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CM22, the Guardian’s Accounting

Delaware’s accounting for a guardian of the property. It comes as a 17-page packet with the notice pages and the declaration inside.

By Fidura staff. Last reviewed .

Who files
The guardian of the property of a person with a disability
Not needed if the Court has excused accountings. 12 Del. C. §3944(a) (opens in a new tab)
When it’s due
First at 9 months; then yearly by the first business day of your appointment’s quarter
Ch. Ct. R. 114(c)(1) (opens in a new tab)
Where
The Register in Chancery for the county where the case was opened
An attorney e-files it and sends the statements and receipts on paper. The Register audits it; a Magistrate in Chancery approves it.
The form
Form CM22
The court’s copy (PDF) (opens in a new tab)

No notary. Each guardian signs the declaration on form C-16-A, or C-16-B on a final accounting.

What you need

Have the last accounting or the inventory. File a copy of every monthly statement, cancelled check, receipt and invoice for the period with the accounting. Schedule A is the last accounting’s Schedule F, or the inventory’s asset values on a first accounting. Ch. Ct. R. 116(c)(2) (opens in a new tab)

The Register does not keep your supporting papers after review. The cover asks whether to shred them or send them back.

The first accounting covers the six months from appointment and is due nine months after it. Each later one covers the next 12 months. Ch. Ct. R. 114(c)(1) (opens in a new tab)

The example follows Wilhelmina Craddock, an invented ward whose guardian was appointed 05/06/2024. Her first accounting covered 05/06/2024 to 11/05/2024. This is the second, covering 11/06/2024 to 11/05/2025. She was appointed in the April quarter, so it is due 04/01/2026.

A + B + C, less D + E, equals F

The summary page adds A, B and C, then D and E. What you started with, gained and received, less what you lost and paid, is what is left. The Court’s own sample accounting ties that way to the cent.

Wilhelmina Craddock, invented ward · summary
A. Starting principal balance$30,262.35
B. Additions to principal630.00
C. Income received20,948.40
Total$51,840.75
D. Deductions from principal0.00
E. Expenses paid18,160.95
Total$18,160.95
F. Ending principal balance$33,679.80

Where the figures came from

On the form, each monthly payment is its own dated line. They are grouped here to save space.

Schedule A, at the start
Guardianship checking$6,412.35
Savings18,250.00
Mutual fund, 50 shares at $82.004,100.00
Wedding ring1,500.00
Schedule A$30,262.35
Schedule C, income
Social Security, $1,412.00 × 12$16,944.00
Pension, $318.50 × 123,822.00
Savings interest, 12 credits182.40
Schedule C$20,948.40
Schedule E, expenses
Assisted living, $1,450.00 × 1217,400.00
Pharmacy486.20
Bank service charge, $5.00 × 1260.00
Clothing214.75
Schedule E$18,160.95
Schedule F, at the end
Guardianship checking13,747.40
Savings18,432.40
Wedding ring1,500.00
Schedule F$33,679.80

The sale

Schedule A carried Wilhelmina’s 50 fund shares at $4,100.00. Her guardian sold all 50 for $4,730.00. Only the $630.00 gain goes on Schedule B. The rest is money already in Schedule A, moved from the fund to checking.

A sale below the carried value works the other way: the shortfall goes on Schedule D as a loss. The Court’s sample shows it for a car.

Notice to next of kin

List every next of kin and beneficiary, with address and relationship. For anyone under 18, give their guardian’s name and address. The Register mails each one a notice unless they signed the waiver in the packet. They have 30 days to object before a Magistrate reviews the accounting. Ch. Ct. R. 118, 119, 122 (opens in a new tab)

After the Register’s audit, it mails a bill for the filing fee, graded on principal and income. The fee is paid from the guardianship assets. Register in Chancery Schedule of Fees, Part G

The final accounting

The final accounting is due within 30 days of a removal, resignation or termination, unless the Court orders otherwise. Ch. Ct. R. 180-C(d) (opens in a new tab)

After the ward’s death, the order appointing you sets the same 30 days, counted from the date of death.

Mark it final, verify it on C-16-B, and add a schedule of proposed distribution with each distributee’s name and address. Ch. Ct. R. 118 (opens in a new tab)

The petition to end the guardianship after a death is form CM75 (opens in a new tab), due within 90 days of the death. It can go in with the final accounting.

Common mistakes

Social Security as one line

The form says every item is a separate entry. Social Security goes in once for each month it was received, in date order.

No Annual Update attached

Attach the Annual Update and Medical Statement to every accounting except the first and the final one. No accounting is approved without it. Ch. Ct. R. 114(c)(2) (opens in a new tab)

A payment with no receipt

Every payment needs a receipt or invoice, even one made straight from the guardianship account. Explain any cash withdrawal too. Ch. Ct. R. 116(c)(2) (opens in a new tab)

Paying yourself without approval

An individual guardian of an adult may take $250.00 for a six-month accounting period, or $500.00 for a year, from income. It needs the Court’s approval. Ch. Ct. R. 132A (opens in a new tab)

Filing late

The Court must cite a guardian who does not account, and can compel the accounting. §3944(b) (opens in a new tab)

Sources

Also for Delaware: CM20, Inventory

We make Fidura, guardianship accounting software built on a reconciled register for each ward. See the product

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