Ongoing Duties: Managing the Ward’s Assets

One of your first duties will be to marshal the ward’s assets and prepare a beginning inventory. Marshal means to identify, locate, list, and claim the assets. There is helpful information on marshaling assetsThe process of identifying, locating, listing, and claiming all of the ward’s assets. LEGAL DEFINITION: The identification, valuation, transfer, and inventorying of all assets.   by downloading and reading the Guidelines for New Guardians packet.

Set up fiduciaryA fiduciary is a person that acts on behalf of another person to manage money and assets. LEGAL DEFINITION: An individual, agency or organization that has agreed to undertake for... accounts at the bank for your wardA person determined by the court to be incapacitated.  LEGAL DEFINITION: A person for whom a guardian or limited guardian has been appointed. (NDCC 30.1-26-01(6))  . The account will stay in the ward’s name, but allows you to write checks and receive bank statements. A fiduciary account will be named something like: John Smith, by guardianA person appointed by the court  to make decisions in a ward's life. LEGAL DEFINITION: A person or nonprofit corporation that has qualified as a guardian of a minor or... Joan Smith.

If your ward is receiving Social Security or other federal benefits, you will need to contact the providers and ask to become the payee or fiduciary for those benefits. The providers will then allow you to deposit income and spend the benefits for the ward’s cares.

If your ward has more bills than income, see a credit counselor about managing the debt. The guardian’s primary responsibility is to make sure the necessities are covered: housing, food, and medical care.

Make sure to keep all of the invoices and receipts to show what you have purchased. Do not pay for any services without an itemized invoice.