My mother, who is under guardianship as an incompetent, moved her actual residence to a different province and acquired property there — can the guardianship case simply move with her, or do we have to start an entirely new case and pay new fees?

What Section 3 allows

The court already handling a guardianship is not stuck with that venue forever. It may transfer the same to the court of another province or municipality wherein the ward has acquired real property, letting the case follow the ward's actual situation rather than staying anchored to wherever the guardianship happened to start. The rule frames this as discretionary — the operative word is may, not shall — so the original court weighs whether transfer is warranted on the facts before it, rather than being compelled to give up the case automatically the moment the ward relocates.

Two conditions have to be met together

The transfer is not available just because the ward owns property elsewhere, or just because she moved. Both elements are required: the ward must have acquired real property in the new location, and must also have transferred thereto his bona-fide residence. A vacation home in another province, without an actual change of residence, would not by itself justify the transfer.

No new filing fees

Once transferred, the receiving court shall have full jurisdiction to continue the proceedings, without requiring payment of additional court fees. That jurisdiction is not partial or merely custodial — the new court can approve accounts, pass on transactions involving the ward's estate, and eventually terminate the guardianship, exactly as the original court could have. Framing the move as a continuation of the same case, rather than a fresh filing, is what justifies skipping a second round of court fees; the family already paid once when the guardianship was first instituted, and the law does not make them pay again simply because the ward relocated.

Why this section, as written, now applies to incompetents only

A.M. No. 03-02-05-SC, the 2003 Rule on Guardianship of Minors, took guardianship of minors out from under Rules 92 to 97 of the Rules of Court, while expressly leaving guardianship of incompetents who are not minors governed by this rule instead. Where the ward described here is an adult under guardianship for incompetency, as in the scenario above, this transfer-of-venue provision is exactly what still applies to her case.

Related provisions

• Rule 92, Section 3 — Transfer of venue
• Rule 92, Section 2 — Meaning of word "incompetent."