Why is relying on the State to be your “emergency contact” in Nebraska such a HUGE risk?
Most people assume that if they get seriously ill, develop dementia, or have a sudden accident without a plan, “the system” will step in and appoint someone responsible. In Nebraska, that often means people picture the Office of Public Guardian (OPG) as a backstop. The hard truth is that OPG is not built to be a universal safety net. It is designed to be a LAST RESORT, and capacity limits are real. In the OPG’s 2025 Annual Report, the office reports it was NOMINATED 124 times in one year and accepted only TWO cases from the initial nomination process. That’s about a 1.6% acceptance rate. In other words: even when a case is serious enough that someone is asking the court to appoint a guardian, the public option is usually not available.
That matters because guardianship and conservatorship are not quick “paperwork.” They are court proceedings that can be slow, expensive, and emotionally draining, especially when a hospital or facility is pressuring the family for decisions. And as of 2025, Nebraska added another layer of friction: LB 453 and related statutes now require fingerprint-based FBI background checks for most proposed guardians and conservators before permanent appointment. That can mean more delay, more cost, and more privacy intrusion at the exact moment your family is already in crisis.
The practical takeaway is simple. If you want to stay out of court, avoid emergency scrambling, and keep YOUR choices in place, durable powers of attorney and advance directives are the cleanest, most human way to do it. They let you choose your decision-maker up front, reduce the odds of a guardianship fight later, and keep your loved ones from discovering (too late) that the “state will handle it” plan is not a plan.
The “scary” Nebraska number that should change how you think about planning
The most important number in the OPG’s 2025 Annual Report is not how many people OPG served. It’s this: OPG was NOMINATED 124 times in the reporting year and accepted only TWO cases from the initial nomination process.
Put plainly, Nebraska’s public guardian option is often unavailable precisely when families are hoping it will step in. Some matters get redirected to the waiting list, some are dismissed, some are resolved another way, and many are simply not accepted because capacity is full.
If your plan is “we’ll figure it out later,” what you’re really saying is: “we’re okay rolling the dice on whether anyone can legally step in when the crisis hits.”
What actually happens when you don’t have powers of attorney in place?
When you don’t name your own decision-makers, a judge has to do it for you through GUARDIANSHIP (personal/medical decisions) and CONSERVATORSHIP (money/property decisions). That isn’t a minor administrative step. It’s a court case, with deadlines, required notices, reports, and hearings.
And it comes with real consequences. Your family may need court authority just to access information, sign facility paperwork, make placement decisions, or manage bills. In the meantime, life keeps moving: mortgages still come due, insurance still needs coordination, and medical decisions don’t wait for a convenient hearing date.
Nebraska courts are also required to look for LESS RESTRICTIVE ALTERNATIVES before imposing full guardianship, which is exactly why well-drafted powers of attorney are so powerful. When the documents exist and they’re usable, families often avoid the courtroom altogether, or they keep any court involvement narrower and more controlled.
The 2025 change that makes guardianship more “sticky” in a crisis: LB 453
As of 2025, Nebraska’s LB 453 and related provisions require fingerprint-based FBI national criminal history checks for most nominated guardians and conservators before permanent appointment.
That means MORE STEPS at the worst possible time. It can mean added cost, added delay, and added stress for family members who are already trying to help. Nebraska’s court rules also build in timing and filing expectations for background-check materials in the appointment process, which can become a real bottleneck when families are trying to move quickly.
This is one of the cleanest “why now” reasons to get durable powers of attorney and health care directives done while everything is calm. Planning early is not about paranoia. It’s about removing friction before you’re forced to deal with it under pressure.
The Office of Public Guardian is a LAST RESORT and the report shows what that looks like
OPG does serious, high-stakes work, and it’s built for cases where there is no one else appropriate to serve. The Annual Report describes capacity realities: Associate Public Guardians generally carry about 20 individuals each and the work involves ongoing, hands-on case management.
The report also illustrates the kind of complexity OPG deals with. One story describes “Mark,” who spent 677 days in the hospital because discharge planning required intense coordination across medical, housing, and support systems.
That’s the level of crisis the public system is often managing. It is not designed to be a universal substitute for basic incapacity planning.
The smart alternative: powers of attorney that actually work in real life
A solid Nebraska incapacity plan usually means having BOTH a durable financial power of attorney and a health care power of attorney/advance directive, drafted in a way that institutions will honor when it matters.
A DURABLE FINANCIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY is about continuity. It gives your chosen agent authority to manage money, pay bills, work with banks, and handle real-world logistics without needing a judge’s permission first.
A HEALTH CARE POWER OF ATTORNEY (and related directives) is about dignity and speed. It lets your person talk to doctors, make placement decisions, and carry out your wishes when you can’t speak for yourself.
And if the worst happens and guardianship truly becomes necessary later, planning still helps. You can nominate who you would want the court to consider, which is far better than leaving it to a last-minute scramble when everyone is exhausted and scared.
Control vs. chaos
With a POWER OF ATTORNEY, YOU choose who helps you and you set the rules.
With GUARDIANSHIP, a JUDGE chooses, the process takes time, and now it may require fingerprint-based FBI checks before a permanent appointment.
If you want the most practical, least dramatic path, do the planning while you still can. It’s one of the simplest ways to protect your independence and protect your family from a preventable court emergency.
FAQ: Nebraska powers of attorney, guardianship, conservatorship, and OPG capacity
Can I “just use the Office of Public Guardian” if my loved one needs help?
Not as a plan you can count on. In the OPG’s 2025 Annual Report, OPG reports 124 nominations and only two acceptances from the initial nomination process, which shows how limited capacity can be in practice.
If we have a power of attorney, do we completely avoid guardianship?
Not always, but strong POAs often reduce the need for guardianship because courts are required to consider less restrictive options and limit restrictions where possible.
What changed in 2025 with LB 453 and background checks?
Nebraska law now requires fingerprint-based FBI national criminal history checks for most proposed guardians and conservators before permanent appointment, adding time and process steps that families didn’t always face the same way before.
Can the court still appoint someone quickly in an emergency?
Nebraska’s courts can move quickly in true emergencies with temporary orders in appropriate cases, but “temporary” is not the same as having clean, durable authority in place ahead of time, and families still often face a longer path to permanent authority.
If my parent loses capacity tomorrow and has no POA, what’s the first practical step?
Usually, it’s an immediate triage conversation with a Nebraska attorney about whether the situation can be stabilized with less restrictive tools (where possible) or whether guardianship/conservatorship needs to be filed, and how to protect the person while the case is pending. The key is speed with accuracy, because rushed filings can create avoidable delays later.
What should a Nebraska incapacity plan include at minimum?
For most adults, the baseline is a durable financial power of attorney and a health care power of attorney/advance directive, coordinated so your agents can actually do what needs to be done in a crisis. Many people also benefit from HIPAA releases and written nominations of preferred decision-makers in case court involvement becomes unavoidable.