NATIONAL GUARDIANSHIP ASSOCIATION TERMINOLOGY & EXAMINATION
2026/2027 | STUDY GUIDE, FLASHCARDS, PRACTICE QUESTIONS & EXAM
REVIEW
Adjudication - ANS ✔✔The legal process of resolving a dispute; the process of judicially deciding a case.
Administrator/Executor/Personal Representative - ANS ✔✔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 - ANS ✔✔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 - ANS ✔✔A person who assists, defends, or pleads, or prosecutes for another.
Alleged Incapacitated Person or Person at Risk - ANS ✔✔Individual for whom a guardianship proceeding
has been initiated.
Arms Length Relationship - ANS ✔✔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 - ANS ✔✔A person who practices law.
Attorney for the Alleged Incapacitated Person - ANS ✔✔An attorney who represents the alleged
incapacitated person. Such attorney shall represent the
expressed wishes of the alleged incapacitated person.
Best Interest - ANS ✔✔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 - ANS ✔✔Legal qualification, competency, power, or fitness. Ability to understand the nature of
the effects of one's
acts.
Decisional Capacity - ANS ✔✔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 - ANS ✔✔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 - ANS ✔✔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 - ANS ✔✔A court officer responsible for filing papers, issuing process, and keeping records
of court proceedings as
generally specified by rule or statue.
Competence - ANS ✔✔A basic or minimal ability to do something; qualify esp. to testify <competence of
a witness>
Competency - ANS ✔✔The mental ability to understand problems and make decisions.
Conflict of Interest - ANS ✔✔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 - ANS ✔✔A governmental body consisting of one or more judges who sit to adjudicate disputes
and administer
justice.
Court Order - ANS ✔✔A legal document issued by the court and signed by a judge. Examples include a
letter of guardianship;
spelling out directions for the care of the ward and the estate and authorization or denial of a request for
action.
Court Required Report - ANS ✔✔A report which the guardian is required by statute or court order to
submit to the court relative to the
guardianship.
Court Visitor, Monitor, Investigator - ANS ✔✔A person appointed by the court to provide the court with
information concerning a ward or a guardian.
Dementia - ANS ✔✔A category of disorders characterized by the development of multiple cognitive
deficits (including memory
impairment) that are due to the direct physiological effects of a general medical condition, to the
persisting effects of a substance or to multiple etiologies (e.g., the combined effects of cerebral vascular
disease and Alzheimer's disease).
Developmental Disability - ANS ✔✔A severe, chronic disability of an individual 5 years of age or older
that:
A. Is attributable to a mental or physical impairment or combination of mental and physical
2026/2027 | STUDY GUIDE, FLASHCARDS, PRACTICE QUESTIONS & EXAM
REVIEW
Adjudication - ANS ✔✔The legal process of resolving a dispute; the process of judicially deciding a case.
Administrator/Executor/Personal Representative - ANS ✔✔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 - ANS ✔✔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 - ANS ✔✔A person who assists, defends, or pleads, or prosecutes for another.
Alleged Incapacitated Person or Person at Risk - ANS ✔✔Individual for whom a guardianship proceeding
has been initiated.
Arms Length Relationship - ANS ✔✔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 - ANS ✔✔A person who practices law.
Attorney for the Alleged Incapacitated Person - ANS ✔✔An attorney who represents the alleged
incapacitated person. Such attorney shall represent the
expressed wishes of the alleged incapacitated person.
Best Interest - ANS ✔✔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 - ANS ✔✔Legal qualification, competency, power, or fitness. Ability to understand the nature of
the effects of one's
acts.
Decisional Capacity - ANS ✔✔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 - ANS ✔✔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 - ANS ✔✔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 - ANS ✔✔A court officer responsible for filing papers, issuing process, and keeping records
of court proceedings as
generally specified by rule or statue.
Competence - ANS ✔✔A basic or minimal ability to do something; qualify esp. to testify <competence of
a witness>
Competency - ANS ✔✔The mental ability to understand problems and make decisions.
Conflict of Interest - ANS ✔✔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 - ANS ✔✔A governmental body consisting of one or more judges who sit to adjudicate disputes
and administer
justice.
Court Order - ANS ✔✔A legal document issued by the court and signed by a judge. Examples include a
letter of guardianship;
spelling out directions for the care of the ward and the estate and authorization or denial of a request for
action.
Court Required Report - ANS ✔✔A report which the guardian is required by statute or court order to
submit to the court relative to the
guardianship.
Court Visitor, Monitor, Investigator - ANS ✔✔A person appointed by the court to provide the court with
information concerning a ward or a guardian.
Dementia - ANS ✔✔A category of disorders characterized by the development of multiple cognitive
deficits (including memory
impairment) that are due to the direct physiological effects of a general medical condition, to the
persisting effects of a substance or to multiple etiologies (e.g., the combined effects of cerebral vascular
disease and Alzheimer's disease).
Developmental Disability - ANS ✔✔A severe, chronic disability of an individual 5 years of age or older
that:
A. Is attributable to a mental or physical impairment or combination of mental and physical
