National Guardianship Association Terminology
Question and Answer [2026] | UPDATED ACTUAL
Exam | A+ Verified
• Administrator/Executor/Personal Representative -✓✓ A person appointed by the
court to manage the assets and liabilities of an intestate decedent. Executor is
a person named by the testator to carry out the provisions in the testator's will.
• Advance Directive -✓✓ A written instruction, such as a living will or durable
power of attorney for health care, which guides care
when an individual is terminally ill or incapacitated and unable to communicate
his/her desires.
• Advocate -✓✓ A person who assists, defends, or pleads, or prosecutes for
another.
• Alleged Incapacitated Person or Person at Risk -✓✓ Individual for whom a
guardianship proceeding has been initiated.
• Arms Length Relationship -✓✓ A relationship between two agencies or
organizations, or two divisions or departments within one agency,
which ensures independent decision-making on the part of both.
• Attorney at law -✓✓ A person who practices law.
• Attorney for the Alleged Incapacitated Person -✓✓ An attorney who represents
the alleged incapacitated person. Such attorney shall represent the
expressed wishes of the alleged incapacitated person.
,• Best Interest -✓✓ That course of action that maximizes what is best for a ward
and that includes consideration of the least
intrusive, most normalizing, and least restrictive course of action possible given the
needs of the ward.
• Capacity -✓✓ Legal qualification, competency, power, or fitness. Ability to
understand the nature of the effects of one's
acts.
• Decisional Capacity -✓✓ The ability to understand and appreciate the nature and
consequences of a decision and to reach and
communicate an informed decision in the matter.
• Certified Guardian -✓✓ The Center for Guardianship Certification (CGC)
administers a national certification program for
guardians. Several states also have their own certification, registration or licensing
programs for
guardians, fiduciaries and conservators. While state laws vary regarding the
requirements for a guardian
to be appointed, the certification from the CGC sets a guardian apart from non-
certified guardians as
someone who has met nationally recognized requirements including a minimum
level of knowledge and
experience in guardianship services.
• National Certified Guardian -✓✓ A National Certified Guardian designation is
granted to individuals who have met the minimum
, eligibility standards for CGC Certification including the necessary training and
testing
requirements. The designation must be renewed every two years as long as
eligibility and
continuing education requirements are met.
• Clerk of Court -✓✓ A court officer responsible for filing papers, issuing process,
and keeping records of court proceedings as
generally specified by rule or statue.
• Competence -✓✓ A basic or minimal ability to do something; qualify esp. to
testify <competence of a witness>
• Competency -✓✓ The mental ability to understand problems and make decisions.
• Conflict of Interest -✓✓ Situations in which an individual may receive financial
or material gain or business advantage from a
decision made on behalf of another. Situations, which create a public perception of
a conflict of interest,
should be handled in the same manner as situations in which an actual conflict of
interest exists.
• Court -✓✓ A governmental body consisting of one or more judges who sit to
adjudicate disputes and administer
justice.
• Court Order -✓✓ A legal document issued by the court and signed by a judge.
Examples include a letter of guardianship;
Question and Answer [2026] | UPDATED ACTUAL
Exam | A+ Verified
• Administrator/Executor/Personal Representative -✓✓ A person appointed by the
court to manage the assets and liabilities of an intestate decedent. Executor is
a person named by the testator to carry out the provisions in the testator's will.
• Advance Directive -✓✓ A written instruction, such as a living will or durable
power of attorney for health care, which guides care
when an individual is terminally ill or incapacitated and unable to communicate
his/her desires.
• Advocate -✓✓ A person who assists, defends, or pleads, or prosecutes for
another.
• Alleged Incapacitated Person or Person at Risk -✓✓ Individual for whom a
guardianship proceeding has been initiated.
• Arms Length Relationship -✓✓ A relationship between two agencies or
organizations, or two divisions or departments within one agency,
which ensures independent decision-making on the part of both.
• Attorney at law -✓✓ A person who practices law.
• Attorney for the Alleged Incapacitated Person -✓✓ An attorney who represents
the alleged incapacitated person. Such attorney shall represent the
expressed wishes of the alleged incapacitated person.
,• Best Interest -✓✓ That course of action that maximizes what is best for a ward
and that includes consideration of the least
intrusive, most normalizing, and least restrictive course of action possible given the
needs of the ward.
• Capacity -✓✓ Legal qualification, competency, power, or fitness. Ability to
understand the nature of the effects of one's
acts.
• Decisional Capacity -✓✓ The ability to understand and appreciate the nature and
consequences of a decision and to reach and
communicate an informed decision in the matter.
• Certified Guardian -✓✓ The Center for Guardianship Certification (CGC)
administers a national certification program for
guardians. Several states also have their own certification, registration or licensing
programs for
guardians, fiduciaries and conservators. While state laws vary regarding the
requirements for a guardian
to be appointed, the certification from the CGC sets a guardian apart from non-
certified guardians as
someone who has met nationally recognized requirements including a minimum
level of knowledge and
experience in guardianship services.
• National Certified Guardian -✓✓ A National Certified Guardian designation is
granted to individuals who have met the minimum
, eligibility standards for CGC Certification including the necessary training and
testing
requirements. The designation must be renewed every two years as long as
eligibility and
continuing education requirements are met.
• Clerk of Court -✓✓ A court officer responsible for filing papers, issuing process,
and keeping records of court proceedings as
generally specified by rule or statue.
• Competence -✓✓ A basic or minimal ability to do something; qualify esp. to
testify <competence of a witness>
• Competency -✓✓ The mental ability to understand problems and make decisions.
• Conflict of Interest -✓✓ Situations in which an individual may receive financial
or material gain or business advantage from a
decision made on behalf of another. Situations, which create a public perception of
a conflict of interest,
should be handled in the same manner as situations in which an actual conflict of
interest exists.
• Court -✓✓ A governmental body consisting of one or more judges who sit to
adjudicate disputes and administer
justice.
• Court Order -✓✓ A legal document issued by the court and signed by a judge.
Examples include a letter of guardianship;
