(a) A guardian shall diligently and in good faith carry out the specific duties and powers assigned by the court. In carrying out duties and powers, the guardian shall encourage the ward to participate to the maximum extent of the ward’s capacity in all decisions that affect the ward, to act on the ward’s own behalf in all matters in which the ward is able, and to develop or regain, to the maximum extent possible, the capacity to meet the essential requirements for physical health or safety, to protect the ward’s rights, and to manage the ward’s financial resources.
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Terms Used In Alaska Statutes 13.26.316

  • action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, organization, business trust, or society, as well as a natural person. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • property: includes real and personal property. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
(b) A partial guardian of an incapacitated person has only the powers and duties respecting the ward enumerated in the court order.
(c) A full guardian of an incapacitated person has the same powers and duties respecting the ward that a parent has respecting an unemancipated minor child except that the guardian is not liable for the care and maintenance of the ward and is not liable, solely by reason of the guardianship, to a person who is harmed by acts of the ward. Except as modified by order of the court, a full guardian’s powers and duties include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) the guardian is entitled to custody of the person of the ward and shall assure that the ward has a place of abode in the least restrictive setting consistent with the essential requirements for the ward’s physical health and safety;
(2) the guardian shall assure the care, comfort, and maintenance of the ward;
(3) the guardian shall assure that the ward receives the services necessary to meet the essential requirements for the ward’s physical health and safety and to develop or regain, to the maximum extent possible, the capacity to meet the ward’s needs for physical health and safety;
(4) the guardian shall assure through the initiation of court action and other means that the ward enjoys all personal, civil, and human rights to which the ward is entitled;
(5) the guardian may give consents or approvals necessary to enable the ward to receive medical or other professional care, counsel, treatment, or services except as otherwise limited by (e) of this section;
(6) the guardian has the powers and duties of a conservator under this chapter; however, the guardian may not apply the ward’s money or property for the services as guardian or for room and board that the guardian or the guardian’s spouse, parent, or child has furnished the ward unless, before payment, the court finds that the ward is financially able to pay and that the charge is reasonable; notice of a request for payment approval shall be provided to at least one relative of the ward if possible; the guardian shall exercise care to conserve any excess money or property for the ward’s needs;
(7) if a conservator of the estate of the ward has also been appointed, the guardian shall pay all of the ward’s estate received by the guardian to the conservator for management as provided in Alaska Stat. § 13.26.401 – 13.26.575.
(d) A guardian of a ward, for whom a conservator has also been appointed, shall have the custody and care of the ward and is entitled to receive reasonable sums for services and for room and board furnished to the ward as agreed upon between the guardian and the conservator. The guardian may request the conservator to expend the ward’s estate for the ward’s care and maintenance.
(e) A guardian may not

(1) place the ward in a facility or institution for the mentally ill other than through a formal commitment proceeding under Alaska Stat. Chapter 47.30 in which the ward has a separate guardian ad litem;
(2) consent on behalf of the ward to an abortion, sterilization, psychosurgery, or removal of bodily organs except when necessary to preserve the life or prevent serious impairment of the physical health of the ward;
(3) consent on behalf of the ward to the withholding of lifesaving medical procedures; however, a guardian is not required to oppose the cessation or withholding of lifesaving medical procedures when those procedures will serve only to prolong the dying process and offer no reasonable expectation of effecting a temporary or permanent cure of or relief from the illness or condition being treated unless the ward has clearly stated that lifesaving medical procedures not be withheld; a guardian is not civilly liable for acts or omissions under this paragraph unless the act or omission constitutes gross negligence or reckless or intentional misconduct;
(4) consent on behalf of the ward to the performance of an experimental medical procedure or to participation in a medical experiment not intended to preserve the life or prevent serious impairment of the physical health of the ward;
(5) consent on behalf of the ward to termination of the ward’s parental rights;
(6) prohibit the ward from registering to vote or from casting a ballot at public election;
(7) prohibit the ward from applying for and obtaining a driver’s license;
(8) prohibit the marriage or divorce of the ward.
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