Note: If you have been appointed as Guardian of both the Person and Estate, then you have likely already designated a Standby Guardian according to the instructions on the prior pages; if so, you may ignore this Designation unless you want to designate different persons as Standby Guardians of the Person and of the Estate.

a.  Designation of Standby Guardian     Back to Top

Designate a Standby Guardian --- someone who will serve as Guardian if you are unable to continue to do so.  Complete and sign a:  Designation of Standby Guardian form, have your designated Standby Guardian sign the Designation, consenting to his/her designation, and then:

a.  Guardianship Inventory     Back to Top

RCW 11.92.040(1) requires you to prepare a Guardianship Inventory of all guardianship assets, including a statement of all encumbrances, liens, or other secured charges against any item, and to determine the net value of each item, as of your date of appointment, after deducting the encumbrances, liens, and other secured charges against the item.

    1.  Print a  Guardianship Inventory form.
  

    2.  Marshal, Inventory, Categorize, and, If the Incapacitated Person Is Married, Characterize All of His/Her Assets

All assets, whether probate or nonprobate, titled in the name of the Incapacitated Person will need to have his/her name removed from the title and be re-titled in your name as Guardian.  So before we can get on with changing their title, we must first:

• If the Incapacitated Person was married on the date of your appointment, to characterize each asset (ie, as community, quasi-community, or separate).
  

• To inventory the Incapacitated Person's interest in the assets (ie, one-half of community & quasi-community and all of separate).
  

• To appraise them.
  

• To inventory all of the Incapacitated Person's debts and other liabilities, whether a straight, unsecured debt (eg, charge accounts, utility bills, etc.) or a security interest in a guardianship asset (eg, a pledge on personal property, such as a vehicle or securities, or a mortgage or note + deed of trust on real property, such as a home).

• The home, with its value shown in terms of its whole community interest as of the date of your appointment, and
   

• The Incapacitated Person's one-half community interest in the home.

and an

• Beginning on the date of your appointment (or every year thereafter), and
  

• Ending on the next anniversary date of your appointment (ie, twelve months later).

With rare exceptions, all Reports and Accounts are required to be filed by 90 days (effectively, three months) after the end of their period.

Example: You were appointed on April 23, 2001.  On every April 23 thereafter, you are required to prepare and, by 90 days thereafter, to file with the Court an Annual Account of the Incapacitated Person for the one-year period ending on that April 23 date.  Your first Annual Account would be made for the one-year period from April 23, 2001 through April 23, 2002, and filed by July 23, 2002, effectively three months later, etc.

Some Guardians prefer to set their period to end on the last day of the month in which their anniversary date falls (or the immediately preceding month), for example, March 31 or April 30 for an April 23 anniversary date.  While this is not "within the letter of the law," your author has never seen a Court question this practice (so long as there are no "gaps" between periods.  Examples for an April 23, 2001 anniversary date:

The Court supplies two variations of Annual Account forms, depending on the amount of "liquid assets" (ie, cash and securities) in the guardianship estate and the current amount of the Washington homestead exemption, currently (October, 2004) $40,000:

• Over $80,000:  If the amount of liquid assets in your guardianship estate exceeds $80,000 (ie, twice the state homestead exemption), you are required to use what is known as the "Long Form" of the Annual Account, which is a traditional accounting, itemizing each item of income and expense.
   

• Under $80,000:  If the amount of liquid assets in your guardianship estate is less than $80,000, you may (but are not required to) use what is known as the "Short Form" of the Annual Account, which is a summary accounting, allowing you to group similar items of income and expense, a substantially easier task than using the "Long Form."

Complete whichever form is appropriate:

or

and, regardless whichever of those two forms you chose, also complete an:

Chances are that the Court will approve your Account ... but not necessarily.

In its review of your Account, it may have questions it wants answered or it may find errors, in which case it will return your Account to you with an explanation and ask you to revise and resubmit it for approval.

Alternatively (but, thankfully, infrequently), the Court may not have substantive problems with your Account as submitted, but, "where the size or condition of the estate warrants it," it may want you to hold a noticed hearing on your Account, in which case it will set it for hearing and ask you to send Notice of Hearing to all those eligible to receive notice.  RCW 11.92.050(1)

And if the Court is really cautious, it may not only set the Account for a noticed hearing, but it may also appoint a Financial Guardian ad Litem to review the Account and report back in writing to the Court at the hearing.  An Order Approving Guardian's Annual Account is final and binding on the Incapacitated Person only if it results from a noticed hearing with a Guardian ad Litem having been appointed; otherwise, a Guardian's Annual Account is subject to review upon the Guardian's Final Account.  RCW 11.92.050(1)  If there is some transaction in your Annual Account whose propriety you want settled for all time, you should petition the Court for a noticed hearing and the appointment of a Financial GAL.

Lastly, if you have received any currently valid Request for Special Notice, you are required (at least in King County) to:

• File only your Account (not your Order) with the Court,

• Set a hearing for your Account at the Court Clerk's Office

• Send Notice of Hearing to all those entitled to it, including each person from whom you have received a currently valid Request for Special Notice,

• Depending on the local Court rules of your county, mostly likely send a Working Copy of your documents (Account + Notice + proposed Order) to the Probate Department of your Court, and

• Attend the hearing, bringing the original of your Order with you to the hearing.

Note: Technically, the formal name for what this website calls an Annual Account is an "Interim Account " or "Intermediate Account."  Furthermore, if not only a Guardian of the Estate but also a Guardian of the Person has been appointed (usually the same person), then the Guardian of the Person's Interim Report is due at the same time that the Guardian of the Estate's "Interim Account" is due.  Most Interim Accounts are due annually, which is why Interim Reports and Interim Accounts are known as Annual Reports and Annual Accounts.  Occasionally, however, a Guardian of the Estate may be required to account only every three years or, even more rarely, every two years --- in which case those Reports & Accounts are known as Tri-ennial and Bi-ennial Reports & Accounts, respectively.

Side-bar: A common occurrence (at least in your author's experience in King County, in which he has reviewed his share of filed Accounts) is that:

• A Guardian will overlook his/her anniversary date,
  

• Become aware that his/her Account is way overdue, and then
  

• Prepare the Account not for the scheduled (usually) annual period but, instead, for the period up to the time he/she became aware that the Account was due --- resulting in an Account covering a odd period, such as 17 months or 2 years and 3 months etc.

1. Complete a:

2. File the original with the Court, and
   

3. Send a copy to each person of the Notice List of the Guardianship.

b.  Change in Circumstances of Incapacitated Person     ñ

If any significant change occurs in the circumstances of the Incapacitated Person, you should inform the Court and all the other interested parties of the change.  Possibilities include a material change in:

• Income,
   

• Assets, or
   

• Financial entitlements (eg, inheritances, eligibility for governmental benefits, etc.).

To do so:

1. Complete a:

2. File the original with the Court, and
   

3. Send a copy to each person of the Notice List of the Guardianship.

Timing: Within 30 days of the change.  RCW 11.92.040(3)

Note: A Guardian of the Person is required to report any change of address of the Incapacitated Person.  RCW 11.92.043(3)  Surprisingly, if a Guardian of the Estate Only has been appointed and the Incapacitated Person moves, although it would seem helpful for the change of address to be reported, no statutory requirement for that has been found.

c.  Death of Incapacitated Person     ñ

If the Incapacitated Person dies, then the guardianship automatically terminates (RCW 11.88.140(1)(c)), and you should:

1. Complete a:

2. File the original with the Court, and
   

3. Send a copy of it to each person on the Notice List of the Guardianship.

Timing: Within 30 days of date of death.  RCW 11.92.043(3)

Lastly, you must undertake the Final Report & Account procedure (and file your Final Report & Account within 90 days of date of death).  See: Incapacitated Person Dies.

5.  Working with a Blocked Account     ñ

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