It is the Financial Account Information form that a guardian is required to file with the account and includes such information as the name on an account, the name and address of the bank or financial institution, and the account number. The form is maintained under seal and is available only to authorized Court personnel unless otherwise included in the public record.
Accounts are prepared using the court-prescribed form Statement of Account. Alternatively, contact the Duty Auditor at 202-879-9447, and the form will be mailed to you. The form must be machine printed or typewritten.
Telephone the Duty Auditor at (202) 870-9447, or call (202) 879-9434,.
An inventory is prepared using the court-prescribed form Inventory Report. Alternatively, contact the Duty Auditor at 202-879-9447, and the form will be mailed to you. The form must be machine printed or typewritten.
Probate Division Rules 204(a)(4) and (5) require that accounts be filed annually within thirty (30) days after the anniversary date of appointment. Final accounts must be filed within sixty (60) days after the minor’s eighteenth birthday or the guardian’s death or incapacity. A schedule of mandatory filing dates is provided to the guardian upon appointment.
Accountings do not have to be sent to parents or custodians. However, a parent or custodian can ask the Court to be allowed to participate as a party by filing a Petition for Permission To Participate. If the Court grants the request, the parent or custodian then has the right to receive copies of all documents that are filed.
When a guardian is appointed by the Court, letters of guardianship will be issued. After appointment, the guardian should take the letters and the order of appointment to a bank and open an account that contains only the funds of the minor and is titled something like "Estate of Minor Child, Name of Guardian." If possible, that account should be an account that returns cancelled checks or images of cancelled checks. Many banks no longer issue or return cancelled checks. If replacement records are needed later, the letters of guardianship should be sufficient to support the guardian’s authority to order them.
Generally, an account is audited within thirty (30) to forty-five (45) days. However, if after forty-five (45) days, no initial audit notice is received, please contact the Auditing Branch Manager at 202-879-9429.
Court costs are paid when the first account is filed. A list of costs is contained in Superior Court, Probate Division Rule 206. If more assets are acquired later that increase the value of the estate, additional costs are paid with subsequent accounts. Contact the Duty Auditor at 202-879-9447 for other questions related to the computation of Court costs.
Probate Division Rule 204(a)(2) requires that an inventory be filed by the guardian within ninety days after qualification or ninety days after the order bringing the guardian under the Court’s authority, supervision, or direction. If there are no assets to collect, an affidavit to that effect must be filed in lieu of the inventory.