Rule 6-1435 Creditor-debtor information.

If someone is being appointed to handle an estate, guardianship, or conservatorship, and that person either owes money to the estate or is owed money by the estate, this needs to be disclosed to the court first. Both the person being appointed and their attorney share this responsibility. They must put this information in writing and give it to the court before the judge finalizes the appointment.

This rule exists to prevent conflicts of interest. Someone who owes money to an estate, or who the estate owes money to, has a personal financial stake in how that estate is managed. The court needs to know about this upfront so it can decide whether the appointment still makes sense or whether extra safeguards are needed.

In practice, this means the nominee cannot just stay quiet about a debt and hope no one notices. If they owe the estate money or the estate owes them money, they have to speak up in writing before they take on the role. Their attorney is expected to make sure this happens too, not just leave it up to the client.