Home ---> Online Archives ---> Guardian Bond Books, Lake County, Indiana (1919-1934)


Guardian Bond Books, Lake County (1919-1934)

Indexed by Northwest Indiana Genealogical Society, this book is housed at the Clerks Office of the Lake County Government Center in Crown Point, Indiana.

Guardianships are created for a few different reasons. The one that a genealogist mainly thinks of is that the parents of a minor child or children have died. But this is not always the case. Long ago women were not allowed to own property, so a Guardianship was set up for the children or even the wife, if a husband died. This does not mean the children or the wife would move into someone else’s household to live. It simply meant that the Guardianship was set up for the Guardian(s) to oversee the Estate of the deceased until the child became of age to handle his own finances, or that the wife or husband had remarried. Or a Guardianship could be set up to protect that estate from one of the parents’ new spouse.

A Guardianship could also be set up for someone that was considered of unsound mind, insane, spendthrift, incompetent, or even of old age infirmity.

Before a person can be appointed a Guardian he must first set up a bond in the Clerk’s Office of the court in the county in which the estate is located. This person and/or financial firm must first be able to show the court in writing the value of the estate. If chosen to be the guardian this person will take an oath that he faithfully and honestly will report to the court on his handling of the estate. If this is not done this person can be removed as a guardian.

If you are interested in learning more about Guardianships and Bonds and the process that is used and why it is used, then you can visit books.google.com and use the search words: Indiana State Statutes on Guardianships.

This Index was created from one book which was located at the Lake County Government Center in Crown Point, Indiana. Note that many of Lake County government books have been disposed of in the past; however, every effort is being made at this time to preserve all of Lake County records. This index will provide you with the guardian’s name(s), surety company’s name, the deceased name, the heirs name (or who the Guardianship was set up for), the attorney’s name, and the date of the judgment. In some cases we have added comments. We have also listed the case or the docket number and page number (if one was located). A copy of the bond will also include the bond amount and the relationships of the person listed in the bond, clerks, and the Judges name. By no means does this index represent all of the legal guardianships that were set up in Lake County, Indiana. This book was the only book of bonds that have been located at this time.

To order the copy of the Guardianship Bond you may down load the order form and send it to the clerk office. You will receive a copy of only the bond. This document may help a genealogist in connecting their families. It is only one document that may be in a guardianship case. If you are interested in the whole guardianship case, then you must contact the Clerk's Office for the cost of this case, or hire one of the local researchers to acquire the document for you.

A Thank You goes out to Joan Kessel, Martha Latko, and Marlene Polster for working on this project.