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??
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.
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.