What you need
Have your inventory or last account, every statement for the period, and proof of every payment. The account states its period plainly and has three schedules. IC 29-1-16-4 (opens in a new tab)
- 1, the property you are charged with: what you started with, plus everything received;
- 2, payments, charges, losses and distributions;
- 3, the property on hand at the end.
It must also state the person’s current residence and condition. It must say whether the guardianship is still needed, and whether anything less restrictive was tried. IC 29-3-9-6(c) (opens in a new tab)
The example follows Orville Gentry, an invented ward in Marion County. His guardian was appointed 01/01/2024. Marion wants the first account within 30 days after the second anniversary, so it covers 01/01/2024 through 12/31/2025. Marion LR49-PR00 411.5 (opens in a new tab)
Schedule 3 is what remains after schedule 2
Marion’s instructions call schedule 3 the remaining property after subtracting expenditures. So schedule 1, less schedule 2, must equal schedule 3 to the cent. Marion Form 412.1 (opens in a new tab)
| On hand at the start, from the inventory | $39,958.27 |
|---|---|
| Received in the period | 50,614.06 |
| Schedule 1, property chargeable | $90,572.33 |
| Schedule 2, payments, charges and losses | 52,187.17 |
| Schedule 3, on hand 12/31/2025 | $38,385.16 |
Where the figures came from
| Checking, inventory | $6,418.27 |
|---|---|
| Savings, inventory | 22,500.00 |
| 120 shares of stock, inventory | 9,840.00 |
| Household goods, inventory | 1,200.00 |
| Social Security 2024, $1,652.00 × 12 | 19,824.00 |
| Social Security 2025, $1,693.30 × 12 | 20,319.60 |
| Pension, $412.00 × 24 | 9,888.00 |
| Savings interest | 318.46 |
| Dividends | 264.00 |
| Schedule 1 | $90,572.33 |
| Residential care, $1,850.00 × 24 | 44,400.00 |
|---|---|
| Medicare supplement, $174.50 × 24 | 4,188.00 |
| Pharmacy | 1,386.42 |
| Clothing and personal needs | 948.15 |
| Bond premium, $200.00 × 2 | 400.00 |
| Loss on the stock sale | 864.60 |
| Schedule 2 | $52,187.17 |
| Checking ••4417 | $14,366.70 |
|---|---|
| Savings ••0932 | 22,818.46 |
| Household goods, at inventory value | 1,200.00 |
| Schedule 3 | $38,385.16 |
Marion wants each payment on its own line, with the date, check or payment number, payee and amount. The monthly rows above are summaries of those lines. Marion LR49-PR00 411.1 (opens in a new tab) Schedule 3 lists each account by name and partial number, and Marion wants the statements for the first and last months. 411.10 (opens in a new tab)
A stock sold at a loss
The inventory valued Orville’s 120 shares at $9,840.00. His guardian sold them on 03/03/2025 for $8,975.40, a loss of $864.60.
Schedule 1 keeps the shares at their inventory value. The loss goes in schedule 2, and the proceeds sit in checking. Marion asks for the last value reported, the loss, the date and the proceeds, and allows a separate section for them. Marion LR49-PR00 411.8 (opens in a new tab)
In checking, $6,418.27 at the start, plus $59,271.00 in Social Security, pension, dividends and sale proceeds, less $51,322.57 paid out, leaves $14,366.70.
Smaller estates
The court sets simpler standards where the person’s income is at most 185% of the federal poverty level and assets are $15,000 or less. It does the same where the guardian has no power over the estate. That account need not be filed by a lawyer. IC 29-3-9-6.5 (opens in a new tab)
After you file
The court gives notice that the account will be acted on unless someone objects, and holds a hearing. It may approve an account other than the final one ex parte. That approval is not final until the final account is approved. IC 29-3-9-6(d), (f) (opens in a new tab)
The final account
When the guardianship ends, the final account is due within 30 days. IC 29-3-9-6(a)(2) (opens in a new tab) It ends on the person’s death, on restored capacity, when a minor turns 18, or when the property falls to $3,500 or less, among other grounds (IC 29-3-12-1).
The final account runs from the last account to the end date and adds the proposed distribution. A resignation takes effect only once the resignation and the final account are approved (IC 29-3-12-4, 29-3-12-5).
When your receipts show every item delivered, the court discharges you. Claims against you and your surety are then barred unless sued on within one year. IC 29-3-9-6(h) (opens in a new tab)
Common mistakes
Using the wrong anniversary
Counties differ on the first account. Marion wants it within 30 days after the second anniversary of appointment. Hamilton wants it within 30 days after the first anniversary of the day letters issued. Read your order and your county’s rules. Hamilton LR29-PR00-710.80 (opens in a new tab)
A list of transactions instead of schedules
Marion refuses informal, handwritten or transactional accounts. Put the payments inside the three schedules. Marion LR49-PR00 411.1 (opens in a new tab)
Payments with no proof
File a receipt for each payment. In Marion an individual guardian files a canceled check, its image, a signed receipt, or the electronic payment record. Marion LR49-PR00 411.2 (opens in a new tab)
Sources
- IC 29-3-9-6 (opens in a new tab), when the account is due, what it states, the hearing
- IC 29-3-9-6.5 (opens in a new tab), simpler standards for smaller estates
- IC 29-1-16-4 (opens in a new tab), the three schedules and receipts (Indiana Code 2026, Title 29)
- Ind. Trial Rule 87 (opens in a new tab), who must e-file
- Marion County local rules (opens in a new tab), LR49-PR00 411.1, 411.2, 411.5, 411.8 and 411.10
- Instructions to Guardian of the Estate (opens in a new tab), Marion Superior Court, Form 412.1
- Hamilton County local rules (opens in a new tab), LR29-PR00-710.80
- Guardianship forms, Indiana Office of Court Services (opens in a new tab), model set, Elkhart County’s copy
Also for Indiana: Guardian’s Inventory
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