In re Guardianship of Patrick W., 4 N.W.3d 833

Patrick W. suffered a stroke resulting in significant cognitive and functional impairments, raising concerns about his ability to manage personal and financial affairs.
Adult Protective Services (APS) initiated involvement after concerns regarding Patrick’s vulnerability to exploitation and self-neglect.
Becky Stamp filed a petition for guardianship, initially serving as temporary guardian, but later substituted by Patrick’s cousin, Terry Crandall, as temporary guardian.
The court ordered a neuropsychological evaluation; the resulting report was central to the guardianship hearing and subsequent appeal.
The county court admitted various evidence including the neuropsychological report over Patrick’s hearsay objections and ultimately appointed Crandall as Patrick’s permanent guardian.

Issue	Patrick's Argument	Stamp's Argument	Held
Admissibility of neuropsychological report	The report is inadmissible hearsay under evidence rules	§ 30-4204 specifically permits such reports to be admitted	Report is admissible under § 30-4204, which is a statutory exception
Sufficiency of evidence to establish incapacity	Absent the report, no evidence shows incapacity	Other evidence plus the report show incapacity	Sufficient evidence, including the report, shows incapacity

In re Guardianship of Jill G., 312 Neb. 108 (Neb. 2022) (clarifies what materials a GAL can introduce under guardianship statutes)
In re Estate of Walker, 315 Neb. 510 (Neb. 2023) (reviews probate findings only for errors on the record)
In re Guardianship of Nicholas H., 309 Neb. 1 (Neb. 2021) (statutory interpretation principles in probate context)