§ 6-1433.Notice of interested person duty; guardian and conservator notice requirements; court notice requirements.

Article 14: Uniform County Court Rules of Practice and Procedure · Last amended April 1, 2020 · Last verified July 22, 2026

In one sentenceDefines who counts as an “interested person” at each stage of a probate, guardianship, or conservatorship case, and lays out the notice, disclosure, and waiver duties that petitioners, guardians, conservators, and the court must follow to keep those people informed.

Full Text of § 6-1433

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(A) In all probate matters, it shall be the duty of the petitioner or applicant for probate of a will or appointment of a personal representative to show in the petition or the application the names, relationship to the subject of the petition or application, and last known post office address of all interested persons. For purposes of subsection

(A) of this section, interested persons shall include all those defined under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2209(21). If any interested person is known by the petitioner, applicant, or the attorney for either to be incompetent or a minor, such fact shall be disclosed to the court.

(B) In all guardianship and/or conservatorship matters, the meaning of interested person may vary from time to time and must be determined according to the particular purposes of and matter involved in any proceeding as follows:

(1) Prior to appointment and Letters being issued, interested persons are those defined in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30- 2601(10).

(2)(i) Until December 31, 2020, for all appointments which were made prior to April 1, 2020, after Letters are issued, interested persons are those defined under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2601(10) who have returned the interested party form to the court, any governmental agency paying benefits on behalf of the ward, incapacitated person, protected person, or minor and any person designated by order of the court to be an interested person.

(ii) For all new appointments made after March 31, 2020, and for all cases after December 31, 2020, this paragraph (ii) shall apply. After Letters are issued, interested persons are those defined under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2601(10); any governmental agency paying benefits on behalf of the ward, incapacitated person, protected person, or minor; and any person designated by order of the court to be an interested person.

(iii) The court may order that § 6-1433(B)(2)(ii) applies to any case in which the appointment was made prior to April 1, 2020.

(3) Upon termination or transfer of the guardianship and/or conservatorship for any reason other than death of the ward, incapacitated person, protected person, and/or minor, interested persons shall be the same as subsection (B)(1) above.

(4) Upon death of a ward, incapacitated person, protected person, and/or minor; interested persons are those defined in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2209(21).

(5) If the Office of Public Guardian is nominated as the guardian and/or conservator, or if a case is accepted to a waiting list for a guardian and/or conservator as determined by the Office of Public Guardian, the Office of Public Guardian shall be considered an interested person. If the Office of Public Guardian is nominated but not appointed due to lack of capacity by the Office of Public Guardian, or the Office of Public Guardian is nominated but not appointed because the appointment would not comply with the requirements of the Public Guardianship Act, the Office of Public Guardian will no longer be an interested person in the case. If the Office of Public Guardian is an interested person only because the case has been placed on a Public Guardian waiting list, the Office of Public Guardian will receive notices, orders, and annual reports, but the appearance of the Office of Public Guardian will not be required at hearings, unless the hearing is to appoint the Office of Public Guardian.

(C) In all guardianship and/or conservatorship matters, it shall be the duty of the petitioner or applicant for a guardian or conservator to show in the petition or the application, in addition to what is required by Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 30-2619 and 30-2633:

(1) The names of the interested persons as set forth in the above subsection (B)(1), their addresses if known, and their relationship to the subject of the petition or application;

(2) Any other court having jurisdiction over the ward or minor listing the caption of the case, case number, and type of proceeding;

(3) If the case involves a minor, if reasonably ascertainable, the minor’s present address or whereabouts, the places where the minor has lived during the last 5 years, and the names and present addresses of the persons with whom the child has lived during that period.

(4) Whether the minor is subject to the Indian Child Welfare Act;

(5) The number of cases, if any, in which the person or entity being nominated is acting as guardian and/or conservator for other wards or protected persons at the time of the nomination;

(6) Whether the ward has a Power of Attorney. If so, the Power of Attorney shall be filed with the petition as a confidential document if available;

(7) Whether the ward has a Health Care Power of Attorney and/or a Declaration relating to use of life- sustaining treatment (Living Will). If so, the documents shall be filed with the petition as a confidential document, if available;

(8) If any interested person is known by the petitioner, applicant, or the attorney for either to be incompetent or a minor, such fact shall be disclosed to the court;

(9) If the petition or application nominates the Public Guardian, it shall state that due diligence was used to identify a guardian and/or conservator and the methods employed and that in spite of such efforts, the Public Guardian is the last resort.

(D) It shall be the duty of a guardian or conservator to:

(1) send a waiver of notice form to all interested persons at the time of mailing the initial inventory as set forth above in subsection (B)(1);

(2) send all annual accountings, all inventories, all notices of newly discovered assets, and all annual report of guardian reports filed with the court to all interested persons as set forth above in subsection (B)(2), unless waived by the court for good cause shown (personal and financial information forms are not to be sent to interested persons; bank statements, brokerage statements, and Office of Public Guardian individual ledgers are not to be sent to any interested persons unless otherwise ordered by the court, which mailing may be requested by an interested person);

(3) send a notice of right to object form with all inventories, notices of newly discovered assets, annual accountings, and annual report of guardian reports that are sent to interested persons as set forth above in subsection (B)(1) and (B)(2);

(4) notify the court of the change of address of the ward or protected person within 10 days of the change and send notice to all interested persons as set forth above in subsection (B)(2) unless waived by the court for good cause shown; and

(5) notify the court of the ward or protected person’s death within 10 days and send notice to all interested persons as set forth above in subsection (B)(4).

(E) All courts shall:

(1) ensure that all interested persons are on the certificate of mailing for inventories, annual accounting, annual report of guardian reports, and motions that are filed with the court. If all interested persons are not on the certificate of mailing, the court shall issue a Notice of Need for Corrective Action(s) form and send it to the person who filed the document(s) to correct the certificate of mailing and send the document to all interested persons; and

(2) send out reminders to guardians and conservators indicating annual filing deadlines 45 days prior to the annual filing due date.

(F) If a waiver of notice form is filed with the court, then the following items need not be sent on an annual basis to the person who filed the waiver of notice form.

(1) Annual Report of Guardian including any accounting and associated documents;

(2) Annual Report of Conservator including any accounting and associated documents;

(3) Application for Approval of Fees;

(4) Application for Approval of Accounting; and

(5) Orders and Notices of Hearing on any of the above filings.

(G) If a waiver of notice form is filed with the court, then any filings, other than those listed in subsection (F), shall be sent to the person who filed the waiver of notice form. This specifically includes, but is not limited to, any petition to change the guardian or conservator, assumption by a standby guardian, final accounting of a guardian or a conservator, request for discharge of a guardian or a conservator, and request for exoneration of a bond or for a change in the amount of the bond.

Amendment History

§ 6-1433 amended August 31, 2011, effective January 1, 2012; § 6-1433(B)(5) amended May 23, 2013, effective September 1, 2013; § 6-1433(C)(2) amended August 28, 2013, effective September 1, 2013; § 6-1443(A) and (A) (1) amended April 16, 2014, effective July 1, 2014; § 6-1433(A)-(E) amended September 10, 2015; § 6-1433(B), (D)-(G) amended November 13, 2019, effective April 1, 2020.

Plain-English Summary

Probate, guardianship, and conservatorship cases affect people who may never set foot in the courtroom — family members, creditors, agencies paying benefits on someone’s behalf. Section 6-1433 is the rule that decides who those people are and what they’re entitled to hear about. In an ordinary probate matter, subsection (A) requires the petition or application to list every interested person’s name, relationship, and last known address, drawing on the definition in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2209(21), and to flag if any of them is a minor or incompetent.

Guardianship and conservatorship cases get a more layered definition, because who counts as “interested” shifts as the case moves forward. Before letters are issued, it’s the group defined by statute; after letters issue, it broadens to include anyone who returned an interested-party form, any government agency paying benefits on the ward’s behalf, and anyone the court designates. That group narrows again if the guardianship ends for a reason other than death, and shifts once more if the ward dies. The Office of Public Guardian gets its own special status — treated as an interested person whenever it’s nominated as guardian or conservator, or placed on its waiting list, with its participation scaled to match its actual role in the case.

Subsections (C) and (D) turn definition into duty. Petitioners have to disclose far more than names and addresses — other pending cases involving the ward, Indian Child Welfare Act status, powers of attorney, prior experience serving as a fiduciary, and more. Once appointed, a guardian or conservator has ongoing obligations: sending waiver forms, notice-of-right-to-object forms, annual accountings and inventories, and prompt notice of an address change or the ward’s death. Subsections (E) through (G) close the loop, requiring courts to check certificates of mailing and send filing-deadline reminders, and spelling out that filing a waiver of notice trims back routine annual paperwork sent to that person without eliminating notice of the case’s more significant events.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who counts as an “interested person” in an ordinary probate case?

The people defined under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 30-2209(21), whose names, relationships, and last known addresses must be shown in the petition or application.

Does the definition of “interested person” change once a guardian or conservator is appointed?

Yes. It shifts depending on the stage of the case — before letters issue, after letters issue, upon termination or transfer, and upon the ward’s death — with a different, sometimes broader, group of people counted as interested at each stage.

What must a guardian or conservator send to interested persons on an ongoing basis?

Waiver of notice forms, notice of right to object forms, annual accountings, inventories, notices of newly discovered assets, and notice of an address change or the ward’s death within specified time limits.

What happens if someone files a waiver of notice form?

Certain routine annual filings, such as the annual report of guardian or conservator and related fee applications, no longer have to be sent to that person each year.

Does filing a waiver mean someone gives up notice of everything in the case?

No. Filings outside the routine list — including petitions to change the guardian or conservator, final accountings, or requests affecting a bond — still must be sent to a person who filed a waiver.

Is the Office of Public Guardian ever treated as an interested person?

Yes, whenever it’s nominated as guardian or conservator or placed on its waiting list; its status as an interested person ends if it isn’t appointed and isn’t on the waiting list for that reason.

What is the court’s own responsibility under this rule?

Courts must confirm that all interested persons appear on certificates of mailing for key filings and must send guardians and conservators reminders of their annual filing deadlines in advance.

Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Judicial Branch, adopted by the Supreme Court of Nebraska. Last verified July 22, 2026. · Official source

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