Guardianship for a Parent with Dementia in South Dakota

Your parent has dementia and never signed a power of attorney. The bank will not let you access their accounts. The memory care facility needs someone authorized to sign the admission agreement. Medicare is sending bills no one can pay. The only path forward is a court-supervised guardianship — and in South Dakota, the process is more structured than most families expect.

Guardianship vs. Conservatorship

South Dakota separates legal authority into two roles under SDCL Chapter 29A-5:

Guardianship covers personal and medical decisions — choosing care facilities, consenting to medical treatment, making daily living decisions.

Conservatorship covers financial decisions — managing bank accounts, paying bills, handling real estate, filing taxes, applying for benefits.

Most dementia families need both. You can petition for both in a single court filing, and the same person can serve in both roles, but each grants a different type of authority and carries different reporting requirements.

The Filing Process Step by Step

1. File the petition. Submit a guardianship and/or conservatorship petition to the Circuit Court in the county where your parent resides. The petition must describe your parent's condition, explain why they need a guardian or conservator, and identify the proposed nominee.

2. Court-appointed attorney. The court appoints an independent attorney to represent your parent (the "respondent"). This is mandatory — even if your parent cannot meaningfully participate, they are entitled to legal representation throughout the proceeding.

3. Court visitor. The court appoints a visitor to interview your parent in person, review the medical evidence, and submit a written report to the judge. The visitor assesses whether the respondent truly lacks capacity and whether the proposed guardian is suitable.

4. Background checks. Every proposed guardian and conservator must submit to a fingerprint-based state and federal criminal background check. This is non-negotiable under South Dakota law — no exceptions for family members, regardless of how long they have been informally managing the parent's care.

5. The hearing. A formal hearing where the judge reviews the medical evidence, the court visitor's report, and any objections. If the petition is uncontested (all family members agree), the hearing is typically brief. If siblings disagree about who should serve, expect a longer, more adversarial proceeding.

6. Appointment order. The judge issues an order appointing the guardian and/or conservator, specifying the scope of their authority.

Emergency Guardianship

When immediate harm to your parent's safety or finances is imminent — they are wandering into traffic, a predator is draining their bank account, a medical decision cannot wait — you can petition for an emergency guardianship under SDCL 29A-5-314.

Emergency guardianship is strictly limited to 60 days. It provides temporary authority while the full guardianship petition works through the court system. You must still file the regular petition simultaneously.

Ongoing Court Requirements

Once appointed, the court's oversight does not end. South Dakota requires:

Conservators must file:

• Initial inventory (Form UJS-140) — a complete list of the protected person's assets, due within 90 days of appointment
• Annual financial accounting (Form UJS-141) — a detailed report of all income, expenditures, and remaining assets, due within 60 days of each appointment anniversary

Guardians must file:

• Annual personal status report (Form UJS-142) — documenting the ward's physical, mental, and social condition, living arrangements, and care plan

These forms are available through the South Dakota Unified Judicial System. Missing a filing deadline can result in the court removing you from the role or requiring you to appear for a compliance hearing.

Conservators are also typically required to post a fiduciary bond — essentially an insurance policy protecting the protected person's assets against mismanagement. The court sets the bond amount based on the estate's value. Some judges waive the bond requirement for small estates or when all interested parties consent.

What It Costs

The costs vary by complexity and whether family members agree:

Attorney fees represent the largest expense. The court-appointed attorney for your parent is paid from the parent's estate, adding to the cost. In contested cases with multiple hearings, fees escalate rapidly.

The Alternative That No Longer Exists

This entire process could have been avoided with a $200 durable power of attorney signed while your parent still had cognitive capacity. Once that window closes, the only path to legal authority runs through the Circuit Court — with its mandatory background checks, court visitors, annual reporting, and ongoing judicial oversight.

The South Dakota Dementia Care Guide includes a guardianship petition preparation checklist, a timeline from filing to appointment, and worksheets for the UJS inventory and accounting forms.

See more South Dakota guides →