You just finished your disabled child's guardianship and left the courthouse with your paperwork in hand. You're all done, right?

No, net yet!  As your child's legal guardian, one of your ongoing responsibilities will be to file reports with the court. Your first report is due 60 days after the guardianship hearing.  Then you file an Annual Care Plan Report every year on the anniversary date of the hearing.

If you don't file these reports, the Court will send you a notice that you are "out of compliance" and give you a deadline to submit your report. If you let the deadline go by, you will be summoned to a court hearing. If you ignore the hearing, you may not be able to get court paperwork when you need it showing that you are the guardian.

You probably don't need additional paperwork in your life. Still, you can't afford to ignore the Care Plan Reports.

You can get the forms from the probate court website. The address, along with dates the reports are due, will be located on second page of your decree. You use the same form (MPC 821) for the 60-day report and the annual reports.  Just download the form from the website and save it on your computer. Then complete it, sign it, give a copy to your child, and mail it to the court. Repeat every year.

If your child takes anti-psychotic medication, you must also complete the Rogers Monitor Supplemental Report to the Guardian's Care Plan Report (MPC 824).

If you move, be sure to tell the Court your new address. If you miss a filing deadline (or your Report is lost at the courthouse, which has been known to happen), the court must be able to reach you. Being "non-compliant" even unintentionally, will land you back in court and may  make it difficult, if not impossible, to show that you have guardianship authority when you need to.