Title 3 Chapter 2 of the Wyoming stautes deal with guardianships.  A petition for the appointment of a guardian of the petitioner on a standby basis can be filed by any person upon the express condition that the petition shall be acted upon by the court only upon the occurrence of a specified event.  A person can be nominated for appointment as standby guardian through the petition.  The petition may be deposited with any person, firm, bank or trust company selected by the petitioner.  The petitioner can revoke the petition any time before the appointment of the standby guardian.  Upon the occurrence of the specified event, the petition and a statement verifying that the specific event has occurred shall be filed with the clerk of court of the county in which the person who executed the petition then resides.  The Court may then appoint the standby guardian nominated or may set the petition for hearing. 

Notice that the petition for appointment of a standby guardian has been filed in court is to be served on the proposed ward’s parents, spouse and adult children “who are known or who can be known with due diligence.”  Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure set the process for serving notice.  The standby guardian will be appointed if the “preponderance of the evidence” shows that the guardianship is in the child’s best interests.

Although there are duties that are implied, no special duties for the standby guardian are described in law.  Once appointed, the standby guardian has general guardianship powers, unless these have been limited by the court.  Duties of a standby guardian include providing for education and social activities, authorizing care, treatment and advice, and taking reasonable care of the child’s personal property.  The guardian of a minor has the powers and responsibilities of a parent who has not been deprived of custody of his unemancipated minor child.