Wisconsin Statutes 757.48 – Guardian ad litem must be an attorney
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Terms Used In Wisconsin Statutes 757.48
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Person: includes all partnerships, associations and bodies politic or corporate. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- Property: includes real and personal property. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- State: when applied to states of the United States, includes the District of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the several territories organized by Congress. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
(1)
(a) Except as provided in s. 879.23 (4), in all matters in which a guardian ad litem is appointed by the court, the guardian ad litem shall be an attorney admitted to practice in this state. In order to be appointed as a guardian ad litem under s. 767.407, an attorney shall have completed 3 hours of approved continuing legal education that relates to the functions and duties of a guardian ad litem under ch. 767 and that includes training on the dynamics of domestic violence and the effects of domestic violence on victims of domestic violence and on children. In order to be appointed as a guardian ad litem under s. 54.40 (1), an attorney shall have complied with SCR chapter 36.
(b) The guardian ad litem shall be allowed reasonable compensation for his or her services such as is customarily charged by attorneys in this state for comparable services. If the court orders a county to pay the compensation of the guardian ad litem, the amount ordered may not exceed the compensation paid to private attorneys under s. 977.08 (4m) (b). If the attorney of record is also the guardian ad litem, the attorney shall be entitled only to attorney fees and shall receive no compensation for services as guardian ad litem.
(2) If the statutes do not specify how the fee of the guardian ad litem is paid, the ward shall pay such fee. The court may, however, in cases involving real or personal property in which the ward claims or may have a right or interest, order payment out of such property.
(3) No guardian ad litem may be permitted to receive any assets or income of his or her ward, nor may any bond be required of a guardian ad litem, but all assets or income of the ward may be paid or delivered to the ward’s guardian of the estate, subject to the exceptions of s. 54.12.
(4) No person shall be appointed guardian ad litem for a plaintiff without the written consent of the person appointed.