Submission of Final Reports

Benton and Franklin Counties require the use of our local court guardianship forms.

All Guardianship Forms can be accessed on this site.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SETTLING FINAL ACCOUNT

TERMINATION OF GUARDIANSHIP DUE TO DEATH OF THE INCAPACITATED PERSON

1.  Upon death of Incapacitated Person the guardian must file the Notice of Death of Incapacitated Person (Form #60) within 30 days.

2. The guardian shall file his/her final report and accounting within 90 days of the termination of the guardianship. The final report shall consist of:

•  Petition for Order Approving Guardian’s Activities and Final Report (Form #61A) together with
•  the appropriate Accounting Summary (Form #29A1, #29A2, or #29A3)

3.  Upon filing the final report and accounting, the guardian shall present an Order Setting Hearing on Petition to Settle Final Account (Form#60A) to the Guardianship Monitoring Program (GMP). The order will be signed through the GMP and set a hearing date (as proposed by the guardian). The proposed hearing date shall allow at least 30 days for a GMP audit to be completed. The order shall be presented to the GMP along with:

•   a copy of the final report and accounting
•   a copy of the proposed Order Approving Guardian’s Activities and Final Report (Form #61B)

4.  It will be the responsibility of the guardian to provide notice of the hearing date and final accounting to any interested party. The parties entitled to notice are set forth in RCW 11.88.040. This would normally be heirs and creditors (such as the State of Washington Office of Financial Recovery for Medicaid supported incapacitated persons.

5.  The guardian must file a Declaration of Service (Form #11) for each interested party notified. Satisfactory notice would be 10 days prior to the hearing (add 3 days for mailing).

6.  Interested parties may file objections to the final report and accounting with the Clerk and copies submitted to the GMP or present them to the Court on the date of hearing.

7.  If no objection is made and the Court deems appropriate (audit must be completed through the GMP), the Order Approving Guardian’s Activities and Final Report (Form #61B) should be approved. If objections are made, the Court will determine the complexity of the issue objected to at the time of the hearing. If the matter can be resolved by argument to the Court in 10 minutes or less, the Court will settle the account at the time of the hearing.If a more extensive hearing is required, such as one requiring oral testimony, the case will be referred to Court Administration for scheduling with notice given to the GMP.

8.  If appropriate the Petition for Order Closing Guardianship and Discharging Guardian (Form #62A) and Order Closing Guardianship and Discharging Guardian (Form #62B) may be presented and signed at the date of hearing to settle final account.