When the court is informed that a ward, protected person, and/or incapacitated person’s best interest would be served by transferring a guardianship and/or conservatorship case to another county within the State of Nebraska having concurrent jurisdiction pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 30-2212, 30-2615, and 30-2629, the following procedures shall apply:
§ 6-1443.02.Intrastate transfer of guardianship and conservatorship cases.
Article 14: Uniform County Court Rules of Practice and Procedure · Last amended February 19, 2020 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis rule spells out the procedure for transferring a guardianship or conservatorship from one Nebraska county with jurisdiction to another, from the motion and hearing through the successor court's acceptance and the transfer of the file and exhibits.
Full Text of § 6-1443.02
(A) No transfer to another county may be made without a hearing and notice to all interested persons.
(B) A motion for intrastate transfer shall be filed and set forth with specificity the basis upon which a transfer would serve the best interest of the ward, protected person, and/or incapacitated person.
(C) The movant shall send the motion and a notice of the hearing to all interested persons along with a Notice of Right to Object Form.
(D) After a hearing, the court of original jurisdiction shall make findings of fact setting forth how the best interest of the ward, protected person, and/or incapacitated person are met by way of transfer.
(E) If the transferring court finds venue exists in the successor court and good cause is found to transfer, the court shall enter a provisional transfer of jurisdiction order.
(F) The provisional transfer of jurisdiction order shall be sent to the presiding judge of the successor court. Thereafter the successor court shall have 14 days to either accept the transfer or deny the same, for lack of venue only, by written order. The acceptance or denial order shall be filed in the court records of the original jurisdiction court.
(G) If an acceptance of transfer is filed, the original jurisdiction court shall enter an order of intrastate transfer.
(H) The original court file shall be electronically transferred to the successor court, and the paper or microfilmed records shall be permanently maintained in the originating court.
(I) The successor court shall maintain electronically certified copies of the transferred court file of all transferred cases. For purposes of certification, electronic documents shall be considered original documents.
(J) All exhibits shall be sent to the successor court.
(K) The original jurisdiction court shall maintain certified copies of all exhibits sent to the successor court at the time of transfer.
(L) The successor court shall schedule a status review hearing within 30 days of transfer giving all interested persons notice of the new docket and page number, court address, and judge assigned to the case.
(M) The successor court shall enter an order acknowledging receipt of the transferred case within the records of its own court with a certified copy sent to the transferring original jurisdiction court for completion of the intrastate transfer. The original jurisdiction court shall no longer retain jurisdiction of the proceedings once the successor court’s acknowledgment of jurisdiction has been docketed.
(N) If the original court and proposed successor court fail to agree on transfer, the presiding judges of each court judicial district shall consult and resolve the manner in which the case shall thereafter proceed.
(O) Until the case is accepted by the successor court, all proceedings shall remain in the court in which the proceedings were originally commenced.
Amendment History
§ 6-1443.02 adopted September 10, 2015; § 6-1443.02(D)-(F) and (H)-(O) amended February 19, 2020.
Plain-English Summary
A ward or protected person's life does not always stay put in the county where a guardianship or conservatorship began. When moving the case to another Nebraska county with concurrent jurisdiction would serve that person's best interest, § 6-1443.02 lays out exactly how the transfer has to happen, and none of it can happen without a hearing and notice to everyone with a stake in the case. Anyone asking for a transfer has to file a motion spelling out, with specifics, why the move serves the protected person's best interest, and has to send that motion and the hearing notice to every interested person along with a notice of the right to object.
After the hearing, the original court must make findings explaining how a transfer serves the protected person's best interest and, if it finds venue exists in the proposed successor county and good cause to transfer, enters a provisional transfer order. That order goes to the presiding judge of the successor court, who has 14 days to accept it or deny it, and denial is allowed only on venue grounds. If the successor court accepts, the original court enters an order of intrastate transfer, and the case file moves electronically, with paper or microfilmed records staying behind permanently in the originating court. All exhibits go along with the file, though the original court keeps certified copies of what it sent.
The transfer is not complete just because a file crossed county lines. The successor court has to schedule a status review hearing within 30 days, giving everyone notice of the new docket number, courthouse address, and assigned judge, and it has to enter its own order acknowledging receipt, with a certified copy going back to the original court. Only once that acknowledgment is docketed does the original court lose jurisdiction. And if the two courts cannot agree on the transfer, the rule does not leave the case in limbo: the presiding judges of each judicial district step in to work out how the case should proceed, while everything stays with the court where it started until a successor court has accepted it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What has to happen before a guardianship or conservatorship case can be transferred to another county?
A hearing with notice to all interested persons, preceded by a motion setting forth with specificity why the transfer serves the protected person's best interest.
How long does the successor court have to accept or deny the transfer?
14 days, and it may deny the transfer only for lack of venue.
What happens to the case file once a transfer is accepted?
It is transferred electronically; paper or microfilmed records stay permanently at the originating court, and the successor court maintains electronically certified copies going forward.
When does the original court lose jurisdiction over the case?
Once the successor court's acknowledgment of jurisdiction has been docketed.
What if the original court and the proposed successor court disagree about the transfer?
The presiding judges of each judicial district consult and resolve how the case will proceed.
Does the successor court have any deadline once it accepts the case?
Yes, it must schedule a status review hearing within 30 days of the transfer.
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
Also known as: transfer guardianship to another countyconservatorship venue change nebraskaintrastate transfer proceduremoving guardianship case countiessuccessor court accept transfer