Missed accounting deadlines escalate in a predictable sequence — citation, fine, removal — and the escalation is faster than most guardians expect. Here is the sequence with the actual statutes behind each step.
States differ on details but the ladder is the same:
Estates Code §1163.151: if a guardian does not file an account or report required by the code, any person interested in the estate — on written complaint — or the court on its own motion may have the guardian cited to appear and show cause. On the hearing, unless good cause is shown, the court may order the filing and:
Since September 1, 2025 (SB 746), a filed account the court disapproves must be corrected within 30 days of the order (§1163.051(d)-(e)) — disapproval now carries its own deadline.
§744.3685: a guardian who fails to file the annual accounting can be ordered to file within 15 days or to show cause. Continued noncompliance is contempt of court, punishable by a fine the guardian pays personally — charging it to the ward’s assets is not an option — and the court can also remove the guardian outright. The clerk’s audit (due within 90 days of each filing, §744.368(3)) means missing files surface on a schedule, not eventually.
California’s Probate Code §2620(d) subjects every accounting to random or discretionary review; a material error produces an express finding on severity and follow-up. A guardian who simply does not file faces the general enforcement machinery: petitions by interested persons, orders to account, and ultimately removal for failure to perform the duties of the office — with the court reviewer’s report and the pre-appointment statements already on file, a missing accounting is the most visible failure a guardian can have.
Removal is not the end — it is the audit. A former guardian can be surcharged for losses the estate suffered on their watch, and the surety bond (required in most appointments) becomes the collection source, with the surety then pursuing the guardian personally. The cheapest moment to avoid all of this is the month the accounting first became possible: reconstruct from statements, reconcile, file.
Guardian exists to make the filing boring: the reconciliation check refuses to let an unbalanced report export, and the deadline calendar starts from your appointment date.
Texas caps it at $1,000 per failure, plus possible revocation of the letters (§1163.151). Florida uses contempt, which is uncapped, and the fine is paid personally rather than from the estate (§744.3685).
Yes - nonfiling is the classic ground. Texas revokes letters after a show-cause hearing; Florida removal sits alongside contempt; California removal follows for failure to perform the duties of the office.
File before you are cited. Courts treat a voluntary late filing very differently from a filing that follows a citation, and the show-cause hearing exists for guardians who ignored the deadline without explanation.
Any interested person - family, heirs, the ward - can file a written complaint with the court clerk, and the court can act on its own motion. Clerks also flag missing filings during routine audit cycles.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by jurisdiction and change over time — confirm the specifics with the court, agency, or a qualified professional.