Rule 2059.Form of Application for a Guardian Ad Litem.

A guardian ad litem is appointed on petition, and this rule sets what the petition must say. It must give the name and address of the person proposed and that person’s relationship, if any, to the subject matter of the action or to any party. It must also aver, to the best of the petitioner’s information and belief, that the incapacitated person has no guardian, or that the guardian cannot be served with process in Pennsylvania.

That averment mirrors the grounds for a guardian ad litem in Rule 2053(b): a defendant without a guardian, or one whose guardian is not served in Pennsylvania and does not voluntarily appear. Under Rule 2056(b), the plaintiff must file such a petition when a defendant found incapacitated before trial has no guardian appointed by a Pennsylvania court.

Rule 2060(b) asks for the same identifying details in a petition to substitute a guardian ad litem, and Rule 2031(c) does the same for a minor’s guardian.