Guardian’s petition for authority to sell ward’s real estate; notice by publication; penalties.

(1) When a guardian of the estate of a minor or an incompetent ward, which guardian has the control or management of any real estate that is the property of such minor or incompetent, deems it necessary or expedient to sell all or part of the real estate, the guardian shall apply, either in term time or in vacation by petition to the judge of the circuit court for the county in which the real estate is situated, for authority to sell all or part of the real estate. If the prayer of the petition appears to the judge to be reasonable and just and financially beneficial to the estate of the ward, the judge may authorize the guardian to sell the real estate described in the petition under such conditions as the interest of the minor or incompetent may, in the opinion of the judge, seem to require.

(2) The authority to sell the real estate described in the petition shall not be granted unless the guardian has given previous notice, published once a week for 4 successive weeks in a newspaper published in the county where the application is made, of his or her intention to make application to the judge for authority to sell such real estate, the guardian setting forth in the notice the time and place and to what judge the application will be made. If the lands lie in more than one county, the application for such authority shall be made in each county in which the lands lie.

(3) The failure on the part of the guardian to comply with the provisions of this section makes the guardian and the guardian’s bond agents individually responsible for any loss that may accrue to the estate of the ward involved, and is a ground for the immediate removal of such guardian as to his or her functions, but does not discharge the guardian as to his or her liability or discharge the liabilities of his or her sureties.