A pension, disability benefit and other payments still belong to the incapacitated person. They are paid into the hands of the legal guardian, who accounts for them in reports to the guardianship court and must spend them on the ward's needs. The guardian does not become the owner of that money.
The benefit stays with the person; only the way it is collected changes
Incapacitation limits the capacity to perform legal acts, but it does not remove legal capacity. The right to a pension or disability benefit still belongs to the ward, and it is the ward who remains entitled. The guardian only collects the money and manages it, and the pension authority changes the method of payment once it receives the court order appointing the guardian.
What the guardian may spend it on
The ward’s needs. Upkeep, treatment, rehabilitation, housing charges, care, everyday expenses. The money does not enter the guardian’s own estate and cannot fund the guardian’s affairs, even where they live at the same address and some costs are shared.
Acts going beyond ordinary management require the guardianship court’s consent. Selling the ward’s flat or taking on an obligation in the ward’s name is not the guardian’s decision but the court’s.
Reports to the court
The guardianship court supervises the guardianship and may demand reports on the management of the ward’s property, along with accounts. This is not a formality to be ticked off once: the duty lasts for the whole period of guardianship. Keep a simple record of income and spending from the first month. Reconstructing it a year later from receipts in a drawer takes many times longer.
What happens after the ward dies
The guardianship ends, and unspent funds fall into the estate of the incapacitated person and pass to their heirs. The guardian accounts for the management and hands the property over to those entitled. Benefits due for the month in which the death occurred are settled by the pension authority under its own rules.
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