and is the least restrictive alternative available to assist the incapacitated person and (b) continually review cases being handled by the program as required by the Department; (iii) accept only appointments as guardian or conservator that generate no fee or would generate a minimal fee as defined by regulation payable from a public source of funds and not from the estate of the incapacitated person; and (iv) have a direct service staff to client ratio that is consistent with that specified by regulation of the Department. Volunteers shall not be counted for purposes of ascertaining compliance with the staff to client ratio specified by the Department.\n\t\tA local or regional program that exceeds the specified staff to client ratio shall not be disqualified from serving as a guardian or conservator except as provided by regulation or if the court or the Department finds that there is an immediate threat to the person or property of any incapacitated person or that exceeding the specified ratio is having or will have a material and adverse effect on the ability of the program to properly serve all of the incapacitated persons it has been designated to serve.\n\t\tA local or regional program appointed as a guardian or conservator shall have all the powers and duties specified in Article 2 (\u00a7 64.2-2019 et seq.) of Chapter 20 of Title 64.2, except as otherwise specifically limited by the court. In addition, a public guardian or conservator shall have a continuing duty to seek a proper and suitable person who is willing and able to serve as guardian or conservator for the incapacitated person. A public guardian or conservator shall have authority to make arrangements for the funeral and disposition of remains, including cremation, interment, entombment, memorialization, inurnment, or scattering of the cremains, or some combination thereof, if the public guardian or conservator is not aware of any person that has been otherwise designated to make such arrangements as set forth in \u00a7 54.1-2825. A public guardian or conservator shall have authority to make arrangements for the funeral and disposition of remains after the death of an incapacitated person if, after the public guardian or conservator has made a good faith effort to locate the next of kin of the incapacitated person to determine if the next of kin wishes to make such arrangements, the next of kin does not wish to make the arrangements or the next of kin cannot be located. Good faith effort shall include contacting the next of kin identified in the petition for appointment of a guardian or conservator. The funeral service licensee, funeral service establishment, registered crematory, cemetery, cemetery operator, public guardian or conservator shall be immune from civil liability for any act, decision, or omission resulting from acceptance of any dead body for burial, cremation, or other disposition when the provisions of this section are met, unless such acts, decisions, or omissions resulted from bad faith or malicious intent.\n\t\tA public guardian shall not have authority to approve or authorize a sterilization procedure except when specific authority has been given pursuant to a proceeding in the circuit court. A public guardian may authorize admission of an incapacitated person to a mental health facility as provided in subsection B of \u00a7 37.2-805.1 and may authorize mental health treatment, including the administration of psychotropic medication, unless the appointing court specifically provides otherwise.\n\t\tA local or regional program appointed as a guardian or conservator may delegate the powers, duties, and responsibilities to individual volunteers or professional staff as authorized in the contract with the Department.\n\t\tIn addition to funds received from the Department, a local or regional program may accept private funds solely for the purposes of providing public education, supplemental services for incapacitated persons, and support services for private guardians and conservators, consistent with the purposes of this article.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":14462,"edition_id":1,"name":"Virginia Public Guardian and Conservator Program","identifier":"6","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12945,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:48:13","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:48:13","permalink":{"id":236931,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14462,"identifier":"6","token":"51.5\/14\/6","url":"\/51.5\/14\/6\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12945,"edition_id":1,"name":"Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services","identifier":"14","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12761,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:03","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:03","permalink":{"id":236679,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12945,"identifier":"14","token":"51.5\/14","url":"\/51.5\/14\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12761,"edition_id":1,"name":"Persons With Disabilities","identifier":"51.5","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","permalink":{"id":236393,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12761,"identifier":"51.5","token":"51.5","url":"\/51.5\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":76625,"structure_id":14462,"section_number":"51.5-149","catch_line":"Policy statement; Virginia Public Guardian and Conservator Program established; definitions","url":"\/51.5-149\/","token":"51.5\/14\/6\/51.5-149","metadata":false},{"id":67964,"structure_id":14462,"section_number":"51.5-149.1","catch_line":"Public Guardian and Conservator Advisory Board; purpose; membership; terms","url":"\/51.5-149.1\/","token":"51.5\/14\/6\/51.5-149.1","metadata":false},{"id":78661,"structure_id":14462,"section_number":"51.5-149.2","catch_line":"Powers and duties of the Board","url":"\/51.5-149.2\/","token":"51.5\/14\/6\/51.5-149.2","metadata":false},{"id":55837,"structure_id":14462,"section_number":"51.5-150","catch_line":"Powers and duties of the Department with respect to public guardian and conservator program","url":"\/51.5-150\/","token":"51.5\/14\/6\/51.5-150","metadata":false},{"id":59636,"structure_id":14462,"section_number":"51.5-150.1","catch_line":"Powers and duties of the Department with respect to guardian training","url":"\/51.5-150.1\/","token":"51.5\/14\/6\/51.5-150.1","metadata":false},{"id":56088,"structure_id":14462,"section_number":"51.5-151","catch_line":"Minimum requirements for local programs; authority","url":"\/51.5-151\/","token":"51.5\/14\/6\/51.5-151","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":59636,"structure_id":14462,"section_number":"51.5-150.1","catch_line":"Powers and duties of the Department with respect to guardian training","url":"\/51.5-150.1\/","token":"51.5\/14\/6\/51.5-150.1","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/51.5-151\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 1998. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 787<\/a> of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. It has been modified 5 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 2001, chapter 844<\/a>; in 2006, chapter 854<\/a>; in 2010, chapter 792<\/a>; in 2012, chapters 463<\/a>, 803<\/a>, and 835<\/a>; in 2023, chapter 476<\/a>.<\/p>","references":false,"refers_to":[{"id":73953,"section_number":"37.2-805.1","catch_line":"Admission of incapacitated persons pursuant to advance directives or by guardians","order_by":null,"url":"\/37.2-805.1\/"},{"id":84076,"section_number":"54.1-2825","catch_line":"Person to make arrangements for funeral and disposition of remains","order_by":null,"url":"\/54.1-2825\/"},{"id":54266,"section_number":"64.2-2019","catch_line":"Duties and powers of guardian","order_by":null,"url":"\/64.2-2019\/"}],"permalink":{"id":236953,"object_type":"law","relational_id":56088,"identifier":"51.5-151","token":"51.5\/14\/6\/51.5-151","url":"\/51.5-151\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/51.5-151\/","token":"51.5\/14\/6\/51.5-151","dublin_core":{"Title":"Minimum requirements for local programs; authority","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 51.5-151","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Every local or regional program with which the Department<\/span> contracts<\/span> to provide services as a public guardian or conservator shall (i) furnish bond<\/span> with corporate surety<\/span> in an amount deemed sufficient by the Department<\/span> to afford adequate financial protection to the maximum number of incapacitated persons to be served by the program; (ii) have in place a multidisciplinary panel<\/span> to (a) screen cases for the purpose of ensuring that appointment of a guardian or conservator is appropriate under the circumstances and is the least restrictive alternative available to assist the incapacitated person and (b) continually review cases being handled by the program as required by the Department<\/span>; (iii) accept only appointments as guardian or conservator that generate no fee or would generate a minimal fee as defined by regulation payable from a public source of funds and not from the estate of the incapacitated person; and (iv) have a direct service staff to client<\/span> ratio that is consistent with that specified by regulation of the Department<\/span>. Volunteers shall not be counted for purposes of ascertaining compliance with the staff to client<\/span> ratio specified by the Department<\/span>.\n\t\tA local or regional program that exceeds the specified staff to client<\/span> ratio shall not be disqualified from serving as a guardian or conservator except as provided by regulation or if the court<\/span> or the Department<\/span> finds that there is an immediate threat to the person or property of any incapacitated person or that exceeding the specified ratio is having or will have a material<\/span> and adverse effect on the ability of the program to properly serve all of the incapacitated persons it has been designated to serve.\n\t\tA local or regional program appointed as a guardian or conservator shall have all the powers and duties specified in Article 2 (\u00a7 64.2-2019<\/a> et seq.) of Chapter 20 of Title 64.2, except as otherwise specifically limited by the court<\/span>. In addition, a public guardian or conservator shall have a continuing duty to seek a proper and suitable person who is willing and able to serve as guardian or conservator for the incapacitated person. A public guardian or conservator shall have authority to make arrangements for the funeral and disposition<\/span> of remains, including cremation, interment, entombment, memorialization, inurnment, or scattering of the cremains, or some combination thereof, if the public guardian or conservator is not aware of any person that has been otherwise designated to make such arrangements as set forth in \u00a7 54.1-2825<\/a>. A public guardian or conservator shall have authority to make arrangements for the funeral and disposition<\/span> of remains after the death of an incapacitated person if, after the public guardian or conservator has made a good faith effort to locate the next of kin of the incapacitated person to determine if the next of kin wishes to make such arrangements, the next of kin does not wish to make the arrangements or the next of kin cannot be located. Good faith effort shall include contacting the next of kin identified in the petition<\/span> for appointment of a guardian or conservator. The funeral service licensee, funeral service establishment, registered crematory, cemetery, cemetery operator, public guardian or conservator shall be immune from civil liability for any act, decision, or omission resulting from acceptance of any dead body for burial, cremation, or other disposition<\/span> when the provisions of this section are met, unless such acts, decisions, or omissions resulted from bad faith or malicious<\/span> intent<\/span>.\n\t\tA public guardian shall not have authority to approve or authorize a sterilization procedure except when specific authority has been given pursuant to a proceeding in the circuit<\/span> court<\/span>. A public guardian may authorize admission of an incapacitated person to a mental health facility as provided in subsection B of \u00a7 37.2-805.1<\/a> and may authorize mental health treatment<\/span>, including the administration of psychotropic medication, unless the appointing court<\/span> specifically provides otherwise.\n\t\tA local or regional program appointed as a guardian or conservator may delegate the powers, duties, and responsibilities to individual volunteers or professional staff as authorized in the contract<\/span> with the Department<\/span>.\n\t\tIn addition to funds received from the Department<\/span>, a local or regional program may accept private funds solely for the purposes of providing public education, supplemental services for incapacitated persons, and support services for private guardians and conservators, consistent with the purposes of this article.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nMINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR LOCAL PROGRAMS; AUTHORITY (\u00a7 51.5-151)\n\nEvery local or regional program with which the Department contracts to provide\nservices as a public guardian or conservator shall (i) furnish bond with\ncorporate surety in an amount deemed sufficient by the Department to afford\nadequate financial protection to the maximum number of incapacitated persons to\nbe served by the program; (ii) have in place a multidisciplinary panel to (a)\nscreen cases for the purpose of ensuring that appointment of a guardian or\nconservator is appropriate under the circumstances and is the least restrictive\nalternative available to assist the incapacitated person and (b) continually\nreview cases being handled by the program as required by the Department; (iii)\naccept only appointments as guardian or conservator that generate no fee or\nwould generate a minimal fee as defined by regulation payable from a public\nsource of funds and not from the estate of the incapacitated person; and (iv)\nhave a direct service staff to client ratio that is consistent with that\nspecified by regulation of the Department. Volunteers shall not be counted for\npurposes of ascertaining compliance with the staff to client ratio specified by\nthe Department.\n\t\tA local or regional program that exceeds the specified staff to client ratio\nshall not be disqualified from serving as a guardian or conservator except as\nprovided by regulation or if the court or the Department finds that there is an\nimmediate threat to the person or property of any incapacitated person or that\nexceeding the specified ratio is having or will have a material and adverse\neffect on the ability of the program to properly serve all of the incapacitated\npersons it has been designated to serve.\n\t\tA local or regional program appointed as a guardian or conservator shall have\nall the powers and duties specified in Article 2 (\u00a7 64.2-2019 et seq.) of\nChapter 20 of Title 64.2, except as otherwise specifically limited by the court.\nIn addition, a public guardian or conservator shall have a continuing duty to\nseek a proper and suitable person who is willing and able to serve as guardian\nor conservator for the incapacitated person. A public guardian or conservator\nshall have authority to make arrangements for the funeral and disposition of\nremains, including cremation, interment, entombment, memorialization, inurnment,\nor scattering of the cremains, or some combination thereof, if the public\nguardian or conservator is not aware of any person that has been otherwise\ndesignated to make such arrangements as set forth in \u00a7 54.1-2825. A public\nguardian or conservator shall have authority to make arrangements for the\nfuneral and disposition of remains after the death of an incapacitated person\nif, after the public guardian or conservator has made a good faith effort to\nlocate the next of kin of the incapacitated person to determine if the next of\nkin wishes to make such arrangements, the next of kin does not wish to make the\narrangements or the next of kin cannot be located. Good faith effort shall\ninclude contacting the next of kin identified in the petition for appointment of\na guardian or conservator. The funeral service licensee, funeral service\nestablishment, registered crematory, cemetery, cemetery operator, public\nguardian or conservator shall be immune from civil liability for any act,\ndecision, or omission resulting from acceptance of any dead body for burial,\ncremation, or other disposition when the provisions of this section are met,\nunless such acts, decisions, or omissions resulted from bad faith or malicious\nintent.\n\t\tA public guardian shall not have authority to approve or authorize a\nsterilization procedure except when specific authority has been given pursuant\nto a proceeding in the circuit court. A public guardian may authorize admission\nof an incapacitated person to a mental health facility as provided in subsection\nB of \u00a7 37.2-805.1 and may authorize mental health treatment, including the\nadministration of psychotropic medication, unless the appointing court\nspecifically provides otherwise.\n\t\tA local or regional program appointed as a guardian or conservator may\ndelegate the powers, duties, and responsibilities to individual volunteers or\nprofessional staff as authorized in the contract with the Department.\n\t\tIn addition to funds received from the Department, a local or regional program\nmay accept private funds solely for the purposes of providing public education,\nsupplemental services for incapacitated persons, and support services for\nprivate guardians and conservators, consistent with the purposes of this\narticle.\n\nHISTORY: 1998, c. 787, \u00a7 2.1-373.14; 2001, c. 844, \u00a7 2.2-713; 2006, c. 854;\n2010, c. 792; 2012, cc. 463, 803, 835; 2023, c. 476.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}