NCG Procedural Requirements 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under NGA Standards, the guardian should visit the ward in person at least:
- Once a year
- Once every six months
- Monthly (Correct answer)
- Only when a problem is reported
Correct answer: Monthly
NGA Standards call for at least monthly in-person visits to check the ward's well-being and care.
Question 2: A conservator must keep the protected person's funds:
- In the conservator's personal account for convenience
- Mixed with other clients' funds without records
- In cash at the guardian's office
- Separate from the conservator's own funds, in accounts titled for the estate (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Separate from the conservator's own funds, in accounts titled for the estate
Commingling is prohibited; estate funds must be held separately and clearly titled.
Question 3: Which court generally has continuing jurisdiction to supervise an adult guardianship?
- The court that appointed the guardian (Correct answer)
- Any court where the guardian lives
- The federal district court
- The state legislature
Correct answer: The court that appointed the guardian
The appointing court keeps continuing jurisdiction until the guardianship ends or is transferred.
Question 4: When a ward dies, the guardian of the estate generally must:
- Distribute assets straight to the heirs
- File a final accounting and deliver the assets to the personal representative (Correct answer)
- Keep managing the assets for five years
- Close all accounts and keep the funds
Correct answer: File a final accounting and deliver the assets to the personal representative
Authority largely ends at death, so the guardian files a final accounting and turns the estate over to the decedent's personal representative.
Question 5: A guardian receives notice that the ward's representative payee status is under review by the Social Security Administration. The guardian should know that:
- Letters of guardianship automatically make the guardian the payee
- SSA must follow the probate court's orders on payees
- SSA makes its own representative payee appointment, separate from the guardianship (Correct answer)
- Payee duties end when the guardianship begins
Correct answer: SSA makes its own representative payee appointment, separate from the guardianship
Federal benefit agencies like SSA and VA appoint fiduciaries independently and require separate reporting.
Question 6: Which is generally required when a guardian seeks to restrict the ward's visits with a family member?
- A verbal warning to the family member
- Approval from the care facility only
- Nothing, because guardians have unlimited power over visits
- Good cause and, in many states, court approval or notice (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Good cause and, in many states, court approval or notice
Many states now require court authorization or notice before a guardian limits visits, calls, or contact with others.
Question 7: What is the primary purpose of a guardianship care plan or management plan filed with the court?
- To describe the guardian's intended goals and services for the ward's needs (Correct answer)
- To set the guardian's hourly rate
- To replace the annual report
- To transfer the ward's assets to a trust
Correct answer: To describe the guardian's intended goals and services for the ward's needs
Under the UGPPA and NGA Standards, the plan describes the guardian's goals, services, and how the ward's preferences will be met.
NCG Procedural Requirements 5
Under NGA Standards, the guardian should visit the ward in person at least: