Conservator Responsibilities

Tips for Conservators Printable Tip Sheet »

Understand your Powers, Duties, & Limitations

Read through Chapter 5 of the Guardianship and Conservatorship in Minnesota Manual for more detailed information about the responsibilities of conservators.

The court order appointing a conservator will specifically state what powers and duties they have been granted. These can include all of the powers and duties allowed by law, or they can be limited to only those powers and duties that are needed for the situation.

Even though a person subject to conservatorship has a conservator, they still retain certain rights. See the Bill of Rights and Minn. Stat. § 524.5-120 for more information.

A person subject to conservatorship keeps all rights not granted to the conservator. A conservator must petition the court for modification of the conservatorship when the condition of the person subject to conservatorship changes in a way that means fewer or additional powers are required.

There are certain responsibilities that apply to all conservators, which are described in more detail below.

Court-appointed conservators must complete certain tasks every year that the conservatorship is in effect. All reports will be filed online through MyMNConservator (MMC).

Within 60 days of the initial appointment, a conservator must file an Inventory Report in the MMC system.

Conservators should make note of the date they were appointed, which will serve as the anniversary date for annual reporting. An Annual Accounting must be submitted within 60 days of this anniversary date, found in the Letters of Conservatorship. If you do not submit your documents on time each year, you may be required to attend a court hearing and explain to a judicial officer why the reports were not completed.

Conservator(s) must complete and make copies of the Annual Notice of Right to Petition for Termination or Modification, and then arrange to have copies served on the person subject to conservatorship and all interested persons whose names are on record with the court in the petition. The person subject to conservatorship will also need to be served with a copy of the Bill of Rights. Service can be done by mail or in person.

Once service has been completed, the guardian must fill out the Affidavit of Service for included with the Annual Notice of Right to Petition for Termination or Modification. The Affidavit of Service must be filed with the court, but copies of the Affidavit do not have to be given to anyone else.

See the Tips for Conservators printable tip sheet for more detailed tips on completing annual accounts and staying organized. This Tip Sheet includes information about searching for assets, opening separate financial accounts, filing state and federal income taxes, allowances, and bonds

A conservator must report to the court within 30 days of the occurrence of any of the events listed in Minn. Stat. 524.5-420, including:

Being removed for cause from serving as guardian or conservator on any case.
A professional license (see statute for list of agencies) being denied, conditioned, suspended, revoked, or canceled.
Being found civilly liable in an action that involves fraud, misrepresentation, material omission, misappropriation, theft, or conversion.
Filing for bankruptcy.
Having a civil monetary judgment entered against you.
Being convicted of a crime other than a petty misdemeanor or traffic offense.
Having an order for protection or harassment restraining order issued against you.

If the court appointed you to be a conservator, but you are no longer able to serve in that role, you should talk with a lawyer right away about asking the court to appoint a successor conservator by completing and filing a Petition for Appointment of Successor Guardian/Conservator. To ask the court to discharge you from your role, you must file a petition with the court and identify someone else who may be qualified to serve as a conservator.

Conservatorship