A: At this time, the Utah State Courts cannot process any guardianship petition involving S.B.199. A federal court has temporarily blocked S.B.199 from going into effect. That means the Utah State Courts cannot accept or decide a case involving that law for the time being.
Stay on S.B. 199 from the Federal Court in Utah – Information Page for Court Patrons
The United States District Court for the District of Utah issued a stay of the enactment date for Utah Senate Bill 199 (“S.B. 199), which was set to go live on May 7th, 2025. Because of that stay, the Utah State Courts are prohibited from processing and adjudicating cases that involve any of S.B.199’s provisions. However, the stay does not affect any other guardianship petitions currently pending before the Utah State Courts. Petitioners may still file a guardianship petition under existing law but must keep in mind that while the federal court stay is in place, the Utah State Courts will not apply any of S.B. 199’s provisions to the guardianship proceedings. The Utah State Courts expect that some patrons and attorneys wishing to pursue guardianship petitions under S.B.199’s provisions will have some questions or concerns. The following Q&A will hopefully provide more information regarding the federal stay on S.B. 199 and how it will affect court operations:
A: The Utah State Courts can still accept and decide a case involving a guardianship petition under existing, valid law. However, because S.B.199 will not go into effect during the federal court’s temporary block, the Utah State Court cannot apply any law from S.B.199 to a guardianship case. You may file a guardianship action, but the Utah State Courts cannot use any provision from S.B.199 while processing and deciding the case.
A: No. We are required to comply with the federal court’s order temporarily blocking S.B.199 from going into effect. The Utah State Courts do not have authority to disregard or violate a federal court’s order.
A: The federal court is hearing arguments on whether S.B.199 is valid law. Once those arguments have been concluded, the federal judge presiding over the lawsuit will enter a ruling. At that time, the judge may decide to keep the block in place or remove the block. We expect to know what decision the federal court makes by the end of July this year.
A: The Utah State Courts are carefully monitoring the federal lawsuit. We will update our judges and staff when the federal court has decided whether to keep the block in place or lift the block. You can contact a clerk at the end of July if you would like to receive more information about the status of the block, or you can visit our website where we will provide an update on the federal court’s block.
A: If the federal court does not lift the block, the Utah State Courts will continue to process guardianship petitions without using any part of S.B.199 until the lawsuit involving S.B.199 has reached an end. We cannot predict right now when the lawsuit will end, or what the final decision might be. However, we will continue to monitor the lawsuit as it proceeds and provide updates to our judges and clerks, along with updating our website, about the status of S.B.199.
A: We cannot predict the outcome of the lawsuit involving S.B. 199 or what decisions will be made by the federal judge presiding over that lawsuit. For now, the Utah State Courts will accept and process guardianship petitions as if S.B.199 does not exist, and will continue to do so until the federal lawsuit involving S.B.199 has ended.
A: We cannot provide you with any advice about whether you should or should not wait to file your petition. We can accept and decide your petition based on existing law, but we cannot involve anything from S.B.199 for the time being. You should seek the advice of a licensed attorney about how to proceed with your petition.
If you have more questions regarding the federal court’s stay of S.B. 199, please reach out to a clerk in your judicial district or contact the Utah State Court’s Self-Help Center via email at: selfhelp@utcourts.gov.