Definitions

475.010. Definitions. — When used in this chapter, unless otherwise apparent from the context, the following terms mean:

(1) "Adult", a person who has reached the age of eighteen years;

(2) "Claims", liabilities of the protectee arising in contract, in tort or otherwise, before or after the appointment of a conservator, and liabilities of the estate which arise at or after the adjudication of disability or after the appointment of a conservator of the estate, including expenses of the adjudication and of administration. The term does not include demands or disputes regarding title of the protectee to specific assets alleged to be included in the estate;

(3) "Conservator", one appointed by a court to have the care and custody of the estate of a minor or a disabled person. A "limited conservator" is one whose duties or powers are limited. The term "conservator", as used in this chapter, includes limited conservator unless otherwise specified or apparent from the context;

(4) "Conservator ad litem", one appointed by the court in which particular litigation is pending regarding the management of financial resources on behalf of a minor, a disabled person, or an unborn person in that particular proceeding or as otherwise specified in this chapter;

(5) "Custodial parent", the parent of a minor who has been awarded sole or joint physical custody of such minor, or the parent of an incapacitated person who has been appointed as guardian of such person, by an order or judgment of a court of this state or of another state or territory of the United States, or if there is no such order or judgment, the parent with whom the minor or incapacitated person primarily resides;

(6) "Disabled" or "disabled person", one who is:

(a) Unable by reason of any physical, mental, or cognitive condition to receive and evaluate information or to communicate decisions to such an extent that the person lacks ability to manage the person's financial resources; or

(b) The term disabled or disabled person, as used in this chapter includes the terms partially disabled or partially disabled person unless otherwise specified or apparent from the context;

(7) "Eligible person" or "qualified person", a natural person, social service agency, corporation or national or state banking organization qualified to act as guardian of the person or conservator of the estate pursuant to the provisions of section 475.055;

(8) "Guardian", one appointed by a court to have the care and custody of the person of a minor or of an incapacitated person. A "limited guardian" is one whose duties or powers are limited. A "standby guardian" is one approved by the court to temporarily assume the duties of guardian of a minor or of an incapacitated person under section 475.046. The term guardian, as used in this chapter, includes limited guardian and standby guardian unless otherwise specified or apparent from the context;

(9) "Guardian ad litem", one appointed by a court, in which particular litigation is pending on behalf of a minor, an incapacitated person, a disabled person, or an unborn person in that particular proceeding or as otherwise specified in this code;

(10) "Habilitation", a process of treatment, training, care, or specialized attention that seeks to enhance and maximize the ability of a person with an intellectual disability or a developmental disability to cope with the environment and to live as determined by the person as much as possible, as is appropriate for the person considering his or her physical and mental condition and financial means;

(11) "Incapacitated person", one who is unable by reason of any physical, mental, or cognitive condition to receive and evaluate information or to communicate decisions to such an extent that the person, even with appropriate services and assistive technology, lacks capacity to manage the person's essential requirements for food, clothing, shelter, safety or other care such that serious physical injury, illness, or disease is likely to occur. The term incapacitated person as used in this chapter includes the term partially incapacitated person unless otherwise specified or apparent from the context;

(12) "Interested persons", spouses, children, parents, adult members of a ward's or protectee's family, creditors or any others having a property right or claim against the estate of a protectee being administered, trustees of a trust of which the ward or protectee is a beneficiary, agents of a durable power of attorney for a ward or protectee, and children of a protectee who may have a property right or claim against or an interest in the estate of a protectee. This meaning may vary at different stages and different parts of a proceeding and shall be determined according to the particular purpose and matter involved;

(13) "Least restrictive alternative", with respect to the guardianship order and the exercise of power by the guardian, a course of action or an alternative that allows the incapacitated person to live, learn, and work with minimum restrictions on the person, as are appropriate for the person considering his or her physical and mental condition and financial means. Least restrictive alternative also means choosing the decision or approach that:

(a) Places the least possible restriction on the person's personal liberty and exercise of rights and that promotes the greatest possible inclusion of the person into his or her community, as is appropriate for the person considering his or her physical and mental condition and financial means; and

(b) Is consistent with meeting the person's essential requirements for health, safety, habilitation, treatment, and recovery and protecting the person from abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation;

(14) "Manage financial resources", either those actions necessary to obtain, administer, and dispose of real and personal property, intangible property, business property, benefits, income or any assets, or those actions necessary to prevent waste, loss or dissipation of property, or those actions necessary to provide for the care and support of such person or anyone legally dependent upon such person by a person of ordinary skills and intelligence commensurate with his or her training and education;

(15) "Minor", any person who is under the age of eighteen years;

(16) "Parent", the biological or adoptive mother or father of a child whose parental rights have not been terminated under chapter 211, including:

(a) A person registered as the father of the child by reason of an unrevoked notice of intent to claim paternity under section 192.016;

(b) A person who has acknowledged paternity of the child and has not rescinded that acknowledgment under section 193.215; and

(c) A person presumed to be the natural father of the child under section 210.822;

(17) "Partially disabled person", one who is unable by reason of any physical, mental, or cognitive condition to receive and evaluate information or to communicate decisions to such an extent that such person lacks capacity to manage, in part, his or her financial resources;

(18) "Partially incapacitated person", one who is unable by reason of any physical, mental, or cognitive condition to receive and evaluate information or to communicate decisions to the extent that such person lacks capacity to meet, in part, essential requirements for food, clothing, shelter, safety, or other care without court-ordered assistance;

(19) "Protectee", a person for whose estate a conservator or limited conservator has been appointed or with respect to whose estate a transaction has been authorized by the court under section 475.092 without appointment of a conservator or limited conservator;

(20) "Seriously ill", a significant likelihood that a person will become incapacitated or die within twelve months;

(21) "Social service agency", a charitable organization organized and incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation under the laws of this state and which qualifies as an exempt organization within the meaning of Section 501(c)(3), or any successor provision thereto of the federal Internal Revenue Code;

(22) "Standby guardian", one who is authorized to have the temporary care and custody of the person of a minor or of an incapacitated person under the provisions of section 475.046;

(23) "Treatment", the prevention, amelioration or cure of a person's physical and mental illnesses or incapacities;

(24) "Ward", a minor or an incapacitated person for whom a guardian, limited guardian, or standby guardian has been appointed.