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Probate judges and advocates back bill to modernize guardianship rules and expand qualified evaluators

House Judiciary Committee · February 25, 2026
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Proponents including a probate judge, the Ohio State Bar Association, and nonprofit guardianship providers told the committee HB 491 would codify Rule 66 practices, expand who can provide expert evaluations, create limited guardianship categories, and add procedures to speed Medicaid and emergency appointments.

Judge Laura Gallagher, speaking for the Ohio Judicial Conference, told the Judiciary Committee that House Bill 491 codifies long-standing superintendent rules into statute to modernize Ohio guardianship law. She said the bill would adopt least-restrictive alternatives, define limited guardianship types, and require a statement of expert evaluation with the application so courts have the evidence needed at hearing.

Keith Stevens of the…

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