CHAPTER 9. MATTERS OTHER THAN APPOINTMENT
IC 29-3-9
Chapter 9. Matters Other Than Appointment
IC 29-3-9-1
Delegation of powers; exercise of powers under power of attorney
Sec. 1. (a) By a properly executed power of attorney, a parent of
a minor or a guardian (other than a temporary guardian) of a
protected person may delegate to another person for:
(1) any period during which the care and custody of the minor
or protected person is entrusted to an institution furnishing care,
custody, education, or training; or
(2) a period not exceeding twelve (12) months;
any powers regarding support, custody, or property of the minor or
protected person, except the power to consent to the marriage or
adoption of a protected person who is a minor.
(b) A person having a power of attorney executed under
subsection (a) has and shall exercise, for the period during which the
power is effective, all other authority of the parent or guardian
respecting the support, custody, or property of the minor or protected
person except any authority expressly excluded in the written
instrument delegating the power. However, the parent or guardian
remains responsible for any act or omission of the person having the
power of attorney with respect to the affairs, property, and person of
the minor or protected person as though the power of attorney had
never been executed.
(c) Except as otherwise stated in the power of attorney delegating
powers under this section, a delegation of powers under this section
may be revoked by a written instrument of revocation that:
(1) identifies the power of attorney revoked; and
(2) is signed by the:
(A) parent of a minor; or
(B) guardian of a protected person;
who executed the power of attorney.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.33-1989,
SEC.75; P.L.101-2008, SEC.7.
IC 29-3-9-2
Change in physical presence of protected person
Sec. 2. A guardian (other than a temporary guardian), a volunteer
advocate for seniors, or a volunteer advocate for incapacitated adults
appointed under IC 29-3-8.5 may, with the approval of and under
such conditions as may be imposed by the court after notice and
hearing, change the physical presence of the protected person to
another place in Indiana or to another state if the court finds that such
a change is in the best interests of the protected person. Upon such
a change, the guardianship may be limited or terminated by the court.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.41-2004, SEC.3;
P.L.11-2006, SEC.11.
IC 29-3-9-3
Compensation and reimbursement of guardian
Sec. 3. A guardian is entitled to reasonable compensation for
services as guardian and to reimbursement for reasonable
expenditures made in good faith on behalf of the protected person.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1.
IC 29-3-9-4
Repealed
(Repealed by P.L.6-2010, SEC.40.)
IC 29-3-9-4.5
Estate planning
Sec. 4.5. (a) After notice to interested persons and upon
authorization of the court, a guardian may, if the protected person has
been found by the court to lack testamentary capacity, do any of the
following:
(1) Make gifts.
(2) Exercise any power with respect to transfer on death or
payable on death transfers that is described in IC 30-5-5-7.5.
(3) Convey, release, or disclaim contingent and expectant
interests in property, including marital property rights and any
right of survivorship incident to joint tenancy or tenancy by the
entireties.
(4) Exercise or release a power of appointment.
(5) Create a revocable or irrevocable trust of all or part of the
property of the estate, including a trust that extends beyond the
duration of the guardianship.
(6) Revoke or amend a trust that is revocable by the protected
person.
(7) Exercise rights to elect options and change beneficiaries
under insurance policies, retirement plans, and annuities.
(8) Surrender an insurance policy or annuity for its cash value.
(9) Exercise any right to an elective share in the estate of the
protected person's deceased spouse.
(10) Renounce or disclaim any interest by testate or intestate
succession or by transfer inter vivos.
(b) Before approving a guardian's exercise of a power listed in
subsection (a), the court shall consider primarily the decision that the
protected person would have made, to the extent that the decision of
the protected person can be ascertained. If the protected person has
a will, the protected person's distribution of assets under the will is
prima facie evidence of the protected person's intent. The court shall
also consider:
(1) the financial needs of the protected person and the needs of
individuals who are dependent on the protected person for
support;
(2) the interests of creditors;
(3) the possible reduction of income taxes, estate taxes,
inheritance taxes, or other federal, state, or local tax liabilities;
(4) the eligibility of the protected person for governmental
assistance;
(5) the protected person's previous pattern of giving or level of
support;
(6) the protected person's existing estate plan, if any;
(7) the protected person's life expectancy and the probability
that the guardianship will terminate before the protected
person's death; and
(8) any other factor the court considers relevant.
(c) A guardian may examine and receive, at the expense of the
guardian, copies of the following documents of the protected person:
(1) A will.
(2) A trust.
(3) A power of attorney.
(4) A health care appointment.
(5) Any other estate planning document.
As added by P.L.6-2010, SEC.12.
IC 29-3-9-5
Inventory of guardianship property
Sec. 5. (a) Within ninety (90) days after appointment, a guardian
(other than a temporary guardian) shall file with the court a complete
inventory of the property subject to the guardian's control together
with an oath or affirmation that the inventory is believed to be
complete and accurate as far as information permits. A temporary
guardian shall file the inventory and oath or affirmation with the
court within thirty (30) days after appointment. The inventory must
conform to the requirements of IC 29-1-12-1. The guardian shall
provide a copy of the inventory to the protected person if the
protected person is at least fourteen (14) years of age. A copy also
shall be provided to any guardian, parent, or person with whom the
protected person resides and any other person ordered by the court.
In addition, the guardian shall provide notice of the filing of the
inventory to each person that was required to be notified of the
hearing on the petition to establish the guardianship. The notice must
be provided in the same manner as the notice of the hearing to
establish a guardianship. The notice must include all of the
following:
(1) The cause number.
(2) A statement that Indiana law requires a guardian to file with
the court a written verified account of the guardian's
administration:
(A) at least biennially, not more than thirty (30) days after
the anniversary date of the guardian's appointment; and
(B) not more than thirty (30) days after the termination of
the appointment.
(3) A statement that the inventory and the written verified
accounts may be inspected at the court's address.
(b) The guardian shall keep suitable records of the guardian's
administration and exhibit the records as ordered by the court.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.265-1995,
SEC.1.
IC 29-3-9-6
Account of administration; filing with court; notice of hearing on
account; order of discharge; limitation of actions against sureties
Sec. 6. (a) Unless otherwise directed by the court, a guardian
(other than a temporary guardian) shall file with the court:
(1) at least biennially, not more than thirty (30) days after the
anniversary date of the guardian's appointment; and
(2) not more than thirty (30) days after the termination of the
appointment;
a written verified account of the guardian's administration.
(b) A temporary guardian shall file with the court, within thirty
(30) days after the termination of the temporary guardian's
appointment, and otherwise as ordered by the court, a written
verified account of the temporary guardian's administration.
(c) A written verified account required under this section must
include the incapacitated person's or minor's current residence and a
description of the condition and circumstances of the incapacitated
person or minor.
(d) Notice of the hearing of each account of a guardianship shall
be given, unless waived, to the following:
(1) The protected person.
(2) In the case of a protected person who has died, the personal
representative of the estate of the protected person, if any.
(3) Any other persons that the court directs.
(e) When an account other than an account in final settlement is
filed, the court may approve the same ex parte, but the account may
be reviewed by the court at any subsequent time and does not
become final until an account in final settlement is approved by the
court after notice and hearing.
(f) When notice of hearing has been given under this section, the
order of the court approving the intermediate account or the final
account is binding upon all persons.
(g) When a guardian files with the court proper receipts or other
evidence satisfactory to the court showing that the guardian has
delivered to the appropriate persons all the property for which the
guardian is accountable as guardian, the court shall enter an order of
discharge. The order of discharge operates as a release from the
duties of the guardian's office that have not yet terminated and
operates as a bar to any suit against the guardian and the guardian's
sureties, unless the suit is commenced within one (1) year from the
date of the discharge.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.33-1989,
SEC.76.
IC 29-3-9-6.5
Accounting standards and procedures
Sec. 6.5. (a) This section applies to an accounting described under
section 6 of this chapter that is filed:
(1) in a court that requires an accounting; and
(2) by a guardian for a protected person:
(A) whose:
(i) annual gross income is not more than one hundred
eighty-five percent (185%) of the federal income poverty
level as determined annually by the federal Office of
Management and Budget under 42 U.S.C. 9902; and
(ii) total assets are worth fifteen thousand dollars
($15,000) or less; or
(B) who has an annual gross income and total assets of any
amount, if the guardian does not have powers concerning the
estate of the protected person.
(b) The court shall establish standards for the type of information
required to be reported in an accounting described in subsection (a).
(c) Except as provided in subsection (d), the accounting described
in subsection (a) is not required to be filed by an attorney for the
guardian.
(d) The court may order that the guardian hire an attorney to assist
the guardian in filing the accounting described in subsection (a) if the
court determines that an accounting filed by the guardian does not
conform to the standards established by the court under this section.
As added by P.L.265-1995, SEC.2.
IC 29-3-9-7
Compromise of claim; petition to court; settlement
Sec. 7. (a) Whenever it is proposed to compromise any claim by
or against a protected person or the protected person's property, the
court, on petition of the guardian, may enter an order authorizing the
compromise to be made if satisfied that the compromise will be in
the best interest of the protected person.
(b) Whenever a minor has a disputed claim against another
person, whether arising in contract, tort, or otherwise, and a guardian
for the minor and the minor's property has not been appointed, the
parents of the minor may compromise the claim. However, before the
compromise is valid, it must be approved by the court upon filing of
a petition requesting the court's approval. If the court approves the
compromise, it may direct that the settlement be paid in accordance
with IC 29-3-3-1. If IC 29-3-3-1 is not applicable, the court shall
require that a guardian be appointed and that the settlement be
delivered to the guardian upon the terms that the court directs.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1.
IC 29-3-9-8
Supplementary orders
Sec. 8. At any time after the appointment or issuance of a
protective order, the court on its own motion or on the petition of the
protected person or other person approved by the court, in addition
to its authority under IC 29-3-8-8, may give the instructions and
make the amendatory and supplementary orders that the court finds
appropriate.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1.
IC 29-3-9-9
Expenses of proceedings
Sec. 9. (a) Whenever a guardian is appointed for an incapacitated
person or minor, the guardian shall pay all expenses of the
proceeding, including reasonable medical, professional, and
attorney's fees, out of the property of the protected person.
(b) The expenses of any other proceeding under this article that
results in benefit to the protected person or the protected person's
property shall be paid from the protected person's property as
approved by the court.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.33-1989,
SEC.77.
IC 29-3-9-10
Attorney of record for guardian
Sec. 10. The attorney of record for a guardian continues as such
until the termination of the guardianship or the attorney's withdrawal,
whichever occurs first, as approved by the court.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1.
IC 29-3-9-11
Investigation and report concerning minor or protected person
Sec. 11. (a) The department of child services shall investigate and
report to the court concerning the conditions and circumstances of a
minor and the fitness and conduct of the guardian or the proposed
guardian whenever ordered to do so by the court.
(b) The office of the secretary of family and social services shall
investigate and report to the court concerning the conditions and
circumstances of a minor or an alleged incapacitated adult or
protected person who is an adult and the fitness and conduct of the
guardian or the proposed guardian whenever ordered to do so by the
court.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.33-1989,
SEC.78; P.L.2-1992, SEC.794; P.L.4-1993, SEC.261; P.L.5-1993,
SEC.274; P.L.145-2006, SEC.169; P.L.146-2008, SEC.531.