Title 14, Decedents Estates and Fiduciary Relations

§ 2666. Modification; termination (a) A modification or termination of the permanent guardianship may be requested by the permanent guardian, the child if the child is age 14 or older, or the Commissioner for Children and Families. A modification or termination may also be ordere…

§ 2667. Order for visitation, contact, or information; immediate harm to the minor (a) The Probate Division of the Superior Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear any action to enforce, modify, or terminate the initial order issued by the Family Division of the Superior …

§ 2671. Voluntary guardianship (a) Any person of at least 18 years of age, who desires assistance with the management of his or her affairs, may file a petition with the Probate Division of the Superior Court requesting the appointment of a guardian. (b) The petition shall: (1) s…

§ 2711. Nonresidents; powers of guardian When on the petition of a nonresident person, or other person interested in the welfare of that person, it appears that the person owns or has an interest in real or personal estate situated in this State, and that the person, if a residen…

§ 2712. Hearing When petition is made for the appointment of a guardian under section 2711 of this title, the Probate Division of the Superior Court shall proceed under the Rules of Probate Procedure as in cases of the appointment of guardians of resident mentally disabled person…

§ 2751. Bonds; how conditioned Before acting as such, a guardian appointed by the Probate Division of the Superior Court shall give a bond with sureties in a sum as the court directs, conditioned as follows: (1) to make a true inventory of the real and personal estate of the ward…

§ 2752. To respond for principal only; court may order income paid to parent When minor children inherit real or personal estate as the representatives of a deceased parent, or take the same by will, and the living parent of the children as guardian has the custody of their perso…

§ 2753. Additional bond At any time the Probate Division of the Superior Court may require an additional bond of such guardian, to respond both principal and income, if the interest of the wards requires it. (Amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb. 1, 2011.)

§ 2754. New bond A ward, the heir apparent of a ward, or a person interested in the welfare of a ward, as defined in section 3061 of this title, may file a motion with the Probate Division of the Superior Court to require the guardian to give a new and sufficient bond. If it appe…

§ 2755. Limitation of action on bond An action shall not be maintained against the sureties in a bond given by a guardian, unless it is commenced within four years from the time the guardian is discharged. If the person entitled to commence the action is out of the State at the t…

§ 2791. Inventory When his or her ward has estate, real or personal, a guardian appointed by the Probate Division of the Superior Court shall make and return an inventory thereof, agreeably to the condition of his or her bond. (Amended 2009, No. 154 (Adj. Sess.), § 238a, eff. Feb…

§ 2792. Appraisal to be made; exception Except in the following cases, such guardian shall cause the estate to be appraised by two or more disinterested persons, to be appointed by the Probate Division of the Superior Court: (1) when all the estate of the ward is in money, stocks…

§ 2793. Guardian to account for and dispose of personalty A guardian shall account for and dispose of the personal estate of his or her ward, as administrators account for and dispose of personal estate in the settlement of estates.

§ 2794. Citation of person suspected of embezzling or secreting If a guardian, ward, creditor or heir apparent of a ward files a motion complaining to the Probate Division of the Superior Court that a person is suspected of having concealed, embezzled, or conveyed away money, goo…

§ 2795. Commitment for disobedience; examination If the person so cited does not appear and submit to examination, or answer lawful interrogatories, the Probate Division of the Superior Court may issue a warrant committing the person to the custody of the Commissioner of Correcti…

§ 2796. Citation; costs Such citation shall issue and costs be taxed, as provided in case of similar citations in the settlement of estates.

§ 2797. Guardian to manage estate and maintain ward A guardian shall manage the estate of his or her ward frugally and without waste and in a manner most beneficial to the ward and out of the estate of his or her ward shall provide for the maintenance of the ward and his or her f…

§ 2798. Guardian may sell personalty and support ward When it is necessary or for the interest of his or her ward, the guardian shall sell his or her personal estate. Out of the proceeds, and the income of his or her real estate, if sufficient, such guardian shall pay the necessa…

§ 2800. Disputed claim may be referred When there is a disputed claim between a guardian, on behalf of the ward, and any other person, with the consent of the parties in writing the Probate Division of the Superior Court may refer it to a master as provided by the Rules of Probat…

§ 2801. Guardian may discharge mortgage; consent to sale of realty On payment to him of the sum due on a real estate mortgage, a guardian may give an acquittance or release of the claim of his ward as mortgagee or assignee under such mortgage, and may give the consent of his ward…

§ 2802. Partition of estate of which ward has an undivided interest When a ward is joint tenant or tenant in common with others, the ward’s guardian may agree with the other joint tenants or tenants in common, to make partition of the lands so held. When that agreement is made in…

§ 2803. Court may order personalty sold and proceeds invested in real estate (a) On motion of a guardian, a ward, or relative of a ward, or of a person interested in a ward’s estate, by order, the Probate Division of the Superior Court may authorize or require the guardian to sel…

§ 2804. Court may order estate paid to guardian in other state When a minor or other person having a guardian appointed by a Probate Division of the Superior Court in this State, has a guardian in another state or country, and it appears to the Probate Division of the Superior Co…

§ 2841. Limiting time for payment of debts When a ward owes debts at the time of the appointment of his or her guardian, the Probate Division of the Superior Court may allow the guardian a reasonable time, not exceeding one year, to dispose of the estate and collect the demands f…

§ 2842. Realty to be taken when personalty exhausted The personal estate of the ward shall be first used for the payment of his or her debts. If the personal estate and the income of his or her real estate are not sufficient, such expenses and debts shall be paid out of the real …

§ 2843. Claims, time for presenting limited; when barred On motion of the guardian, the Probate Division of the Superior Court may make an order requiring creditors of a ward to present their claims to the guardian for payment within a time to be limited by the court, which time …

§ 2846. Court may order dividend At the expiration of the time limited for creditors to present their claims, if it appears that the ward has not estate sufficient to pay his or her debts, the Probate Division of the Superior Court shall order the effects in the hands of the guar…

§ 2847. Allowance to guardian Before making a dividend, the court may allow to the guardian, out of the estate of the ward, a reasonable sum for his expenses in the management and settlement of the property for expenses in taking care of the person and family of the ward during t…

§ 2848. After dividend, claims barred as to guardian; exception After the dividend is made, the creditors shall have no further claim against the guardian on their demands, except where estate of the ward afterwards comes to his or her possession or knowledge. In such case, the c…

§ 2849. Claims not barred Sections 2841-2848 of this title shall not bar the claims of creditors against the ward after he or she is discharged from guardianship.

§ 2850. Ward not to be sued; action commenced before appointment may proceed A writ or execution shall not be issued against a ward for a debt while he or she is under guardianship; but actions commenced against a person before the appointment of his guardian may be prosecuted to…

§ 2881. Real estate; when may be sold The Probate Division of the Superior Court may authorize guardians to sell a part or all of the lands of their wards or the interest of such wards in real estate, vested or contingent, in the following cases: (1) when the personal estate of a…

§ 2882. Regulations under which license granted As provided in section 2881 of this title, the order of a Probate Division of the Superior Court licensing the sale of lands of wards shall be made under the following regulations: (1) On motion of the guardian for license to sell, …

§ 2883. Term of license Such license shall not continue in force more than two years.

§ 2884. Deed, effect of A deed executed by a guardian of the lands of his or her ward under such order of sale shall be valid and shall convey the interest of the ward in the lands, whether vested or contingent.

§ 2885. Guardian to report sale Within three months after a sale of real estate of his or her ward under a license, a guardian shall make report of his or her proceedings, setting forth the time and manner of sale, the person to whom and the price for which it was sold and a desc…

§ 2886. License when guardian or ward resides out of state On motion to the Probate Division of the Superior Court for an order to sell the real estate of a ward, when the sale is necessary or conducive to the interests of that person, a license may be granted as provided in this…

§ 2887. Conveyance of land that ward was under contract to convey When a person, while not under guardianship, was under contract binding in law or equity to deed lands, on motion, the Probate Division of the Superior Court may grant license to the guardian of that person to conv…

§ 2888. License not to be granted to creditors’ injury The license shall not be granted if it appears to the court that the conveyance would so reduce the assets in the hands of the guardian as to lessen the amount that creditors would receive from the estate of the ward.

§ 2889. If guardian grantee, judge to convey; deed, effect of If the contract is to convey lands to the guardian, the judge of the Probate Division shall execute the deed. Such deed, or the deed of the guardian, as the case may be, shall be as effectual to convey the lands as if …

§ 2890. Lands held in trust to be conveyed to beneficiary When a person, while not under guardianship, held lands in trust for another person, or where lands have been set off on execution to a ward on a debt in the name of the ward but being the debt of some other person, and no…

§ 2891. When guardian dies or is removed pending sale, new license If the guardian dies, resigns, or is removed before the completion of a sale of real estate under a license, within two years from the time of granting the same, the court may issue a new license to his successor …

§ 2921. Accounts, time Within one year after his or her appointment and annually thereafter and at such other times as the Probate Division of the Superior Court directs, a guardian whose ward has real or personal estate shall render and settle with the court an account of the pr…

§ 2922. By guardian of nonresident ward When a minor or other person has a guardian in this State, but resides in another state or country, and it is shown to the court that such minor or other person has a guardian in the state or country where he or she resides, and that such g…

§ 2923. Property may be ordered into hands of nonresident guardian; proceedings (a) When a guardian and ward are nonresidents and the ward is entitled to property in this State, the guardian may petition the Probate Division of the Superior Court for removal of the property. The …

§ 2924. Same; exception Section 2923 of this title shall not apply if the parent of the ward, being a resident of this State at the time of death, has appointed a guardian for the ward by last will and testament and the guardian resides in this State at the time the petition prov…