In the Matter of the Guardianship of the Person and Estate of ABBY SULLIVAN, an Incompetent Person

Holding

The court held that an alleged incompetent person is entitled to a decision on the merits from the judge who actually heard the evidence, and that a subsequent order issued by a different judge constitutes reversible error. Furthermore, the consent of an alleged incompetent or their attorney is legally ineffective to support an adjudication of incompetency, which must rest solely upon evidence presented at a full hearing.