Third Time’s the Charm: Colorado Finally Passes Guardianship Reform

They say the third time’s a charm, and that is certainly true in the Colorado state legislature. After two recent failed attempts at passing revisions to Colorado’s guardianship laws, 2026 was finally the year for disability advocates to celebrate.

Guardianship is a legal process that transfers the decision-making rights of one person to another. It is traditionally used by parents to support adult children with intellectual disabilities and families of older adults living with dementia. When used properly, guardianship can protect people from exploitation, increase the ease of getting medical treatments, and create a safe and healthy environment in which the person can flourish.

When not used properly, guardianship strips people of their rights and becomes its own form of exploitation. And there are many applications of guardianship along the spectrum between helpful and harmful.

Over the years, guardianship has often become the default for supporting a person’s decisions. Courts, hospitals, educational institutions, and even public sentiment have been unnecessarily pro-guardian. This has meant the most legally restrictive solution has been used in the place of less-restrictive, more effective alternatives.

The new law attempts to balance health and safety with dignity, to value autonomy, and to put the person in ultimate control of their own life. The role of the guardian is to understand the ward’s own preferences, values, and goals and advocate for those on the person’s behalf.

There are several main components of the new law. One is that the rights of the person under guardianship (the ward) are clearly established and defined. The new explicit limitations on the decisions that a guardian can make are closely related to those rights. For instance, you cannot guarantee the right to privacy if you allow a guardian to read or listen in on all the ward’s communications without their permission. The new law ensures that a person makes their own choices and limits the guardian from curtailing those choices without the permission of the court.

Along with limiting the guardian’s power, the law also limits how guardianships are granted. It strengthens the requirement to consider alternatives to guardianship or conservatorship, which might include powers of attorney, advanced directives, representative payeeship or supported decision making. If guardianship is deemed necessary, this law encourages courts to limit the guardianship to specific areas of needed support rather than unlimited guardianship that allows the guardian to make decisions in all areas of the ward’s life.

These are exciting protections for people who may find themselves under a guardianship (or now, may find themselves supported in much less invasive ways).

For families or other concerned parties who are looking for solutions for a person who needs decision-making support, don’t necessarily jump on the guardianship wagon. The Colorado Judicial Branch has tools for guardianship at https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/self-help/guardianship-adults, but I’d recommend first exploring your alternatives with organizations such as the National Resource Center for Supported Decision-Making (https://supporteddecisionmaking.org/) who are striking the balance with resources and tools that preserve autonomy while offering support with making important life decisions.