Ongoing Duties

Court appointed guardians are given considerable authority to manage the personal and financial affairs of a ward. To ensure that you have all the information you need to properly manage the ward’s affairs, you must keep and maintain an organized guardianship file.

Below is a checklist of items to keep current in the file. Download this checklist for printing.

• Ward’s basic information:
  • Full legal name
  • Address
  • Phone number
  • Birth certificate
  • Social Security card
• Ward’s medical information:
  • Medical coverage
  • Physician diagnoses
  • Allergies to medications
  • Advance directives or known wishes regarding medical and end of life care
  • Funeral plans and burial accounts
  • Assessments regarding the ward’s past and present medical, psychological, or social functioning
  • Medication information, including:
    • All over-the-counter and prescription medications
    • Dosage
    • Reason why it’s being taken
    • Name of prescribing doctor
    • Contact information for the person responsible for overseeing or dispensing medications
  • Contact information to immediately access any medication information 24 hours/day
• A list of service providers with:
  • Contact information for each
  • Description of services provided by each
  • Progress and status reports
  • Any and all legal documents involving the ward, including the guardianship Order and Letters, and copies of the reports sent to the court
• A list of key contacts
• Notes that detail contacts made and work done with or for the ward, including contacts with service providers, family, etc
• The guardianship plan and/or primary service provider plan
• Rehabilitation plan or personal goals
• The ward’s known values, lifestyle preferences, religious and other cultural traditions, as well as a social history
• A photograph of the ward
• A financial file that includes: ­­
  • An inventory of all the ward’s assets and personal property that includes:
  • Account numbers and institutional contact information
  • Balances that are checked and regularly updated
  • Appraisals of large-value assets
  • Locations of property kept outside of the home
  • Listing of all debts
  • Description of shared assets, and who is managing the asset
  • Descriptions of trusts and annuities or investment funds, including copies of annual reports and contact information for the managers
  • Bank statements, invoices, receipts, purposes for purchases
  • A budget for the next 12 months and into the future
  • The ward’s financial goals
  • Benefits received including approval declarations and communications with the providers
  • Insurance policies
  • Tax returns