Court Monitoring of Guardians 
Once a guardian is appointed, the court is responsible for monitoring the guardian’s actions caring for the person and/or managing the person’s money and property.  Guardians are “fiduciaries” – which means they have very high duties of care, trust and honesty.  They must make decisions and act carefully, according to the person’s values and best interest, and they must keep good records.  
Guardians must file reports with the court about the person’s condition and living arrangements, any changes and services provided.  If the guardian manages money or property, the guardian must file an accounting with the court either annually or when the court requires.  
If the reports or accounting shows a possible problem, the court may send out an investigator or call the guardian in for a hearing.   
Key ways to strengthening court monitoring have included, for example: 
• Clear guardian standards and training.  
    o See the NGA Standards of Practice.
    o See NGA Fundamentals of Guardianship.
• Help for guardians in filing reports and accountings
• Improvements in how the court reviews the reports and accountings
• Clear guidance to courts in how they can respond when they find a problem
• Requirements for bonds for guardians managing money or property
• Complaint procedures
• Better databases on guardianship cases

See more information on guardianship monitoring at the Center for Elders and Courts. 

Court-Community Partnerships for Reform


To improve guardianship practices, courts in a growing number of states work actively with partners – like adult protective services, the state office on aging, disability law centers, bar associations, mental health agencies, and other advocates.  

In some states these partnerships are called WINGS – Working Interdisciplinary Networks of Guardianship Stakeholders.  WINGS are court-led partnerships that drive guardianship reform, support good guardianship practices, promote use of other ways of decision-making, and reduce instances in which guardians abuse their responsibilities. See ABA Commission WINGS site.

Coordinating Guardianship and the Social Security Representative Payee Program 
The Social Security Administration and state guardianship courts should have a process for sharing information about misuse of funds. 

If the Social Security Administration finds someone cannot manage their own benefits, it will appoint a representative payee to receive that person’s benefits and pay the person’s bills (see section above on Decision-Making Without a Guardian). 

Confusing the appointment of a payee with the appointment of a guardian is a common mistake. They are two completely different processes without any connection or influence on each other. The Social Security Administration can appoint a guardian to serve as a payee, but it is not required to do so. This lack of coordination between the two systems can lead to increased misuse of funds. 

For example, the Social Security Administration does not have a process for informing a court if it removes a payee for misuse of funds, even if the payee is also the beneficiary’s court-appointed guardian. Nor is there a procedure for courts to inform Social Security that they have sanctioned or removed a guardian for exploiting a person’s finances. So, a fraudulent payee could continue in the role of guardian or a fraudulent guardian could continue as payee. 

In 2010, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released Guardianships: Cases of Financial Exploitation, Neglect, and Abuse of Seniors. The report reviewed instances of both guardians and representative payees misusing funds. The report concluded that without a systematic means for sharing information between state guardianship courts and the representative payee program, many people who have a guardian and receive their benefits via a payee are at risk of financial exploitation. Discussions are underway to try to address this problem.