Under recent changes to the guardianship and conservatorship statutes, guardians and conservators must now file an informational statement with the court prior to their initial appointment.
See 524.5-304(g) (guardianships) and 524.5-406(g) (conservatorships of persons under disability).
The informational statement must be a sworn affidavit stating:
- the person’s educational background and relevant work and other experience;
- an address and telephone number where the guardian/conservator can be contacted;
- whether the person has ever been removed for cause from serving as a guardian or conservator and if so, the case number and court location;
- any changes occurring that would affect the accuracy of information contained in the most recent criminal background study conducted pursuant to section 524.5-118; and
- if applicable, the amount of reimbursement for services rendered to the ward that the person has received during the previous year.
Additionally, an informational statement must be filed “annually within 30 days after the anniversary date of the appointment.”
The “official” form is located on the Minnesota Courts website as GAC109. You will have to modify the form for the initial filing since it presumes that the guardian/conservator has already been appointed.
I’ve heard from multiple sources that judges/referees have been allowing attorneys to file the informational statement after the initial hearing, but before the appointment. Presumably, the courts will end this transitional grace-period sometime soon and require that it be filed with the court prior to the hearing or, perhaps, at the hearing. [Note: For what it's worth, the section headings of the statutes are entitled "Preliminaries to Hearing."]
Take the time now to update your checklists for your guardianships and conservatorships. My take: items 2-5 seem reasonable, but item 1 seems a bit overreaching and possibly irrelevant.
Special thanks to Jennifer Frantz of Richard D. Bunin Law Offices for bringing this issue to my attention.
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