RILEY, J.
Appellants argue that the trial court abused its discretion by empowering Bevers [Toby’s guardian] to combine Toby’s financial holdings into one account, which would effectively dispose of Toby’s directive that the funds in certain accounts be paid to her daughters upon her death. Appellants contend that no statutory authority permits a guardian to effectively terminate disposition designations.
Because Toby had directed that the funds in these accounts were payable upon her death to her daughters, Appellants assume that Bevers’ action of moving the financial holdings was an estate planning decision, and contend “[] Bevers has no authority to make estate planning decisions on behalf of [Toby].” (Appellant’s Br. p. 22). In support of their argument, Appellants cite Indiana Code section 29-3-9-4(a), which provides:
Upon petition of the guardian . . . and after notice to such persons as the court may direct, the court may, after hearing and by order, authorize the guardian to apply or dispose of the principal or income of the estate of the protected person that the court determines to be in excess of that likely to be required for the protected person’s future support or for the future support of the protected person’s dependents during the lifetime of the protected person, in order to carry out the estate planning that the court determines to be appropriate for the purposes of minimizing current and prospective income, estate, or other taxes. The court may accordingly authorize the guardian to make gifts, outright or in trust, on behalf of the protected person to or for the benefit of the prospective legatees, devisees, or heirs, including any person serving as the protected person’s guardian, or to other individuals or charities, to whom or in which it is shown that the protected person had an interest.
Appellants correctly note that this statute requires the filing of a petition, provision of notice, and a hearing prior to a guardian undertaking estate planning activities on behalf of an incapacitated person, none of which Bevers did prior to beginning the process of unifying Toby’s financial holdings. However, we disagree with the Appellants’ assumption that Bevers has engaged in estate planning by unifying Toby’s accounts for the purpose of management of her estate. We note that accounts with payable on death designation, or P.O.D. designation, are considered a nonprobate transfer when distributed at the time of death. See Lewis v. Estate of Wynn, 900 N.E.2d 476, 480 (Ind. Ct. App. 2009), trans. denied. Although they are treated differently than joint accounts during the lifetime of the account holder, they are distributed at the time of death as if they were jointly owned by the deceased and the beneficiary. Id. at 481 (citing I.C. chapter 32-17-13). For this same reason, we do not equate the transfer of funds from or into an account with a P.O.D. designation as being an estate planning decision.
Moreover, Bevers was acting within express statutory authority when unifying the funds. Indiana Code section 29-3-7-5(a) instructs that: “A guardian shall take possession of the guardianship property, title to which shall remain in the protected person subject to the right of the guardian to possess and dispose of the property as provided by law.” Indiana Code section 29-3-8-2(b) provides that:
The guardian (other than the temporary guardian) of an incapacitated person has all the powers to perform the guardian’s responsibilities, including the powers with respect to the incapacitated person and the incapacitated person’s property regardless of where the property is located, that are granted to the guardian of a minor enumerated in subsection (a)(1) through (a)(9).
Subsection (a)(8), grants “[t]he powers with respect to the guardianship property as are granted to a guardian under section 4 of this chapter with respect to guardianship property.” And Indiana Codes section 29-3-8-4, provides, in part, that:
A guardian (other than a temporary guardian) may exercise all of the powers required to perform the guardian’s responsibilities, including the following:
. . . (3) To invest and reinvest the property of the protected person in accordance with powers vested in, and according to the standards imposed upon, trustees under IC 30-4-3-3(c).
By unifying Toby’s financial holdings, Bevers was facilitating her duty to take possession of Toby’s property and to provide care and supervision over that property. These acts were fully within her authority as guardian over Toby’s estate. Therefore, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it authorized and suggested that Bevers unify Toby’s accounts for administration.
VAIDIK, J., and CRONE, J., concur.