Accountability

As a guardian, you are accountable to the guardianship authority. If you have been granted power of attorney, you will be accountable to the guardianship authority for the property listed in the power of attorney. As a guardian or an assignee granted power of attorney, you will submit a property inventory to the guardianship authority within three months of stepping into your position. The inventory must include all your client’s assets and debts the management of which you have been charged with.

As guardian, you will prepare and submit a statement of accounts to the guardianship authority each year. An accounting period is usually equivalent to one calendar year. For a justified reason, the guardianship authority can extend an accounting period or exempt a guardian from their obligation to submit an annual statement. The annual statement with its relevant receipts must be submitted the year following the financial period at latest on 31 March. The annual account form and its attached instructions simplify the preparation of the annual statement.

A guardianship will ends if the guardianship of your client’s guardianship is terminated or your client dies. In the case of a client, who is a minor, accountability will end when the client becomes an adult, i.e. turns 18 years of age. Prepare and deliver the final statement within two months of the end of the financial period. The content of the final statement is similar to an annual statement and it covers the time period for which statements have yet to be made.

A guardian with power of attorney is only accountable to guardianship authority if the power of attorney so provides. An assignee granted power of attorney will never submit a final statement to the guardianship authority. The final statement will be given to the assignor at the end of the mandate or to another person entitled to property.

The guardianship authority may use coercive measures if the guardian or the assignee with power of attorney neglects their accountability.