This chapter may be cited as the 'Uniform Veterans' Guardianship Act.'

(a) Every guardian shall invest the funds of the estate in one or more of the following forms in which the guardian has no interest and not otherwise:

(1) Interest-bearing obligations of the State of Alabama or of the United States or as to which the State of Alabama or the United States has guaranteed the payment of both principal and interest.

(2) Loans secured by direct first mortgage on improved real estate located within the State of Alabama. Such loans shall not exceed 50 percent of the actual value fixed by a competent appraiser or of the value for which such real estate, with improvements, was assessed for taxation for the last preceding tax year, whichever is the lower, except as provided in subdivision (3) of this section.

(3) Purchase of indebtedness secured by first real estate mortgages which have been accepted for insurance by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or his successor in office pursuant to Title Two of the National Housing Act; provided, that only the entire indebtedness as a unit is purchased and before maturity.

(4) Purchase of a home or farm for the sole use of the ward or his dependents if the ward does not already own real estate suitable for a home, such real estate to be located in the State of Alabama and to be of area and location suitable to the station in life and prospects of the ward and his dependents. Title thereto must be conveyed to the ward, but the property must be managed by the guardian for the ward and the guardian must account for any rents and profits derived therefrom. Before investing funds of the ward in real estate, the guardian must require an abstract of title to be examined by a reputable attorney and secure from such attorney a certificate in writing showing title thereto to be clear and free from any incumbrance. The guardian, acting in good faith, shall not be individually responsible for any depreciation in value of land so purchased when such depreciation results from causes which cannot be prevented by the guardian.

(5) Deposit in the savings department of any banking institution in the state which bank is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; provided, that the total amount deposited in any such bank, with interest, must not at any time exceed the amount by which such funds so deposited are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In the event the fiduciary is a banking institution, it may likewise deposit the funds in its own savings department, subject to the same regulations as other savings depositors therein and shall be liable for interest thereon, but only at the same rate as that paid other savings account depositors.

(b) No fiduciary shall make any loan of the funds of the ward for any period in excess of one calendar year from the date of such loan without prior written approval of the court of appointment, which written approval shall not be granted except upon the filing with the court of an application verified by the oath of the guardian setting forth the identity of the proposed borrower, the amount proposed to be loaned, the terms of repayment, the interest rate, a complete description of the real estate and improvements, a statement that the guardian has no interest therein and the facts upon which the guardian deems it proper to negotiate a loan for a period longer than one year, which application must also be accompanied by a written appraisal of the proposed security by a competent, disinterested appraiser.

A guardian shall not apply any portion of the estate of his ward for the support and maintenance of any person other than his ward, except upon order of the court after a hearing, notice of which has been given the proper office of the administration in the manner provided in Section 26-9-14.

Whenever a copy of any public record is required by the administration to be used in determining the eligibility of any person to participate in benefits made available by such administration, the official charged with the custody of such public record shall without charge provide the applicant for such benefits or any person acting on his behalf or the representative of such administration with a certified copy of such record.

Whenever it appears that an incompetent veteran of any war, military occupation or expedition is eligible for treatment in a United States veterans' hospital and commitment to such hospital is necessary for the proper care and treatment of such veteran, the courts of this state are hereby authorized to communicate with the administration with reference to available facilities and eligibility and, upon receipt of a certificate from the administration stating that there are facilities available in a United States veterans' hospital and that the veteran is entitled to hospitalization therein, the court may then direct such veteran's commitment to such United States veterans' hospital. Thereafter such veteran upon admission shall be subject to the rules and regulations of such hospital and the officials of such hospital shall be vested with the same powers now exercised by superintendents of state hospitals for mental diseases within this state with reference to the retention of custody of the veteran so committed. Notice of such pending proceedings shall be furnished the person so committed, and his right to appear and defend shall not be denied.

Every guardian who shall receive on account of his ward any moneys from the administration shall file with the court annually on the anniversary date of the appointment, in addition to such other accounts as may be required by the court, a full, true and accurate account under oath of all moneys so received by him and of all disbursements thereof, showing the balance thereof in his hands at the date of such account and how invested, including a complete descriptive itemization of all investments, and must submit to the court for its examination all securities and evidences of debt belonging to the ward, and the decree of the court passing the settlement must recite that all securities and evidences of debt due the ward have been presented to and examined by the court; provided, that in the absence of objection by any party in interest, the court may in its discretion and without formal proceedings extend from time to time the time for the filing of the accounts for annual or partial settlement, but no such continuance shall be granted so as to extend the time for filing such settlements to a period beyond three calendar years from the date of the appointment or the date of the last partial settlement, whichever is the later, and upon the termination of the guardianship from any cause a like account must be filed for final settlement.

A certified copy of each of such accounts filed with the court shall be sent by the guardian to the office of the administration having jurisdiction over the area in which such court is located. The court shall fix a time and place for the hearing on such account not less than 15 days nor more than 30 days from the date of filing same, and notice thereof shall be given by the court to the aforesaid administration office not less than 15 days prior to the date fixed for the hearing. Notice of such hearing shall in like manner be given to the guardian; provided, that notice as required in this section may be given by registered or certified mail, addressed to the principal office of the administration located in the State of Alabama as such address appears on record in the probate office.

If any guardian shall fail to file any account of the moneys received by him from the administration on account of his ward within 30 days after such account is required by either the court or the administration or shall fail to furnish the administration a copy of his accounts as required by this chapter, such failure shall be grounds for removal.

When a minor ward for whom a guardian has been appointed shall have attained his majority and has not been found incompetent and when any incompetent ward has been rated competent by the administration, a certificate of the administrator or his duly authorized representative to that effect shall be prima facie evidence that a guardian is no longer required and the court, upon the guardian filing a satisfactory final account, may discharge such guardian upon a petition filed for that purpose. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to prevent a ward from filing a petition for the discharge of his guardian on the ground that the ward has attained majority or is competent or the court from acting on its own motion in such cases.

Compensation payable to a guardian shall not exceed five percent of the income of the ward during any year. In the event of extraordinary services rendered by such guardian, the court may, upon petition and after hearing thereon, authorize additional compensation therefor payable from the estate of the ward. Notice of such petition and hearing shall be given the proper office of the administration in the manner provided in Section 26-9-14. No compensation shall be allowed on the corpus of an estate received from a preceding guardian. The guardian may be allowed from the estate of his ward reasonable premiums paid by him to any corporate surety upon his bond.

The costs and fees, exclusive of fees of the guardian ad litem incident to any partial or final settlement by any guardian subject to the provisions of this chapter, shall be taxed in the amounts provided by the general statutes for like services, but there shall not be taxed or charged against the estate of the ward, on any partial settlement, any amount in excess of one half of one percent of the amount of money with which the guardian is chargeable on the settlement as having received since the last preceding settlement and with which the guardian has not previously been charged; provided, that the limitations contained in this section as to costs and fees shall not affect the commissions and fees otherwise payable to the general guardian and to guardians ad litem.

(a) This chapter shall be construed liberally to secure the beneficial intents and purposes thereof and shall apply only to beneficiaries of the administration.

(b) This chapter shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the laws of those states which enact it.

When used in this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings, respectively, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) PERSON. A partnership, corporation or an association.

(2) ADMINISTRATION. The United States Veterans' Administration or its successor.

(3) ESTATE and INCOME. Such terms include only moneys received by the guardian from the Veterans' Administration and all earnings, interest and profits derived therefrom.

(4) BENEFITS. All moneys payable by the United States through the Veterans' Administration.

(5) ADMINISTRATOR. The Administrator of Veterans' Affairs of the United States Veterans' Administration.

(6) WARD. A beneficiary of the administration.

(7) GUARDIAN. Any person acting as a fiduciary for a ward and includes a conservator appointed under Alabama Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act.

Whenever, pursuant to any law of the United States or regulations of the administration, the administrator requires, prior to payment of benefits, that a guardian be appointed for a ward, such appointment shall be made in the manner provided in this chapter.

Except as provided in this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any person to accept appointment as guardian of any ward if such proposed guardian shall at that time be acting as guardian for five wards. In any case, upon presentation of a petition by an attorney of the administration under this section alleging that a guardian is acting in a fiduciary capacity for more than five wards and requesting his discharge for that reason, the court, upon proof substantiating the petition, shall require a final accounting forthwith from such guardian and shall discharge such guardian in said case. The limitations of this section shall not apply where the guardian is a bank or trust company acting for the wards' estates only. An individual may be guardian of more than five wards if they are all members of the same family.

A petition for the appointment of a guardian may be filed in any court of competent jurisdiction by or on behalf of any person who under existing law is entitled to priority of appointment. If there is no person so entitled or if the person so entitled shall neglect or refuse to file such a petition within 30 days after mailing of notice by the administration to the last known address of such person indicating the necessity for the same, a petition for such appointment may be filed in any court of competent jurisdiction by or on behalf of any responsible person residing in this state.

The petition for appointment shall set forth the name, age, place of residence of the ward, the names and places of residence of the nearest relative, if known, and the fact that such ward is entitled to receive moneys payable by or through the administration and shall set forth the amount of moneys then due and the amount of probable future payments. The petition shall also set forth the name and address of the person or institution, if any, having actual custody of the ward.

In the case of a mentally incompetent ward, the petition shall show that such ward has been rated incompetent on examination by the administration in accordance with the laws and regulations governing the administration.

Where a petition is filed for the appointment of a guardian of a minor ward, a certificate of the administrator or his representative setting forth the age of such minor as shown by the records of the administration and the fact that the appointment of a guardian is a condition precedent to the payment of any moneys due the minor by the administration shall be prima facie evidence of the necessity for such appointment.

Where a petition is filed for the appointment of a guardian of a mentally incompetent ward, a certificate of the administrator or his representative setting forth the fact that such person has been rated incompetent by the administration on examination in accordance with the laws and regulations governing such administration and that the appointment of a guardian is a condition precedent to the payment of any moneys due such persons by the administration shall be prima facie evidence of the necessity for such appointment.

Upon the filing of a petition for the appointment of a guardian under the provisions of this chapter, the court shall cause such notice to be given as provided by law.

Before making an appointment under the provisions of this chapter the court shall be satisfied that the guardian whose appointment is sought is a fit and proper person to be appointed.

Upon the appointment being made, the guardian shall execute and file a bond to be approved by the court in an amount not less than the sum then due and estimated to become payable during the ensuing year. The said bond shall be in the form and be conditioned as required of a guardian appointed under the guardianship laws of this state and it shall be the duty of the court having jurisdiction of the cause, upon the application by any party in interest, to require the filing of an individual bond in accordance with the provisions of this section without regard to the provisions of any preexisting general or local statute or charter provision of any corporation exempting the fiduciary from the posting of an individual guardianship bond. The court shall have power from time to time to require the guardian to file an additional bond.

Where a bond is tendered by a guardian with personal sureties, such sureties shall file with the court a certificate under oath which shall describe the property owned, both real and personal, and that they are each worth the sum named in the bond as the penalty thereof over and above all their debts and liabilities and exclusive of property exempt from execution.