What it means
Any adult may file a petition to determine another person's incapacity — a relative, a friend, a professional, an Adult Protective Services investigator. The petition must be verified (sworn), and it cannot be bare accusation: it must state the factual information on which the belief of incapacity rests, name the people with personal knowledge of those facts, and identify the person's physician if known.
It must also engage with the person's actual life: whether the person already uses assistance in exercising rights — and why that assistance is not enough — and which rights listed in §744.3215 the person is allegedly unable to exercise. Filing is what starts the attorney, examining-committee, and hearing machinery of §744.331.
- Any adult may execute the petition; it must be verified under oath.
- Must allege the specific facts supporting incapacity and name those with personal knowledge of them.
- Must identify which rights under §744.3215 the person is allegedly incapable of exercising.
- Must address whether the person already uses assistance exercising rights, and why that assistance is inadequate.
- Filing triggers the §744.331 process — appointed attorney, three-member examining committee, adjudicatory hearing.
How it plays out
The low bar for filing cuts both ways. It lets a worried daughter act quickly when a parent is being drained by a new 'friend' — and it lets the wrong petition put a capable adult through examinations and a hearing. We look hardest at the assistance allegation: when a signed power of attorney or health care surrogate already covers the problem, that is often the answer the statute itself points toward, and courts read petitions against those alternatives.
Related sections
Questions people ask
