Guardianship Registration Primer For The Dallas County Probate Courts
The following are the guidelines the three Probate Courts will follow with regard to the new guardianship certification requirements established by the Judicial Branch Certification Commission (“JBCC”):
For all guardianships, including temporary guardianships, the guardian, the proposed guardian, or their attorney must register the guardianship information online with the JBCC at http://www.txcourts.gov/jbcc/register-a-guardianship prior to any hearing. Upon registration, the JBCC will notify the applicant if they will need to obtain digital fingerprints and provide them the link below where all necessary information will be provided.
Any person who may be appointed guardian on or after June 1, 2018, is subject to a criminal history background check through JBCC.
The JBCC will conduct a name and date of birth background check for the guardian of the person only and for those with guardianship estates less than $50,000 at no charge. This is only a snapshot and includes only a search of Texas records.
Estates of $50,000 or more will require a digital fingerprint background check processed by IndentoGo (https://www.identogo.com) at a current cost of $34.00. This will include a nationwide search.
It is our understanding that the results will be forwarded digitally by the agency directly to the JBCC.
It is our understanding that all background checks will be processed expeditiously and an un‐redacted report will be provided to the Probate Division of the Dallas County Clerk’s Office. The report will be forwarded to the Court Investigators’ Office. For temporary guardianships, background checks will be processed immediately.
For those applications filed but not heard before June 1, 2018 (the effective date of the new requirements), including those guardianship estates over $50,000.00, the applicant must still register and a background check by the JBCC must be received by the County Clerk prior to the hearing. If a hearing is held prior to the receipt of the report on the background check, an Order will not be entered until the report is received.
Any person who may be appointed guardian on or after June 1, 2018, must complete the online Guardianship Training at http://www.txcourts.gov/jbcc/register-a-guardianship. Attorneys, certified guardians, and corporate fiduciaries are not required to have the criminal history background check or guardianship training. In temporary guardianships, training may, in the Court’s discretion, be required but will not be required to be completed prior to the hearing.
The Court may postpone the training requirement to a date not later than 60 days after appointment if the court makes an immediate appointment of a successor guardian under Texas Estates Code §1203.102(b), appoints a temporary guardian under Texas Estates Code Chapter 1251 (must complete training if temporary appointment is extended by the court), or the court finds that the immediate appointment of a guardian is necessary due to extraordinary facts and circumstances (written finding required).
For existing guardianships, the Dallas County Probate Courts will only renew Letters of Guardianship upon approval of the Annual Report and/or Accounting and verification that the registration requirement has been satisfied. Although no training or background check by the JBCC is required, the Dallas County Probate Courts will require that the training be completed prior to approval of the Annual Report and/or Accounting.
