Nominating someone in a Will to serve as guardian doesn’t make it happen automatically, unless the ward is a minor. The person nominated needs to go to probate court and file an application to be appointed as guardian by the Court. If you are going to nominate guardians in a Will as a way of expressing your wishes, consider nominating the guardians 3-deep – a primary and 2 backups. The individual with the disability may outlive his parents by 30 – 40 years, and it is really hard to anticipate who will be around during his lifetime. At least one of those nominated should be the same age or younger than the individual. Even in situations where the parents did not serve as guardians, they may wish to nominate guardians in case guardianship would ever become necessary.