Adult Guardianship Periodic Reporting Requirements in Virginia

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Two filing tracks

The guardian files an initial annual report covering the first four months after qualification with the local department of social services within six months of qualification. Later reports each cover a 12-month period and are due within four months after the last day of the period covered by the preceding report (§ 64.2-2020(A)). The department forwards a copy to the appointing circuit court's clerk within 60 days of receipt.

The conservator sends an inventory to the commissioner of accounts within four months after the order conferring authority. The inventory includes supervised personal and real estate, interests that will pass outside probate at death, and periodic payments due the ward; it assigns market values as of qualification (§ 64.2-1300(B), (D)). A first account covers the first four months after qualification and is exhibited within six months. Later accounts cover successive 12-month periods and are due within four months after each period, unless the commissioner extends the filing period for reasonable cause (§ 64.2-1305(A)–(B)).

Contents, oath, and attachments

The guardian's report addresses changes in mental, physical and social condition; housing and its adequacy; medical and other services; treatment-plan agreement; known abuse concerns; restricted contacts; visits; continued need; training; and compensation or expenses. It also describes visits by supervised designees and any 120-day gap in visits (§ 64.2-2020(B)). The guardian certifies the report under oath.

The conservator's account states money and property received, chargeable, and disbursed. The conservator signs it under oath and exhibits vouchers for disbursements plus a statement of cash and investments held at the account's terminal date (§ 64.2-1305(A), (D); § 64.2-1311(A)). The commissioner states, settles, and reports the account to the circuit court (§ 64.2-1312(A)).

Review and end of appointment

The local department lists guardians more than 90 days delinquent twice yearly. If it gives notice that a report was not filed on time, the court may issue a summons or rule to show cause (§ 64.2-2020(A), (C)). A false report entry carries the guardian-report statute's civil penalty; a false conservator-account entry carries the separate account penalty (§ 64.2-2020(B); § 64.2-1305(D)).

A conservator who discovers additional assets after the inventory files an amended or additional inventory, or obtains commissioner permission to show them on the next regular account, within four months of discovery (§ 64.2-1300(E)). The guardian's or conservator's powers end on the fiduciary's death, resignation, or removal, or on termination of the proceeding (§ 64.2-2012(E)). On the incapacitated person's death, the fiduciary surrenders property to the heirs, devisees or estate representative as applicable. The statute also addresses a limited direct distribution that must appear in the fiduciary's final account (§ 64.2-2026(B)).

What trips people up

For a principal sum of $35,000 or less, the commissioner may permit later accounts every three years after the first timely account; the permission can be revoked (§ 64.2-1313). This exception changes the repeat interval, not the opening inventory or first-account clock.

The guardian's report goes first to the local social services department. The conservator's inventory and accounts go to the commissioner of accounts (§ 64.2-2020(A); § 64.2-1300(B); § 64.2-1305(A)).

Common questions

What happens if a guardian's annual report is late? The court may issue a summons or rule to show cause after notice from the local department (§ 64.2-2020(C)).

May a conservator use a longer accounting interval for a small estate? The commissioner may permit three-year accounts after the first account if the principal does not exceed $35,000 (§ 64.2-1313).

Statutes and sources

The verbatim quotations in the statutes entries above come from the linked current Virginia Code sections, accessed October 3, 2026.