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Responsibilities and duties of a limited conservator

Find out what responsibilities and duties you'll have if you become a limited conservator.

This section covers the responsibilities and duties of a limited conservator of the person only.

If you are or think you may be a limited conservator for an estate, get more information about your responsibilities and duties.

Limited conservator's responsibilities and duties

Duties to the limited conservatee

All limited conservators must:

Act in the best interests of the conservatee
Help the limited conservatee develop maximum self-reliance and independence
Stop abuse or neglect of the conservatee

Additionally, limited conservators have specific duties depending on if the limited conservatorship is over the person or the estate or both. A conservator of both the person and the estate has both responsibilities and duties.

Limited Conservators over the Person

The conservator has a duty to provide for the care, including:
- Shelter/housing
- Health care
- Education
- Transportation
- Personal care
- Food
- Clothing
Limited Conservator of the Estate

The conservator of the estate is a legal fiduciary. They must manage the assets for the benefit of the conservatee, not themselves.

They must:
- Keep the conservatee’s money separate
- Make prudent investments/Not take unnecessary risks

Duties to the court

Limited conservatorships – and limited conservators – are reviewed by the court that created the conservatorship. Someone from the Court Investigator's Office will review the case one year after the conservatorship is granted, then every two years after that. The court can also ask for an investigation on its own schedule. Conservators must cooperate with investigators.

Limited conservators should attend all court hearings regarding the conservatorship and must keep their contact information updated with the court.

Additionally, limited conservators of the estate must also conduct:

Initial inventory and appraisal
Annual accounting
Careful record-keeping

These records may be required during the court’s review of the conservatorship and when the court reviews the job of a conservator.

What a limited conservator cannot do

A limited conservator’s powers are strictly limited to those laid out in the conservatorship papers. A limited conservator cannot do anything that is not specifically included in the orders and letters of conservatorship.

Additionally, a limited conservator cannot:

Place in a limited conservatee in a locked psychiatric facility
Force psychotropic medications on a limited conservatee
Have a limited conservatee sterilized (even if the limited conservator can make medical decisions for the limited conservatee)

The conservatee has rights a conservator should know about.