Conservatorship, a concept similar to guardianship, is a legal proposition in the USA where the court appoints a legal guardian for a person who is eligible under the provisions of the regulating law. Such a guardian, or protector, is responsible for managing various aspects, including but not limited to the day-to-day activities and finances of the ward.
As easy as the concept might sound, conservatorship requires a great deal of patience, perseverance and mostly dedication towards the ward. Conservatorships in California also require the person to abide by the letter of the law, and get appropriate legal approval every time he needs to perform an action that might be necessary at that time but wasn’t directed by the court of law during the appointment.
To avoid any conflict of interest during the period of conservatorship, the Courts often suo moto lay out a set of duties, responsibilities, and powers of the conservator. These duties and responsibilities might be diverse in terms of the functions that need to be performed. Some of the general duties of a conservator are listed below to provide you with a brief idea of what to expect out of a court appointed conservator.
1. Trustee Duties- The conservator acts as a fiduciary of the ward, or the conservatee. This means that the conservator has the right to access, examine, and manage the assets, financial gains, and the daily activities of the conservatee. These rights are, however, limited to duties prescribed by the court and might be revoked if the conservator acts against the best interests of the ward/ conservatee.
2. Management Activities- Another major activity regarding conservatorships in California is that the conservator needs to prepare a management plan for future asserts of the ward or the conservatee. This also includes the budget proposal for the upcoming year and needs to be approved by the court.
3. Possession and Spending- The conservator is also deposed with the duty of taking possession of all of the assets of the conservatee- present and future- and take decisions regarding retention and disposition of such assets. However, in case of spending the finances of the conservatee, the conservators need to gain court approval.
4. Record Keeping
Regarding conservatorships in California, the conservators need to keep a proper and updated record of all the spendings and assets of the ward. This also includes spendings and transactions made by the conservator himself.
Another aspect of record keeping is that the conservator needs to supply a n appropriate notification to the court of law in certain cases, such as change of address of the conservatee, death of the conservatee, etc.
Apart from these duties and responsibilities, the conservator has to take due care about certain aspects, non performance of which can result in revocation of the same. Revocation is also applicable in cases where there is a conflict of interest to the satisfaction of the court.