Guardianship Essentials
MVL CLE
Start Date - End Date
March 07, 2025
Registration Deadline
Wednesday, March 05, 2025
Guardianship Essentials
Metro Volunteer Lawyers
March 7, 2025, 12:00-1:00 pm
Agenda
What is a Guardianship? (15 minutes)
Terms & Definitions
Authority & Exclusions
Minors vs. Adults: Key Differences
Legal Standards & Burdens
Why a Guardianship? (vs. . . . POA/Deleg of Parental Authority/Conservatorship)
Filing for Guardianship (15 minutes)
The JDF Forms & Instructions
Venue
Completing the petition
Emergency?
Document requirements
Navigating Case Management Orders (aka “Know your judicial officer”)
Critical Importance of Notice/Service (& Jurisdiction)
Guardianship Hearing Basics (10 minutes)
The “Players” (GAL, Resp counsel, Court Visitor, etc., especially Minor vs. Adult Guardianships)
Attendance of the Respondent
Different approaches to hearings statewide (aka “Know your judicial officer”)
Contested or uncontested?
Discussion of presentation of testimony/argument
After the Hearing (5 minutes)
Order/Notice of Appointment
Letters
Reporting requirements
Termination
Q&A (15 minutes)
Guardianship Essentials
Metro Volunteer Lawyers
March 7, 2025, 12:00-1:00 pm
Course Description
Guardianship is a unique and frequently misunderstood area of the law, but the essentials can be learned. This training explores the basics of guardianships from start to finish. By the end of the training, a litigator will know the fundamentals of representing a party seeking to obtain a guardianship over a minor or adult.
Attendees will learn what guardianships are, how they differ from other legal tools, and the standards by which to obtain them. Next, attendees will hear a detailed overview of the guardianship application process, from completing the petition to filing the necessary accompanying documents and complying with court orders. A discussion of the basics of a guardianship hearing will follow, in which attendees familiarize themselves with the “players” they may encounter, as well as a discussion of techniques to present evidence in various types of hearings. Finally, attendees will learn about post-hearing obligations, reporting requirements, and termination of the guardianship.
Presenters
Magistrate Bryce Allen
Hon. Bryce Allen is a District Court Magistrate in Jefferson County, where he currently hears protective proceedings (guardianships and conservatorships), mental health cases, and other probate matters. Mag. Allen has also presided over domestic relations, dependency and neglect, and juvenile delinquency dockets.
Prior to taking the bench, Magistrate Allen served as a deputy district attorney in El Paso, Adams, and Jefferson Counties, and practiced civil litigation at Hall & Evans, LLC in Denver. He has presented training programs to judges, attorneys, and law enforcement officials.
Magistrate Allen earned his M.S. in Management and J.D. at the University of Denver, and interned for Hon. Robert L. McGahey, Jr. in Denver District Court.
Marco D. Chayet, Esq.
Mr. Chayet is the managing partner of Chayet & Danzo, LLC, and the Public Administrator of the 18th Judicial District. Mr. Chayet is the past chairman of the Elder Law Section of the Colorado Bar Association and the current Elder Law Section delegate to the Colorado Bar Association Board of Governors. Mr. Chayet is a 2025 Colorado Super Lawyer in Elder Law, a 2025 Top 100 Super Lawyer in Colorado, Law Week Colorado's 2017 and 2020 Barristers Best Trusts/Estates lawyer and is a dual award winner by 5280 Magazine as both a top elder law attorney and probate litigator for 2025.
In 2021, Colorado Governor Jared Polis appointed Mr. Chayet as the 6th Congressional District Commissioner for the Supreme Court Nominating Commission. In 2017, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper appointed Mr. Chayet as a Commissioner for the Colorado Office of Public Guardian. Mr. Chayet is an adjunct professor of elder law at the University of Colorado School of Law, a member of the Academy of Special Needs Planners, National Academy of Elder Law Attorney and serves as a Colorado Supreme Court appointee to the Attorney Disciplinary Hearing Board.
Mr. Chayet, born and raised in Denver, Colorado serves the philanthropic and civic community of Colorado as a Trustee for the Helen G. Bonfils Foundation and for The NextFifty Initiative, a $250 million dollar foundation that funds grants for aging issues as well as having served on the board and committees of many not-for-profit organizations, including the Rose Community Foundation, Innovage Foundation, Guardianship Alliance of Colorado, Jewish Family Services, Allied Jewish Apartments, Jewish Senior Recreation Network, the Foundation for Hope, and the Life Source Services Hospice.
Mr. Chayet received his Juris Doctor from the University of Colorado School of Law. Mr. Chayet's undergraduate training was at the University of California at Berkeley and at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Jennifer E. Shaler, Esq.
Jennifer E. Shaler, Esq., is a senior attorney at Chayet & Danzo, LLC. She grew up as an Army Brat, graduated from the University of Kansas with a double major in political science and communication studies, and obtained her law degree from the University of Denver. Jennifer is a “second-career” lawyer, following an enjoyable career in resort and hospitality management. Since her tenure as Judge C. Jean Stewart's law clerk at Denver Probate Court, Jennifer's practice has focused on guardianships and conservatorships, probate administration, and trust and estate litigation. Jennifer accepts appointments to serve as guardian ad litem and court-appointed counsel.
Jennifer is a graduate of the Colorado Bar Association Leadership Training Course (COBALT). She is an active member of the Colorado, Northwest Colorado, and Denver Bar Associations, where she serves as Chief Administrator and Secretary for the Waterman Fund, a charitable trust that provides assistance to Colorado attorneys in need. She is a Fellow of the Colorado Bar Foundation and is admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado.
Registration Fees
| Price Description | Amount |
|---|---|
| Member | $0.00 |
| NonMember | $0.00 |
Available Functions
Speakers
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