If you can no longer be a guardian or conservator, file the Petition for Review to ask the Court for a review hearing to make a change or dismiss the order. If the person passes away, see below.
When you are a guardian or conservator, if the individual passes away, the order ends. You cannot continue handling their affairs, with the possible exception of making funeral arrangements and distributing funds to appropriate individuals. You must do a final report within 90 days and attach a certificate of death to the report to close out the case. If this is the situation, we offer our condolences. The statute pertaining to ending a guardianship is below. If you end the order because you are asking the Court to remove you, you may still be asked to do a Final Report. Scroll down to other links that may be helpful such as links to the reports or training on probating an estate.
AS 13.26.281 Termination of a Guardianship
(a) The authority and responsibility of a guardian for an incapacitated person terminates upon the death of the guardian or ward, the determination of incapacity of the guardian, the removal or resignation of the guardian as provided in AS 13.26.286, or upon the expiration of the period specified by court order as the duration of the guardianship. Testamentary appointment under an informally probated will terminates if the will is later denied probate in a formal proceeding. Termination does not affect a guardian’s liability for prior acts nor an obligation to account for assets of the ward over which the guardian exercised control.
(b) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, if a deceased ward does not have a living family member or if an individual interested in the ward is not available, the guardian of a ward who dies may arrange for the body of the ward to be transported to a funeral home and may make funeral and burial arrangements for the deceased ward. The guardian may also apply for assistance with burial expenses from the state or a municipality if the estate of the ward does not have sufficient money to pay for burial.
You do not need to probate the estate to do the Final Reports. They should be completed within 90 days of the individual’s passing.
Final Guardianship Report PG 215
Final Conservatorship Report PG 230
Links to helpful information on Probate on Court Website