CPG Ethical Standards 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A guardian discovers that a ward's family member is pressuring a care facility to discharge the ward prematurely to save on costs. What is the guardian's primary obligation?
- Defer to the family member's wishes to maintain relationships
- Advocate for the ward's best interests regardless of family pressure (Correct answer)
- Report the family member to law enforcement immediately
- Transfer guardianship to avoid the conflict
Correct answer: Advocate for the ward's best interests regardless of family pressure
A guardian must always act in the ward's best interests, even when that conflicts with the wishes of family members.
Question 2: Under CPG ethical standards, a guardian who also serves as the ward's conservator must:
- Keep a single combined record for efficiency
- Maintain separate records for guardian and conservator duties (Correct answer)
- Prioritize financial decisions over personal care decisions
- Delegate all financial matters to a third party
Correct answer: Maintain separate records for guardian and conservator duties
When a guardian also serves as conservator, they must maintain separate records for each role to ensure accountability and transparency.
Question 3: A guardian is offered a substantial gift by the ward's grateful family. The ethically correct response is to:
- Accept the gift if it is under a state-defined threshold
- Decline the gift to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest (Correct answer)
- Accept the gift but disclose it to the court
- Accept only non-monetary gifts
Correct answer: Decline the gift to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest
Guardians should decline gifts from wards or their families to avoid conflicts of interest and maintain professional boundaries.
Question 4: When a ward's condition improves significantly, a guardian's ethical duty includes:
- Continuing guardianship to protect against future decline
- Petitioning the court to terminate or limit the guardianship if it is no longer needed (Correct answer)
- Expanding the scope of guardianship proactively
- Transferring the ward to a more restrictive environment
Correct answer: Petitioning the court to terminate or limit the guardianship if it is no longer needed
Ethical guardianship requires seeking termination or modification when the ward's capacity has improved and the guardianship is no longer the least restrictive option.
Question 5: A guardian learns that a ward's paid caregiver may be exploiting the ward financially. The guardian should first:
- Confront the caregiver directly before taking other action
- Investigate the allegation and report to Adult Protective Services if warranted (Correct answer)
- Wait for additional evidence before acting
- Notify only the ward's family members
Correct answer: Investigate the allegation and report to Adult Protective Services if warranted
A guardian has a duty to investigate credible allegations of exploitation and report to authorities when there is reasonable cause to believe abuse or exploitation is occurring.
Question 6: The ethical principle of 'substituted judgment' requires the guardian to:
- Make decisions based solely on the guardian's professional expertise
- Make decisions based on what the ward would have chosen if capable (Correct answer)
- Always follow the preferences of the ward's closest family member
- Apply the community standard of care to all decisions
Correct answer: Make decisions based on what the ward would have chosen if capable
Substituted judgment requires the guardian to stand in the ward's shoes and make decisions the ward would have made based on known values and preferences.
Question 7: A guardian who fails to file a required annual report with the court is engaging in:
- A minor procedural oversight with no ethical implications
- A breach of the guardian's fiduciary and ethical duty to the court (Correct answer)
- An acceptable practice if the ward's condition is unchanged
- A violation only if the ward's finances are involved
Correct answer: A breach of the guardian's fiduciary and ethical duty to the court
Timely filing of required court reports is a fundamental fiduciary obligation, and failure to do so constitutes an ethical breach.
CPG Ethical Standards 2
A guardian discovers that a ward's family member is pressuring a care facility to discharge the ward prematurely to save on costs.
What is the guardian's primary obligation?