Opening of a tutorship

Overview of the steps involved

Here are the main steps involved in establishing a tutorship for your loved one. Some of the steps may differ depending on the situation, for example, if someone opposes the establishment of the tutorship.

1. Obtain medical and psychosocial assessments confirming that your loved one is incapable of caring for themself or managing their property.
2. Draw up the application to establish a tutorship and filing it with the court.
3. Send the application to your loved one and other concerned persons, such as those who might be called to participate in a meeting of relatives, persons connected by marriage or civil union, or friends.
4. Wait for the court to contact your loved one in order to ensure that the person is no longer capable, in legal terms, of caring for themself and managing their property, and therefore that the establishment of a tutorship is justified. The court will interview your loved one to obtain their opinion on the matter and on the person who will potentially act as tutor. The court can also contact other people, for example, the doctor or the social worker who carried out the assessments mentioned in point 1, above.
5. Participate in the meeting of relatives, persons connected by marriage or civil union, or friends. The members of the tutorship council are appointed at this meeting.
6. Await the court’s judgment. Here, the court will state whether it grants or refuses the application to establish the tutorship. If it grants the application, it will set out the details (for example, the name of the tutor, the scope of the tutor’s powers).

Requesting the institution of a tutorship for a person of full age (Gouvernement du Québec)