Title 64.2. Wills, Trusts, and Fiduciaries
Chapter 21. Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act
Article 1. General Provisions.
§ 64.2-2100. Definitions.In this chapter:
"Adult" means an individual who has attained 18 years of age.
"Conservator" means a person appointed by the court to administer the property of an adult, including a person appointed under Chapter 20 (§ 64.2-2000 et seq.).
"Conservatorship order" means an order appointing a conservator.
"Court" means a court of competent jurisdiction as determined by otherwise applicable Virginia law to establish, enforce, or modify a guardianship or conservatorship order or an entity authorized under the law of another state to establish, enforce, or modify a guardianship or conservatorship order.
"Guardian" means a person appointed by the court to make decisions regarding the person of an adult, including a person appointed under Chapter 20 (§ 64.2-2000 et seq.).
"Guardianship order" means an order appointing a guardian.
"Guardianship proceeding" means a judicial proceeding in which an order for the appointment of a guardian is sought or has been issued.
"Incapacitated person" means an adult for whom a guardian has been appointed.
"Individually identifiable health information" means health information, including demographic information, collected from an individual that (i) is created or received by a health care provider, health plan, employer, or health care clearinghouse and (ii) identifies the individual, or there is a reasonable basis to believe that the information can be used to identify the individual, and relates to (a) the past, present, or future physical or mental health or condition of the individual, (b) the provision of health care to the individual, or (c) the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to the individual.
"Party" means the respondent, petitioner, guardian, conservator, or any other person allowed by the court to participate in a guardianship or protective proceeding.
"Person," except in the term "incapacitated person" or "protected person," means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity.
"Protected health information" means individually identifiable health information that is (i) transmitted in electronic media, (ii) maintained in electronic media, or (iii) transmitted or maintained in any other form or medium. Protected health information excludes individually identifiable health information in (a) education records covered by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g); (b) records of any student who is 18 years of age or older, or is attending a postsecondary school, that are made or maintained by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other recognized professional or paraprofessional acting in his professional or paraprofessional capacity, or assisting in that capacity, and that are made, maintained, or used only in connection with the provision of treatment to the student and are not available to anyone other than persons providing such treatment, except that such records may be personally reviewed by a physician or other appropriate professional of the student's choice; and (c) employment records held, in its role as employer, by a health plan, health care clearinghouse, or health care provider that transmits health information in electronic form.
"Protected person" means an adult for whom a conservatorship order has been issued.
"Protective proceeding" means a judicial proceeding in which a conservatorship order is sought or has been issued.
"Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
"Respondent" means an adult for whom a conservatorship order or the appointment of a guardian is sought.
"State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, a federally recognized Indian tribe, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
2011, c. 518, § 37.2-1032; 2012, c. 614.
§ 64.2-2101. International application of chapter.A court of the Commonwealth may treat a foreign country as if it were a state for the purpose of applying this article and Articles 2 (§ 64.2-2105 et seq.), 3 (§ 64.2-2114 et seq.), and 5 (§ 64.2-2119 et seq.).
2011, c. 518, § 37.2-1033; 2012, c. 614.
§ 64.2-2102. Communication between courts.A. A court of the Commonwealth may communicate with a court in another state concerning a proceeding arising under this chapter. The court may allow the parties to participate in the communication. Except as otherwise provided in subsection B, the court shall make a record of the communication. The record may be limited to the fact that the communication occurred.
B. Courts may communicate concerning schedules, calendars, court records, and other administrative matters without making a record.
2011, c. 518, § 37.2-1034; 2012, c. 614.
§ 64.2-2103. Cooperation between courts.A. In a guardianship or protective proceeding in the Commonwealth, a court in the Commonwealth may request the appropriate court of another state to do any of the following:
1. Hold an evidentiary hearing;
2. Order a person in that state to produce evidence or give testimony pursuant to procedures of that state;
3. Order that an evaluation or assessment be made of the respondent;
4. Order any appropriate investigation of a person involved in a proceeding;
5. Forward to the court of the Commonwealth a certified copy of the transcript or other record of a hearing under subdivision 1 or any other proceeding, any evidence otherwise produced under subdivision 2, and any evaluation or assessment prepared in compliance with an order under subdivision 3 or 4;
6. Issue any order necessary to assure the appearance in the proceeding of a person whose presence is necessary for either court to make a determination, including the respondent or the incapacitated or protected person; and
7. Issue an order authorizing the release of medical, financial, criminal, or other relevant information in that state, including protected health information.
B. If a court of another state in which a guardianship or protective proceeding is pending requests assistance of the kind provided in subsection A, a court of the Commonwealth has jurisdiction for the limited purpose of granting the request or making reasonable efforts to comply with the request.
2011, c. 518, § 37.2-1035; 2012, c. 614.
§ 64.2-2104. Taking testimony in another state.A. In a guardianship or protective proceeding, in addition to other procedures that may be available, testimony of a witness who is located in another state may be offered by deposition or other means allowable in the Commonwealth for testimony taken in another state. The court on its own motion may order that the testimony of a witness be taken in another state and may prescribe the manner in which and the terms upon which the testimony is to be taken.
B. In a guardianship or protective proceeding, a court in the Commonwealth may permit a witness located in another state to be deposed or to testify by telephone or audiovisual or other electronic means. A court in the Commonwealth shall cooperate with the court of the other state in designating an appropriate location for the deposition or testimony.
C. Documentary evidence transmitted from another state to a court of the Commonwealth by technological means that do not produce an original writing may not be excluded from evidence on an objection based on the best evidence rule.