|
|
|
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 29-3-9-4
Estate planning; disposition of protected person's assets;
renunciation or disclaimer of interests
Sec. 4. (a) Upon petition of the guardian (other than a temporary
guardian) or any other person as approved by the court, and after
notice to such persons as the court may direct, the court may, after
hearing and by order, authorize the guardian to apply or dispose of
the principal or income of the estate of the protected person that the
court determines to be in excess of that likely to be required for the
protected person's future support or for the future support of the
protected person's dependents during the lifetime of the protected
person, in order to carry out the estate planning that the court
determines to be appropriate for the purposes of minimizing current
and prospective income, estate, or other taxes. The court may
accordingly authorize the guardian to make gifts, outright or in trust,
on behalf of the protected person to or for the benefit of the
prospective legatees, devisees, or heirs, including any person serving
as the protected person's guardian, or to other individuals or
charities, to whom or in which it is shown that the protected person
had an interest. In addition, the court may also authorize the guardian
to:
(1) apply or dispose of the excess principal or income for any
other purpose the court decides is in the best interests of the
protected person or the protected person's property, spouse, or
family;
(2) exercise or waive the right of the protected person to
renounce or disclaim any interest in whole or in part devolving
by testate or intestate succession or by inter vivos transfer,
including the right of the protected person to surrender the right
to revoke a revocable trust; or
(3) exercise or release any power of appointment that is vested
in the protected person.
(b) In a hearing upon a petition filed under subsection (a), the
court shall determine whether the planned disposition, renunciation,
disclaimer, release, or exercise is consistent with the apparent
intention of the protected person, which determination shall be made
on the basis of evidence as to the declarations, practices, or conduct
of the protected person or, in the absence of that type of evidence,
upon the court's determination as to what a reasonable and prudent
person would do under the same or similar circumstances as are
shown by the evidence presented to the court.
(c) The guardian may examine the will of the protected person.
As added by P.L.169-1988, 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.
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.