How do I complete the accounting form for first report as guardian & conservator?

Each state should have their own "set" of accounting/reporting documents that reflects that state's legal. Most probate courts- which is where G/C, adoption proceedings & estate settlement- are structured so that it is all open records, so you should be able to in theory go down there and ask a clerk to see what others have done & copy others format or sit in on someone's hearing to see what's what

I've not been a G/C but have been an executrix twice and spend countless hours in & out of probate and my take is based on that. Get a cup of coffee as this will be a bit long......hope it helps.

You want to keep things short enough to be thorough and xerox paperwork to attach as documentation with it clearly noted as "Additional Documentation G/C court case 123 for Protected person Anna Louise Jones Smith (nee Adams)" by G/C your full name and the date of your appointment on EACH attached page.

I would think your forms have clear sections for income receipts, disbursements, fixed assets, inventory, liabilities. Correct?

INCOME: So for income receipt form you would write down Social Security Income (XXX-YY-ZZZ) for Anna Louise Jones Smith (nee Adams) or Anna Louise Jones Smith (maiden name Adams), monthly amount of $ 900.00 deposited at Community Bank, 30 Financial Lane, City, State into account 12345 for Anna Louise Jones SMith; if she has CD or T bills and they pay a monthly dividend, the dividend amount goes in this section using the same format as above, ditto for retirement or any other $ she gets. Now go and xerox her SS, retirement statement and attach it to the income receipt form, this shows that you are reporting accurately. The SS page is sent ONCE a year to whatever address they have on file, comes in January. So you need to find that, federal retirements do the same as does insurance dividends. If you are doing a monthly filing in court then make a dz+ copies to attach to each month.

If you don't have the yearly statement, you can get the SS one on-line easily. For retirement stuff it's harder. Federal retirement (like civil service or RR) don't recognize POA usually or if it's a court order they have to vett it which takes alot of time, so easiest is to put on your best old lady voice to request a copy by phone.

DISPERSEMENT: Now there should be a dispersement sheet, here's where you list where the money went. So if she got 900 in SS then $ 840 to Nursing Home (from her SS less her personal needs allowance of 60 a month or whatever her state does). Attach a copy of the NH monthly statement. For Personal needs write $ 35.00 winter clothing/Target; haircut $ 25.00 Sue's Salon@NH. Then make a copy of those receipts and attach again with all the court info & #.

ASSETS: For assets & inventory, this should be more of a fixed list for each month. If she owns a home, then the easiest way to get it's value is to use the $ on the annual property tax bill. Again make a copy of this with the G/C name & case info and attach to the report. For the inventory of whats in the house, base it on what it would get at a tag sale, like living room furniture $ 980. Don't go into detail, the court doesn't want to know it's a red lamp with a striped shade.

If she has an estate with assets like stocks or big insurance policies or oil/gas interests, you are going to have to get the valuation of what it is. This can be beyond a real PIA if she went with doing investments herself or has had them lying around for years where they re-invest on their own and not using a real full service brokerage house. If this is the case, then I'd suggest you meet with a true stock- broker (series 7 with insurance licenses) and also a estate attorney to get this done in way that is acceptable for the court (the broker will be able to do the valuation and can restructure so that it's easier for you to manage & the attorney know's what the court is looking for compliance), well worth the $ and you will have less to deal with when you or whomever has to be execturix of the estate after death. For the insurance policies, usually the "face" page with the pay out amount listed is fine for submission & not a copy of the whole policy.

LIABILITIES:There should be a section on liability. In this you detail $ that she owes. Credit cards go here. If you or whomever is paying for things related to her care or her assets, this is where it goes as it is a liability, even if you would never ask mom to reimburse you. So if mom has a house, someone has to pay the insurance, property tax etc and it won't be mom as all her $ goes to the NH.If she needs something done that Medicare or Medicaid doesn't pay for and someone else pays it for her, it is a liability. So It is CRITICAL
that you keep track of every $ spent as you will detail this in your report for every penny spent.

Say you have paid tax/1K, insurance/600 and cousin Jim pays repairs/250 and sister Jane pays dentist/$800 then for that month you detail those things with a copy of the checks (front & back) &/or a receipt. The next month there may only be yard work/50 that gets reported. But these are all liabilities as it was done for her or her property.

After you;ve done all this and been to Kinko's (LOL) to make copies of all, sign 2 in BLUE ink and then get those 2 notarized (1 to court & 1 you keep just in case) Many UPS stores have either a notary on staff or 1 in the area they can contact - this is a very cheap way to get a notarization done. If there is a USPO that takes passports close to you, there will be a notary somewhere around it. If you are using an attorney, they take care of it within the office staff. Always sign originals in blue ink so you can easily tell it's an original. Good luck.

OK part 2. Then there should be the essay section, where they ask you to describe how she is doing, what her plan of care is, what should be changed...etc.

You may want to OR should have to get a letter from her MD as to her cognitive capabilites & current health status to attach.There should be something on medical letterhead, even if it is Jane Smith was seen in my office/at the NH on xyz and her weight was 103 lbs, etc. Each state has it's own requirements.

Be upbeat in the essay ? and sound as warm and caring as you can. If there was something at the NH during the month like visit from a school, or Halloween arts & crafts done, mention it in the report. Implies you pay attention and are there.

What I've found that probate court varies widely depending on the volume of cases. In counties with a big population, alot of this is routine, you have a court date, submit the forms, swear accuracy, the clerk takes the documentation, you get asked a couple of ?'s and you are out of there if there is no-one there to contest the situation. Then you get a time stamped letter of compliance back about 2 weeks later. In other smaller county courts, you are the entertainment for the day, unless there is a really good estate settlement going on for a family that everbody knew, so pack a lunch and get a hotel room. By the time I was finished with one of my aunts estates, I knew what the lunch specials were for each day
and what sports teams including high school mascots were doing. It gets easier and there is a real routine to doing all this. Just do your best.