MINNESOTA COURT RULES

GENERAL RULES OF PRACTICE

Rule 901.Scope of Rules; Implementation

Rule 901.01Scope of Rules

These Rules govern the appointment, responsibilities, and removal of guardians ad litem appointed to advocate for the best interests of the child, minor parent, or incompetent adult in family and juvenile court cases. These Rules do not govern the appointment of a guardian ad litem under Minn. R. Civ. P. 17.02 in child support and paternity matters. These Rules also do not govern guardians ad litem appointed pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, chapter 253B, and sections 245.487 to 245.4888; 256B.77; 494.01 to 494.05; 501B.19; 501B.50; 508.18; 524.1-403; and 540.08.

For purposes of Rules 902 to 907:

(a) The phrase "family court case" refers to the types of proceedings set forth in the Comment to Rule 301 of the Minnesota Rules of Family Court Procedure, including, but not limited to, marriage dissolution, legal separation, and annulment proceedings; child custody enforcement proceedings; domestic abuse and harassment proceedings; support enforcement proceedings; contempt actions in family court; parentage determination proceedings; and other proceedings that may be heard or treated as family court matters.

(b) The phrase "juvenile court case" refers to the juvenile protection matters set forth in Minn. R. Juv. Prot. P. 2.01, including all of the following matters: child in need of protection or services, neglected and in foster care, termination of parental rights, review of out of home placement, and other matters that may be heard or treated as child protection matters, guardianship and adoption proceedings. The phrase "juvenile court case" also refers to the juvenile delinquency matters set forth in Minnesota Rules of Juvenile Delinquency Procedure.

(Amended effective January 1, 1999; amended effective January 1, 2005; amended effective January 1, 2007; amended effective July 1, 2015.)

2015 Advisory Committee Comment

Minnesota Statutes, section 480.35, created the State Guardian ad Litem Board effective July 1, 2010. At that time, administration and oversight of the qualifications, recruitment, screening, training, selection, supervision, and evaluation of guardians ad litem transferred from the Office of the State Court Administrator to the State Guardian ad Litem Board. These administrative and oversight procedures are now addressed in the Guardian ad Litem Program Requirements and Guidelines (Non-statutory), formerly titled the Guardian ad Litem System Program Standards or Program Standards manual. It is the responsibility of the Board to prepare the Requirements and Guidelines (Non-statutory). The minimum standards set forth in the previous rules are to be maintained in the Requirements and Guidelines (Non-statutory), along with procedures governing complaints about the performance of a guardian ad litem. Also included are standards regarding knowledge and appreciation of the prevailing social and cultural standards of Indian and other minority communities. The Requirements and Guidelines (Non-statutory) are published in both print and electronic formats and are available to the public on the State Guardian ad Litem Board website http://mn.gov/guardian-ad-litem.

Rule 901.02Implementation

The State Guardian ad Litem Board shall be responsible for insuring the implementation of the Rules of Guardian ad Litem Procedure. The responsibilities set forth in the Rules of Guardian ad Litem Procedure shall be carried out at the direction of the Program Administrator.

(Amended effective January 1, 1999; amended effective January 1, 2005; amended effective July 1, 2015.)