Panel forms guardianship subgroup to review protections for vulnerable adults

After several committee members described statutory gaps and decades without a comprehensive review, the Judiciary committee agreed to create a focused subgroup to examine guardianship statutes affecting vulnerable adults.

Representative Stybar, who introduced the topic, said Wyoming's guardianship statutes have not been substantially updated in 30 years and the old public-guardian office was sunsetted in 1998. He urged a "deep dive" rather than piecemeal changes, noting a prior attempt to pass legislation stalled amid concerns about unintended consequences for parents and guardians.

Attorney Beth Lance and Scott Meyer (co-chair of the state bar's probate working group) will help lead the effort. The subgroup will include Department of Family Services representatives, legal-aid and protection-and-advocacy staff (Wyoming Protection & Advocacy volunteered), family advocates and practitioners. Committee members and staff emphasized restricting the subgroup's scope to guardianship of adults (not juveniles) to avoid overlap with child-focused statutes.

Representative Stybar asked for broad public input and warned against hastily drafted bills. "My biggest fear is trying to tweak this statute and creating unintended consequences," he said. The committee instructed organizers to assemble members and begin meetings over the interim; frequency and timeline will depend on workload and available drafts, but the committee expects periodic written updates and will consider drafted proposals in a future interim meeting.