Guardian Responsibilities

Understand your Powers, Duties, & Limitations

Read through Chapter 5 of the Guardianship and Conservatorship in Minnesota Manual for more detailed information about the responsibilities of guardians.

The court order appointing a guardian will specifically state what powers and duties they have been granted. These can include all of the powers and duties allowed by law, or they can be limited to only those powers and duties that are needed for the situation.

Even though a person subject to guardianship has a guardian, they still retain certain rights. See the Bill of Rights and Minn. Stat. § 524.5-120 for more information.

A person subject to guardianship keeps all rights not granted to the guardian. A guardian must petition the court for modification of the guardianship when the condition of the person subject to guardianship changes in a way that means fewer or additional powers are required.

A guardian with medical powers cannot consent to any medical care that violates the known conscientious, religious, or moral belief of the person subject to guardianship. If given powers over the personal property of the person subject to guardianship, a guardian cannot dispose of the clothing, furniture, vehicles, or personal effects of the person subject to guardianship without giving written notice by mail to interested persons.

There are certain responsibilities that apply to all guardians, which are described in more detail below.

Court-appointed guardians are required to complete annual reports for the court about the life of the person subject to guardianship. Annual reports must be filed electronically using MyMNGuardian (MMG). If you are not able to complete the reports electronically, you can ask the judicial officer for permission to continue with paper filings using the Request to Waive Use of MyMNGuardian (MMG) Application.

The required documents for annual reporting are:

Personal Well-Being Report
Annual Notice of Rights
Bill of Rights
Affidavit of Service

NOTE: If there is more than one guardian, each co-guardian must fill out and sign a set of forms using MyMNGuardian (MMG). If guardians agree on what is stated in the annual report, the co-signing process can be used in MMG rather than submitting separate reports.

These documents must be submitted within 30 days of the anniversary date of appointment of the guardian, found in the Letters of Guardianship. If you do not submit your documents on time each year, you may be required to attend a court hearing and explain to a judicial officer why the reports were not completed.

Guardian(s) must make copies of their completed Personal Well-Being Report, and Annual Notice of Right to Petition for Termination or Modification, and then arrange to have copies served on the person subject to guardianship and all interested persons whose names are on record with the court in the petition. The person subject to guardianship will also need to be served with a copy of the Bill of Rights. Service can be done by mail or in person.

Once service has been completed, the guardian must fill out the Affidavit of Service in MMG. The Affidavit of Service must be filed with the court, but copies of the Affidavit do not have to be given to anyone else.

Tips for completing the reports:

Keep records of significant events in the life of the person subject to guardianship. You will be required to report on such things as the living arrangements of the person subject to guardianship, the type and quality of care provided to the person subject to guardianship, and your interaction with the person subject to guardianship.
Keep detailed records of the services you provide if you are charging fees as guardian or seeking reimbursement for expenses.
Write out the relevant information. Don’t just state “no change” or “see prior report.”
Be sure to keep the addresses, phone numbers and emails of the person subject to guardianship and the guardian(s) updated in the MMG application.
All guardians must sign the report or submit separate signed reports. Only the guardian/person who actually served the documents needs to submit the affidavit of service.

A guardian cannot do or consent to certain things without court approval, such as:

Admitting the person subject to guardianship to a regional treatment center (with limited exceptions, including outpatient care, temporary care (under 90 days), or being admitted after a hearing under Minn. Stat. § 253B).
Sterilization.
Psychosurgery and electroshock treatment.
Experimental treatment of any kind.
Revoking a health care directive.

A guardian must report to the court within 30 days of the occurrence of any of the events listed in Minn. Stat. § 524.5-316(b), including:

Being removed for cause from serving as guardian or conservator on any case.
A professional license (see statute for list of agencies) being denied, conditioned, suspended, revoked, or canceled.
Being found civilly liable in an action that involves fraud, misrepresentation, material omission, misappropriation, theft, or conversion.
Filing for bankruptcy.
Having a civil monetary judgment entered against you.
Being convicted of a crime other than a petty misdemeanor or traffic offense.
Having an order for protection or harassment restraining order issued against you.

If the court appointed you to be a guardian and you are no longer able to serve in that role, you should talk with a lawyer right away about asking the court to appoint a successor guardian by completing and filing a Petition for Appointment of Successor Guardian and/or Conservator (Adult). To ask the court to discharge you from your role, you must generally identify someone else who may be qualified to serve as a guardian and have this person file the petition asking to be appointed.

Guardianship