(A) A guardian or conservator or a nominated guardian or conservator may request the court to allow the guardian and/or conservator to file an annual budget summarizing the receipts and disbursements expected to be expended for the budget year. The court may in its order approving the budget authorize a variance of up to 10 percent over the original budgeted amounts approved in the order.
§ 6-1442.01.Budget process in guardianships and conservatorships.
Article 14: Uniform County Court Rules of Practice and Procedure · Last amended April 1, 2020 · Last verified July 22, 2026
In one sentenceThis rule lets a guardian or conservator ask the court to approve an annual budget for the ward's expected income and expenses, which preapproves routine payments like rent and fees within a set variance and can replace the usual annual accounting.
Full Text of § 6-1442.01
(B) If authorized by the court, the budget may allow for payments to the guardian and/or conservator for items such as rent, room and board, and guardian and/or conservator fees. Effectively, this is a preapproval of these payments, and payments up to the amounts approved are authorized. Anything above the budget amounts (subject to subsection (A)) remains subject to § 6-1437(B).
(C) At the end of the annual reporting period unless otherwise ordered by the court, the guardian and/or conservator shall file a report summarizing the payments made under the budget listing any payments beyond the budget, a copy of the last bank statement, except for the Office of Public Guardian which will provide documentation as required in § 6-1433.03, and an inventory at the end of the year and may request a budget for the next year. These documents (except for the bank statement and the Office of Public Guardian individual ledger, which are not mailed to interested persons except as ordered by the court,) shall be sent to all interested persons unless waived by the court for good cause shown. For purposes of this paragraph, interested persons shall include all those defined in § 6-1433(B)(2).
(D) Court authorization under this section shall be made at a hearing after notice to all interested persons. However, if the waiver of notice and hearing is signed by all interested persons, the court may enter the order without further notice and without further hearing. For purposes of this paragraph, interested persons shall include all those defined in § 6-1433(B)(2).
(E) If a budget has been approved, the guardian or conservator shall not be required to file an annual accounting unless otherwise ordered by the court.
(F) If the court authorizes ATM withdrawals or cash back on a debit transactions as part of an approved budget, the Letters of the guardian and/or conservator shall be so modified.
(G) If additional assets are received during the year for which notice to the court is required under these rules, the court may review the budget during the year and the bond.
Amendment History
§ 6-1442.01 adopted May 23, 2013, effective September 1, 2013; § 6-1442.01(C) and (D) amended September 10, 2015; § 6-1442.01(C) amended June 15, 2016; § 6-1442.01(A)-(C) amended November 13, 2019, effective April 1, 2020.
Plain-English Summary
Filing a fresh application every time a guardian or conservator wants to pay routine expenses — rent, room and board, their own fees — gets tedious. § 6-1442.01 offers a shortcut: a guardian, conservator, or someone nominated for either role can ask the court to approve an annual budget projecting the year’s expected receipts and disbursements. Once approved, the court can build in up to a 10 percent variance over the budgeted amounts, so small overruns do not require a return trip to court.
A court-authorized budget works as advance approval. Payments for items the budget covers — rent, room and board, guardian or conservator fees — count as already authorized once the budget is in place, up to the approved amounts. Anything beyond the budget, past the built-in variance, still has to clear the ordinary fee-approval process the rules require elsewhere (§ 6-1437(B)). At year’s end, the guardian or conservator reports back: what was paid under the budget, any payments that ran over, a copy of the last bank statement, and a fresh inventory — and can ask, at the same time, for approval of next year’s budget.
Court authorization requires notice and a hearing, though the rule allows a shortcut here too: if every interested person signs a waiver of notice and hearing, the court can approve the budget on the papers alone. One of the biggest payoffs of an approved budget is that it can eliminate the annual accounting requirement altogether, unless the court orders otherwise. If the guardian or conservator later needs ATM access or cash back on debit transactions as part of the approved budget, the court must modify the Letters to authorize it, and if new assets come in during the year, the court can revisit both the budget and the bond.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a guardianship or conservatorship budget under this rule?
An annual projection of expected receipts and disbursements that the guardian or conservator submits for the court’s approval.
How much can actual spending exceed the approved budget?
The court’s order approving the budget may authorize a variance of up to 10 percent over the original budgeted amounts.
Does an approved budget eliminate the need to separately ask the court to pay guardian or conservator fees?
For amounts within the approved budget, yes — those payments are preapproved. Anything above the budget, beyond the variance, remains subject to the separate rule on paying guardian and conservator fees.
Does an approved budget eliminate the annual accounting requirement?
Yes, unless the court orders otherwise, once a budget is approved the guardian or conservator need not file an annual accounting.
What if all interested persons agree to the proposed budget?
The court may enter the order authorizing it without further notice or a hearing.
Can a guardian or conservator get ATM access or cash back under an approved budget?
Only if the court authorizes it as part of the budget and modifies the Letters accordingly.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Nebraska Judicial Branch, adopted by the
Supreme Court of Nebraska. Last verified July 22, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: guardian conservator annual budgetpreapproved guardian fees budgetbudget instead of accountingconservator budget varianceannual budget report guardianshipguardian atm withdrawal authorization