MUPC Article V procedural outline - B. Change of venue

The contents of this outline are intended to provide general guidance to Court staff in the handling of guardianship of incapacitated persons and conservatorship cases. This outline does not cover guardianship of minors matters.

1. If an action is filed in more than one county, the county where the action was first filed has the right to proceed forward with the matter. The first Court may decide to proceed forward with the matter, transfer the matter to the second county, or dismiss the matter.
2. If a temporary order or permanent decree appointing a fiduciary has entered in a county, that county shall continue to hear all subsequent actions. If the Respondent has moved to a different county making the original county an inconvenient venue, the matter may be transferred for hearing purposes only, if approved by the judge in the county where the case was first filed. A new Petition for the appointment of a fiduciary should not be filed in the second county with the intent to have the fiduciary resign in the first county. G. L. c. 215, §7.