PROBATE AND FAMILY COURT
ANNOUNCES NEW STANDING ORDER 5-08
REGARDING MEDICAL CERTIFICATES AND CLINICAL TEAM REPORTS
The
Probate and Family Court Department announces the implementation
of Standing Order 5-08 regarding medical certificates
and clinical team reports. The Standing Order requires
that any party filing a petition for guardianship or
a motion for temporary guardianship on the grounds of
mental illness or physical incapacity or a petition for
conservatorship or a motion for temporary conservatorship
on the grounds of mental weakness file a medical certificate
on a form approved by the Probate and Family Court. The
medical certificate was significantly revised in April
2008 to require information necessary for the court to
assess the functionality of the proposed ward and the
need for a limited or full (plenary) guardianship.
The
Standing Order will bring the revised medical certificate
in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996. The medical certificates
and clinical team reports will be impounded and the inspection
of these documents is limited to the Court, the attorneys
whose appearance are entered in the case, the parties
to the case, including the ward or proposed ward, any
guardian ad litem appointed in the case and any Probation
Officer assigned to the case. The Standing Order is available
online at www.mass.gov/courts/courtsandjudges/courts/probateandfamilycourt
The
new Standing Order shall become effective July 28, 2008.
