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GN-3500, the Account of Guardian/Conservator

Wisconsin’s yearly account for a guardian of the estate, due before April 15 for the year before.

By Fidura staff. Last reviewed .

Who files
The guardian of the estate or conservator of an adult
A minor’s guardian of the estate uses GN-3505.
When it’s due
Before April 15, for the calendar year before
Wis. Stat. §54.62(1) (opens in a new tab)
Where
The circuit court in the county that appointed you
Filed with the Register in Probate.
The form
Form GN-3500
The court’s copy (PDF) (opens in a new tab)

On your motion, the court may instead order accounts on each anniversary of qualifying, due 60 days after it. §54.62(1) (opens in a new tab)

What you need

Have last year’s account or the inventory, and the year’s bank and brokerage statements. Line 1 is last year’s line 5, or the inventory’s net value on a first account.

The example follows Dolores Weber, an invented ward. This account covers 01/01/2025 to 12/31/2025 and was due before 04/15/2026.

Line 5 must equal Schedule C

Cash is counted at its balance. Everything else stays at its inventory value, or its purchase price if bought later, until it is sold. On that basis line 5 must equal the total of Schedule C.

Dolores Weber, invented ward · summary
1. Beginning balance$31,315.40
2. Newly discovered assets and income received (Schedule A)20,398.22
3. Subtotal$51,713.62
4. Disbursements, distributions and losses (Schedule B)17,923.95
5. Ending balance (Schedule C)$33,789.67

The three schedules

Schedule A, received
Social Security, $1,245.00 × 12$14,940.00
Pension, $385.00 × 124,620.00
Interest318.22
Gain on fund shares sold520.00
Schedule A$20,398.22
Schedule B, paid out
Nursing home, $1,380.00 × 1216,560.00
Medical486.35
Personal needs, $45.00 × 12540.00
Clothing212.60
Bond premium125.00
Schedule B$17,923.95
Schedule C, on hand
Checking8,271.45
Savings12,118.22
Certificate of deposit10,200.00
Index fund, 40 shares at $80.003,200.00
Schedule C$33,789.67

The sale

Dolores’s inventory listed 80 fund shares at $80.00 each. Her guardian sold 40 for $3,720.00. Those shares were already in line 1 at $3,200.00, so Schedule A takes only the $520.00 gain. The 40 left stay at $80.00 in Schedule C, whatever they trade at now.

Display of assets

With the account, you show evidence of every bank account and investment to the court, or to someone it names, who checks that it matches. Page 3 of the form has a block for that person to sign. §54.62(2) (opens in a new tab)

Some counties take copies of year-end statements instead. Ask the Register in Probate what yours accepts.

After you file

The court examines the account however it directs. If it is not satisfied, it orders what must be done and gives you notice in person or by certified mail. §54.62(5) (opens in a new tab) No court action on the account is final until you give notice to the ward, any guardian ad litem and any personal representative. §54.62(7) (opens in a new tab)

A late account first draws an order to file. Then comes an order to show cause, and a willful failure can bring a fine of up to $250 or 10 days in jail. §54.62(8) (opens in a new tab)

The final account

When the guardianship ends, or you resign or are removed, file GN-3500 with “Final” checked. The statute says “promptly” and sets no number of days. The account goes to the court and to the ward, the successor guardian or the deceased ward’s personal representative. Wis. Stat. §54.66(1) (opens in a new tab) On a small estate you file a list of the assets left instead. §54.66(2) (opens in a new tab)

After the court approves it and you file receipts from whoever took the assets, the court discharges you and releases the bond. §54.66(3) (opens in a new tab)

Common mistakes

A changed beginning balance

The form says not to change line 1. It carries last year’s line 5, or the inventory’s net value, exactly.

Investments at market value

Schedule C asks for inventory value or purchase price. Use today’s price and line 5 stops matching it.

The whole sale price in Schedule A

Only the gain over inventory value goes in Schedule A. A sale below it goes in Schedule B as a loss.

A first account covering a full year

County guides read the statute’s “preceding calendar year” to mean the first account runs from appointment to December 31, however short that is.

The bond block left blank

The form asks whether the surety on your bond has changed. Answer it every year.

If the ward’s assets are $50,000 or less, not counting income, a burial trust or burial insurance, you need not file this account unless the court orders it. Tell the court if they grow past that. §54.62(3) (opens in a new tab)

Sources

Also for Wisconsin: GN-3440, Guardianship or Conservatorship Inventory

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

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