§ 27-20.1-15 — Powers and duties of guardian of a child

North Dakota § 27-20.1-15

• Jurisdiction: North Dakota
• Title 27: Judicial Branch of Government
• Ch. 27-20.1: Guardianship of a Child

Text

27-20.1-15. Powers and duties of guardian of a child.
1. A guardian of a child has the powers and responsibilities of a legal custodian if there is
a parent with remaining parental rights. If there is no parent with remaining parental
rights, the guardian has the rights of a legal custodian and the authority to consent to
the child's adoption, marriage, enlistment in the armed forces of the United States, and
surgical and other medical treatment. A guardian is not liable to third persons by
reason of the parental relationship for acts of the child.
2. A guardian has the following powers and duties:
a. The guardian must take reasonable care of the child's personal effects and
commence protective proceedings if necessary to protect other property of the
child.
b. The guardian may receive money payable for the support of the child to the
child's parent, guardian, or custodian under the terms of any statutory benefit or
insurance system, or any private contract, devise, trust, conservatorship, or
custodianship.
(1) The guardian may receive money or property of the child paid or delivered
by virtue of section 30.1-26-03. Any sums received must be applied to the
child's current needs for support, care, and education.
(2) The guardian must exercise due care to conserve any excess sum for the
child's future needs unless a conservator has been appointed for the estate

of the child, in which case the excess sum must be paid over at least
annually to the conservator. Sums so received by the guardian are not to be
used for compensation for the guardian's services except as approved by
order of the court or as determined by a duly appointed conservator other
than the guardian.
(3) The guardian may not use funds from the child's estate for room and board
that the guardian or the guardian's spouse have furnished to the child unless
a charge for the service is approved by order of the court made upon notice
to at least one of the child's next of kin, if notice is possible.
(4) A guardian may institute proceedings to compel the performance by any
person of a duty to support the child or to pay sums for the welfare of the
child.
c. To facilitate the child's education, social, or other activities.
d. To authorize medical or other professional care, treatment, or advice. A guardian
is not liable by reason of this consent for injury to the child resulting from the
negligence or acts of third persons unless it would have been illegal for a parent
to have consented.
e. A guardian shall file an annual report with the court regarding the exercise of
powers and duties under this subsection.
(1) The report must describe the status or condition of the child, including any
change of residence and reasons for the change, any medical treatment
received by or withheld from the child, the child's educational progress, any
expenditure and income affecting the child, and any exercise of legal
authority by the guardian affecting the child.
(2) The report must include changes that have occurred since the previous
reporting period and an accounting of the child's estate.
(3) The guardian shall report whether the child continues to require a
guardianship.
(4) The report must be filed with the court.
(5) The filing of the report does not constitute an adjudication or a determination
of the merits of the report nor does the filing of the report constitute the
court's approval of the report.
(6) The court shall review the report and a hearing may be set.
(7) The office of the state court administrator shall provide forms that may be
used to fulfill reporting requirements. Any report must be similar in
substance to the state court administrator's form.
(8) Copies of the guardian's annual report and of any other reports required by
the court must be mailed to the child, if the child is age fourteen or older, the
child's parents, unless the parents' rights have been terminated or the
parents are deceased, and any interested persons designated by the court
in its order.
(9) If a guardian fails to file a complete annual report as required by this
subdivision, fails to file a report at other times as the court may direct, or
fails to provide an accounting of an estate, the court, upon its own motion or
upon petition of any interested person, may issue an order compelling the
guardian to show cause why the guardian should not immediately make and
file the report or account, or be found in contempt for failure to comply. A
copy of the order to show cause must be provided to the child, if the child is
age fourteen or older, the child's parents, unless the parents' rights have
been terminated or the parents are deceased, any interested persons
designated by the court in its order, and the juvenile court director.
f. The guardian shall inform the court of any change in the child's residence within
thirty days of the change, but must seek prior authorization of the court to
establish or move the child's residence outside of the state.

g. In determining what is in the child's best interest, the guardian shall take into
account the child's preferences to the extent actually known or reasonably
ascertainable by the guardian.
h. To the extent reasonable, the guardian shall delegate to the child responsibilities
for decisions affecting the child's well-being.
i. The guardian may not delegate authority as a guardian under a power of attorney
without prior approval from the court.