Exercise of powers to perform responsibilities; enumeration
Sec. 4. A guardian (other than a temporary guardian) may exercise
all of the powers required to perform the guardian's responsibilities,
including the following:
(1) To receive and issue a receipt for property payable to the
protected person or the protected person's parent, guardian, or
custodian from any source, including any statutory benefit,
insurance system, or any private contract, devise, trust,
guardianship, or custodianship.
(2) If reasonable, to delegate to the protected person certain
responsibilities for decisions affecting the protected person's
business affairs and well-being.
(3) To invest and reinvest the property of the protected person
in accordance with powers vested in, and according to the
standards imposed upon, trustees under IC 30-4-3-3(c).
(4) To secure the appointment of a guardian or co-guardian in
any other state, when needed, with respect to any part or all of
the guardianship property located in another state, to confer
upon the appointed guardian any or all of the guardian's powers
as guardian with respect to the property.
(5) To continue any business of the protected person, whether
in corporate, partnership, or proprietorship form, according to
the rules for continuing the business of a decedent specified in
IC 29-1-13-11.
(6) To pay to the person, guardian, department, bureau, or
agency having care and custody of the protected person, or to
the protected person if at least fourteen (14) years of age, a
reasonable amount to be expended for the support of the
protected person and the protected person's dependents, with
due regard to the following:
(A) The size of the guardianship property, the probable
duration of the guardianship, and the extent to which the
protected person in the future may be self-sufficient and able
to manage the protected person's financial affairs and
property.
(B) The accustomed standard of living of the protected
person and the protected person's dependents.
(C) Other funds or sources used for the support of the
protected person and the protected person's dependents.
(7) To distribute income and discretionary amounts of principal
in one (1) or more of the following ways as the guardian
believes to be in the best interests of the protected person:
(A) Directly to the protected person.
(B) To a guardian of the protected person appointed in
another state.
(C) To a custodian for the protected person under
IC 30-2-8.5.
(D) To an adult relative of the protected person.
(E) By expending the money or using the property directly
for the benefit of the protected person.
(8) To apply the guardianship property to or for the benefit of
any person, including the protected person, in reimbursement
for reasonable expenditures made in good faith on behalf of the
protected person that the guardian might have made, or in
advance for services to be rendered to the protected person if it
is reasonable to expect that the services will be performed and
advance payments are reasonably necessary under the
circumstances.
(9) To bind all or any part of the guardianship property in a
transaction for the benefit of the protected person, unless the
third party dealing with the guardian is acting in bad faith.
(10) Except as provided in IC 29-3-2-6(d), powers conferred
upon trustees and personal representatives respectively by
IC 30-4-3-3 and IC 29-1-7.5-3. However, if there is a conflict,
the broader power controls.
(11) To exercise on behalf of the protected person powers that
are the same as those granted to the parent of a minor under
IC 29-3-3-3.
As added by P.L.169-1988, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.267-1989,
SEC.1; P.L.77-1992, SEC.7.
Last modified: May 27, 2006