Adult Guardianship and Conservatorship of R.

Summary

The court affirmed the denial of R.’s petition to terminate his guardianship and the appointment of the Department as conservator because competent evidence supported the required findings. The court held for the first time that individuals in guardianship and conservatorship proceedings have a right to effective assistance of counsel, adopted a deficient-performance-and-prejudice test, and established procedures for raising such claims. It rejected R.’s claim because he failed to show that the absence of an independent psychological evaluation prejudiced the outcome.