Adult Guardianship and the Right to Communicate

A person under a guardianship is called the protected person. The person who makes decisions for the protected person is called the guardian.

A guardian can place some reasonable restrictions on the time, place and manner of  communication and visitation with others.  The guardian has to get a court order to deny all communication and visitation.

What if the protected person is unable to say that they want someone to visit?  The guardian should assume that the protected person wants to have contact with the visitor, if the protected person had a relationship with the visitor.

What if the guardian still refuses to allow people to visit a protected person? The protected person or the visitor can ask a judge to allow the visitation.  The court can deny visitation only if the guardian shows good cause.  

  For legal advice about any specific situation, consult an attorney.  If you have questions about guardianship issues, you may contact    Iowa Legal Aid.

• Iowa Legal Ai d provides help to low-income Iowans.

• To apply for help from Iowa Legal Aid:call 800-532-1275. 
  • Iowans age 60 and over, call 800-992-8161 or 
  • apply online at iowalegalaid.org
• If Iowa Legal Aid cannot help, look for an attorney on “Find A Lawyer” on the Iowa State Bar Association website iowabar.org.   A private attorney there can talk with you for a fee of $25 for 30 minutes of legal advice.