A Historical Look at Guardians for Minors and “Persons of Unsound Mind”

My research turned me to an interesting resource available in the public domain, A Treatise on the American Law of Guardianship of Minors and Persons of Unsound Mind.  The book was published in 1897.

Particularly in light of current issues about court oversight of guardians and conservators, it is interesting to see that even in the nineteenth century, states were struggling to decide how frequently fiduciaries should be required to make written reports of financial accounting.  Reporting only at the “end” of the appointment or at intervals of 5 years was sometimes permitted by statutes.  The treatise suggests that while annual accounts facilitate better money management by the guardian, frequent reports also served to “shift the burden to the ward, or other person assailing the account” to make a timely challenge to the report, or it will be presumed “correct.” This comment seems to demonstrates the court ‘s reluctance to expected to be initiate oversight “unless” there was a complaint.