Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017

6 Guardian’s role: rights and powers etc

(1) A guardianship order must appoint the guardian to exercise on behalf of the missing person—

(a) all of the missing person’s rights and powers in relation to the property or financial affairs to which the order relates, or

(b) such of those rights and powers as are specified or described in the order,

(but see subsections (5) to (8)).

(2) A guardianship order may—

(a) impose duties on the guardian;

(b) include conditions and restrictions.

(3) The court’s powers under subsection (2) include power—

(a) to require the guardian to give the Public Guardian security for the exercise of the guardian’s functions;

(b) to require the guardian to submit to the Public Guardian such reports at such times or intervals as the court may direct;

(c) to make provision suspending the guardian’s authority to exercise rights and powers for a period.

(4) The rights and powers that a guardian may be appointed to exercise include—

(a) selling, letting or mortgaging the missing person’s property;

(b) making investments;

(c) executing deeds and other documents;

(d) recovering money owed to the missing person;

(e) discharging debts and other obligations of the missing person (whether legally enforceable or not);

(f) resigning trusteeships held by the missing person;

(g) bringing or conducting legal proceedings;

(h) making a gift out of the missing person’s property.

(5) A guardianship order has effect subject to the restrictions in subsections (6) to (8).

(6) A guardian may not—

(a) execute a will for the missing person, or

(b) exercise a power vested in the missing person as a trustee in relation to another person’s property.

(7) A guardian may only make a gift out of the missing person’s property if the guardianship order expressly authorises the making of the gift, the making of gifts of a description which includes the gift or the making of gifts generally.

(8) Subsection (7) does not apply in relation to a gift made for the maintenance of, or otherwise for the benefit of, a dependant of the missing person.

(9) “Dependant”, in relation to a missing person, means an individual who, if the missing person were not missing, would reasonably rely on the missing person to provide for his or her maintenance.