I opened up a guardianship account for my brother only to be told I can't do any online banking (no bill pay, no drafts, no debit card). I can only write checks (how prehistoric is this??) and when I need to get cash for pocket money (sandwich, snack, etc) I have to drive into town and go to the bank to write a check to cash. I had all his bills setup on automatic bill pay or drafts - so now that the guardianship was issued I lose all my banking tools. Is this the way it works at all banks or did I just pick one that is totally backwards??
I would call other banks in the area and ask about their requirements/rules for guardianship accounts. There may be others that do offer the online services.
Be aware that banks like to hold on to deposited money and target estate and guardianship accounts for extra rules/harassment. I was my father's guardian and I am his estate administrator by court order. This week when I attempted to open an estate account by transferring the funds from the guardianship account, the bank told me I couldn't have access to the guardianship account for an internal transfer for at least 30 days after closing it to cover any unprocessed transactions. So I closed the account and walked out of the bank with cashier checks for the balance of both the guardianship account and my parents' survivorship joint asset account. Opened a estate account for my father and a new asset account for my mother (since my father's death the remaining funds are now hers exclusively) with a different bank. Transfered enough money into the estate account to cover my father's funeral expenses and wrote a check to the funeral home - just like the judge directed.