CHAPTER 8. RESPONSIBILITIES AND POWERS OF GUARDIAN
IC 29-3-8
Chapter 8. Responsibilities and Powers of Guardian
IC 29-3-8-1
Enumerated responsibilities of guardian
Sec. 1. (a) The guardian of a minor (other than a temporary
guardian) has all of the responsibilities and authority of a parent and,
unless otherwise ordered by the court, is responsible for the
preservation of all the minor's property regardless of where the
property is located. In addition and without limitation, the guardian:
(1) must be or shall become sufficiently acquainted with the
minor and maintain sufficient contact with the minor to know
of the minor's capabilities, disabilities, limitations, needs,
opportunities, and physical and mental health;
(2) shall, upon termination of the guardianship, comply with the
applicable provisions of IC 29-3-12;
(3) to the extent the available parental income and property are
insufficient to fulfill the parental obligation of support to the
minor, shall apply the guardianship income and, to the extent
the guardianship income is insufficient, the principal of the
guardianship property to the minor's current needs for support,
and protect and conserve that portion of the minor's property
that is in excess of the minor's current needs;
(4) shall report the physical and mental condition of the minor
to the court as ordered by the court; and
(5) has any other responsibilities that the court may order.
(b) The guardian (other than a temporary guardian) of an
incapacitated person is responsible for the incapacitated person's care
and custody and for the preservation of the incapacitated person's
property to the extent ordered by the court. In addition and without
limitation, the guardian of an incapacitated person:
(1) has, with respect to the incapacitated person, the same
responsibilities as those of a guardian of a minor enumerated in
subsection (a)(1), (a)(3), and (a)(4);
(2) shall, upon termination of the guardianship, comply with the
applicable provisions of IC 29-3-12; and
(3) has any other responsibilities that the court may order.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.264-1989,
SEC.10.
IC 29-3-8-2
Powers which guardian may exercise
Sec. 2. (a) The guardian of a minor may exercise all of the powers
required to perform the guardian's responsibilities, including the
following:
(1) The power to receive property payable to the minor or the
minor's parent, guardian, or custodian from any source,
including any statutory benefit, insurance system, or private
contract, devise, trust, or custodianship.
(2) The power to take custody of the person of the minor and
establish the minor's place of abode within or without Indiana
if in accordance with IC 29-3-9-2.
(3) The power to institute proceedings or take other appropriate
action to compel the performance by any person of a duty to
support the minor or to pay for the minor's education, health, or
welfare.
(4) The power to consent to medical or other professional care
and treatment for the minor's health and welfare.
(5) The power to consent to the marriage or adoption of the
minor.
(6) If reasonable, the power to delegate to the minor certain
responsibilities for decisions affecting the minor's business
affairs and well-being.
(7) The power to purchase a home for the minor or the minor's
dependents, to protect the minor's existing home, or to protect
the minor's interest in any real estate in which the minor may
have an interest, contractual or otherwise, or to purchase any
other interest in real property where the court finds the purchase
to be in the minor's best interest.
(8) The powers with respect to the guardianship property as are
granted to a guardian under section 4 of this chapter with
respect to guardianship property.
(9) The power to bind all or any part of the guardianship
property in a transaction for the benefit of the minor unless the
third party dealing with the guardian is acting in bad faith.
(10) If the minor has no living parent, other than a parent who
is an incapacitated person, the powers granted to the parent of
a minor under IC 29-3-3-3(1) through IC 29-3-3-3(8).
(b) The guardian (other than a temporary guardian) of an
incapacitated person has all of the powers to perform the guardian's
responsibilities, including the powers with respect to the
incapacitated person and the incapacitated person's property
regardless of where the property is located, that are granted to the
guardian of a minor enumerated in subsection (a)(1) through (a)(9).
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.264-1989,
SEC.11.
IC 29-3-8-3
Mandatory responsibilities of guardian
Sec. 3. A guardian (other than a temporary guardian) shall do the
following:
(1) Act as a guardian with respect to the guardianship property
and observe the standards of care and conduct applicable to
trustees.
(2) Protect and preserve the property of the protected person
subject to guardianship and secure the protective orders or other
orders that are required to protect any other property of the
protected person.
(3) Conserve any property of the protected person in excess of
the protected person's current needs.
(4) Encourage self-reliance and independence of the protected
person.
(5) Consider recommendations relating to the appropriate
standard of support, care, education, and training for the
protected person or the protected person's dependent made by
the protected person's parent.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.108-1996,
SEC.6.
IC 29-3-8-4
Exercise of powers to perform responsibilities; enumeration
Sec. 4. A guardian (other than a temporary guardian) may exercise
all of the powers required to perform the guardian's responsibilities,
including the following:
(1) To receive and issue a receipt for property payable to the
protected person or the protected person's parent, guardian, or
custodian from any source, including any statutory benefit,
insurance system, or any private contract, devise, trust,
guardianship, or custodianship.
(2) If reasonable, to delegate to the protected person certain
responsibilities for decisions affecting the protected person's
business affairs and well-being.
(3) To invest and reinvest the property of the protected person
in accordance with powers vested in, and according to the
standards imposed upon, trustees under IC 30-4-3-3(c).
(4) To secure the appointment of a guardian or co-guardian in
any other state, when needed, with respect to any part or all of
the guardianship property located in another state, to confer
upon the appointed guardian any or all of the guardian's powers
as guardian with respect to the property.
(5) To continue any business of the protected person, whether
in corporate, partnership, or proprietorship form, according to
the rules for continuing the business of a decedent specified in
IC 29-1-13-11.
(6) To pay to the person, guardian, department, bureau, or
agency having care and custody of the protected person, or to
the protected person if at least fourteen (14) years of age, a
reasonable amount to be expended for the support of the
protected person and the protected person's dependents, with
due regard to the following:
(A) The size of the guardianship property, the probable
duration of the guardianship, and the extent to which the
protected person in the future may be self-sufficient and able
to manage the protected person's financial affairs and
property.
(B) The accustomed standard of living of the protected
person and the protected person's dependents.
(C) Other funds or sources used for the support of the
protected person and the protected person's dependents.
(7) To distribute income and discretionary amounts of principal
in one (1) or more of the following ways as the guardian
believes to be in the best interests of the protected person:
(A) Directly to the protected person.
(B) To a guardian of the protected person appointed in
another state.
(C) To a custodian for the protected person under
IC 30-2-8.5.
(D) To an adult relative of the protected person.
(E) By expending the money or using the property directly
for the benefit of the protected person.
(8) To apply the guardianship property to or for the benefit of
any person, including the protected person, in reimbursement
for reasonable expenditures made in good faith on behalf of the
protected person that the guardian might have made, or in
advance for services to be rendered to the protected person if it
is reasonable to expect that the services will be performed and
advance payments are reasonably necessary under the
circumstances.
(9) To bind all or any part of the guardianship property in a
transaction for the benefit of the protected person, unless the
third party dealing with the guardian is acting in bad faith.
(10) Except as provided in IC 29-3-2-6(d), powers conferred
upon trustees and personal representatives respectively by
IC 30-4-3-3 and IC 29-1-7.5-3. However, if there is a conflict,
the broader power controls.
(11) To exercise on behalf of the protected person powers that
are the same as those granted to the parent of a minor under
IC 29-3-3-3.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.267-1989,
SEC.1; P.L.77-1992, SEC.7.
IC 29-3-8-5
Sale or encumbrance of guardianship property; conflicts of interest
Sec. 5. (a) Any:
(1) sale or encumbrance of any part of the property of a
protected person to a guardian or guardian's spouse, agent,
attorney, or any corporation, trust, or other organization in
which the guardian has a substantial beneficial interest; or
(2) other transaction involving the property that is affected by
a substantial conflict between the interest of the protected
person and the guardian's personal interest;
is void unless approved by the court.
(b) Every contract, sale, or conveyance executed by a protected
person is void unless the protected person is a minor, in which event
the contract, sale, or conveyance is voidable.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.238-2005,
SEC.15.
IC 29-3-8-6
Sale or transfer of guardianship property contrary to terms of
protected person's will; election of devisee
Sec. 6. If:
(1) a guardian sells or transfers during a protected person's
lifetime property belonging to the protected person that is
specifically devised to another in a will executed by the
protected person;
(2) the protected person subsequently dies; and
(3) the devised property is consequently not contained in the
protected person's estate following the death of the protected
person;
the devisee may, at the devisee's option, elect to receive the value of
the devised property, as valued at the time of death of the protected
person, as a general devise or the proceeds of the sale or transfer as
a specific devise.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.33-1989,
SEC.72; P.L.252-2001, SEC.28.
IC 29-3-8-6.5
Severance of property jointly owned with rights of survivorship or
use of the assets of a multiple party account
Sec. 6.5. (a) If:
(1) a guardian takes possession of property that is:
(A) jointly owned by or titled in the names of the protected
person and another person with rights of survivorship; or
(B) owned as a multiple party account with another person
as joint owner or beneficiary;
(2) the guardian:
(A) severs the joint ownership of the property; or
(B) uses the assets of the multiple party account; and
(3) the protected person subsequently dies while the other
person is living;
the other person may elect to receive from the protected person's
estate property in an amount determined under subsection (b).
(b) The amount of property the other person described in
subsection (a) may elect to receive is determined in STEP THREE
of the following formula:
STEP ONE: Subtract:
(A) the value of the severed or used property retained by the
other person at the time ownership was severed or used, if
any; from
(B) the value of the joint property or multiple party account
at the time ownership was severed or the assets were used.
STEP TWO: Divide:
(A) the remainder determined under STEP ONE; by
(B) the value of the protected person's property, including
the jointly held property or multiple party account, at the
time ownership was severed or the assets were used.
STEP THREE: Multiply:
(A) the quotient determined under STEP TWO; by
(B) the value of the deceased protected person's net estate.
(c) As used in this section, "multiple party account" refers to both
multiple party accounts described by IC 32-17-11 and transfer on
death transfers completed under IC 32-17-14.
As added by P.L.33-1989, SEC.73. Amended by P.L.143-2009,
SEC.16.
IC 29-3-8-7
Sale, division, or disposition of property; contracts entered into
before incapacity; performance by guardian
Sec. 7. If the court finds that:
(1) an incapacitated person who is a protected person did,
before the person became an incapacitated person, enter into a
written contract, including a contract for the sale, division, or
other disposition of property;
(2) the obligations of the contract have not been fully carried
out; and
(3) the contract was a good and binding contract at the time of
the making of the contract;
the court shall authorize the guardian of the protected person to
perform the contract without notice or hearing unless otherwise
ordered by the court.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.33-1989,
SEC.74.
IC 29-3-8-8
Limitations on guardian powers
Sec. 8. (a) The court, at the time of appointment or later, on its
own motion or on petition of the protected person or other person
approved by the court, may:
(1) confer upon the guardian any additional responsibilities and
powers;
(2) increase or decrease the bond of the guardian to satisfy the
requirements of IC 29-3-7-1; or
(3) limit the responsibilities and powers of the guardian
otherwise conferred by this article and create a limited
guardianship.
(b) However, all limitations must be endorsed on the guardian's
letters. Following the same procedure, a limitation may be removed
or modified and appropriate revised letters issued.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1.