Conservatorship
Title stays with the protectee. The conservator only holds the keys.
Bond, an annual settlement within sixty days of the appointment anniversary, court approval for the real estate — and personal liability for getting it wrong.
A conservatorship is the money half of Chapter 475. It is appointed for a disabled person — someone who, because of a physical, mental or cognitive condition, cannot receive and evaluate information or communicate decisions to the extent that they lack the ability to manage their financial resources — or for a minor. The person whose estate it is becomes a protectee. This page covers what the conservator may do without asking the court, what requires an order, what must be filed each year, and what happens when a conservator breaches the duties the statute imposes.
The conservator does not own anything. Section 475.130.2, RSMo puts it directly: the conservator takes possession of the protectee’s real and personal property, the rents, income and proceeds — but “title to all such estate, and to the increment and proceeds thereof, is in the protectee and not in the conservator.” The conservator manages under supervision of the court, accounts faithfully, and at termination delivers the assets to whoever is entitled to them. Everything a conservator does is done with someone else’s money, and Missouri’s standard of care says so: the degree of care, skill and prudence “that an ordinarily prudent person uses in managing the property of, and conducting transactions on behalf of, others.”
Authority
What needs an order, and what does not.
Section 475.130.6, RSMo lists what a conservator may do without prior court approval: receive additions to the estate; purchase insurance and insure against liability; contract for repairs; lease land for a term not exceeding one year; vote stock; contract for board, lodging, education and medical care for periods not exceeding one year; deposit funds; pay taxes and expenses; prosecute and defend actions; execute instruments; and invest under § 475.190. Several powers carry a $5,000 ceiling — settling a claim, settling or abandoning a claim of the estate, selling personal property, and exchanging property of equivalent value. That threshold was raised from $1,000 in 2018.
Real estate always requires an order. Section 475.200 allows property to be sold, mortgaged, pledged, leased or exchanged “upon such terms as the court may order” for the protectee’s care and support, family maintenance, debts, administration costs, reinvestment, “or in any other case where it is for the best interests of the protectee” — on a petition setting out the condition of the estate and the facts relied on. Section 475.230 conducts the sale as a decedent’s estate sale would be conducted, and since 2018 requires that, unless waived for cause, the protectee have ten days’ prior notice of the hearing on a sale of real or tangible personal property. No notice is required for intangible personal property.
Extraordinary powers need authorization and notice. Under § 475.094, with court authorization after notice to interested persons, a conservator may make gifts the protectee might have been expected to make — including gifts to qualify for government benefits or reduce federal estate taxes — convey or disclaim interests, exercise or release powers of appointment, create a revocable or irrevocable trust, exercise rights under policies and annuities, and elect against a deceased spouse’s will. The court decides primarily by asking what the protected person would have done. The same section bars a conservator from revoking or amending a durable power of attorney without court authorization.
The calendar
Bond, inventory, settlements, and the ninety days at the end.
Bond, before anything
Section 475.100, RSMo: every conservator of the estate of a minor or disabled person, “before entering upon the duties of his office, shall execute and file a bond, approved by the court, procured at the expense of the estate with sufficient surety in an amount fixed by the court.” This applies to conservators, not to guardians of the person. Nominated conservators also submit to a credit history investigation under § 475.050.4, on top of the background screening required of all fiduciaries.
Annual settlement
Section 475.270 requires a settlement of accounts annually, at a time fixed by the court within sixty days after the anniversary of the appointment, conforming to § 473.543. Beyond the numbers, a conservator who is not a public administrator must also report the protectee’s address, the conservator’s address, services provided, significant actions taken, the conservator’s own opinion on whether the conservatorship should continue, compensation and expenses requested, and a plan for the coming year.
Vouchers
Under § 473.543, RSMo, disbursements exceeding seventy-five dollars require vouchers — and an electronic copy of a check or a bank statement suffices. Keep the records as you go. Reconstructing a year of a parent’s spending from memory in month eleven is how conservators end up on the wrong side of an exception.
When settlements can be waived
Section 475.276 lets the court waive or modify the settlement requirement where assets are under another fiduciary’s control — expressly including a Social Security representative payee or a Veterans Affairs fiduciary — or where the estate does not exceed the Chapter 208 public benefit threshold and adequate provision for care is proved, or where the estate is only cash equivalents in restricted custody under § 473.160.
Final settlement
Section 475.290: final settlement at a time fixed by the court within ninety days after termination of the conservator’s authority, with a copy of the account and written notice delivered at least twenty days before the settlement date — to the protectee, or to the successor conservator, or on death to the personal representative. If delivery cannot be made, publication once a week for four weeks. Authority to wind up administration survives termination under § 475.083.3.
Some conservatorships can be avoided entirely. Section 475.330, RSMo lets the court, in its discretion and without appointing a conservator or requiring bond, deal with an estate that does not exceed $10,000 — by depositing the funds payable to a future conservator or to the person at eighteen, by delivering them to a suitable person designated by the court, or by paying them to a parent, to whoever has care and custody, or to the person themselves. The same $10,000 ceiling applies to an adult adjudicated disabled, and the court may use it to discharge an existing conservator. It is discretionary, not automatic — but on a small estate it is worth asking for.
Meet Derek Haake
He has been on both sides of this — the planning and the petition.
Guardianship is what happens when incapacity planning did not happen, or did not hold. Derek spent three years as a Vice President and Estate Settlement Officer at Bank of America Private Bank and has practiced estate planning and estate settlement for most of his career — which means he has drafted the durable powers of attorney that keep families out of probate court, and he has seen what it costs when there was not one.
That matters here in a specific way. Under § 475.075.13, RSMo the court must consider whether a durable power of attorney or a trust already meets the person’s needs before it appoints anyone, and under § 475.079.1 the absence of a workable alternative is an element of the case. Knowing what those documents can and cannot carry is the difference between a petition that is necessary and one that is not.
He also litigates. Contested guardianships, removal petitions and fiduciary claims are ordinary work here, as are the contested estates and civil disputes that often involve the same families.
Questions
Missouri conservatorship, answered.
Who needs a conservator rather than a guardian?
Someone whose problem is money rather than personal care. Section 475.010(6), RSMo defines a disabled person as one unable, by reason of a physical, mental or cognitive condition, to receive and evaluate information or communicate decisions to such an extent that the person “lacks ability to manage the person’s financial resources.” That is a different test from incapacity, which concerns essential requirements for food, clothing, shelter and safety. The two are independent adjudications and either may exist without the other — a person living safely and independently who has begun sending money to strangers may need a conservator and no guardian at all. Section 475.061.2 allows one combined petition where both are needed, without repeating the allegations. And under § 475.079.2 the appointment still requires a finding that the needs “cannot be met by a less restrictive alternative.”
Can someone consent to their own conservatorship?
Yes, and this track is frequently overlooked. Section 475.062, RSMo provides that where the alleged disabled person petitions on their own behalf, or consents in writing to the appointment, the court still first appoints an attorney for them — and may then appoint the nominated conservator without notice or hearing if the court finds the disability exists, the respondent desires the appointment, understands its purpose, and is making a reasonable choice. For someone who knows they are struggling with finances but is otherwise clear-headed, this is a dignified and dramatically less adversarial route than a contested petition. It is also a live option in the window where a person still has enough capacity to choose — the same window in which a durable power of attorney is usually the better answer.
What can a conservator do without asking the court?
A defined list, with dollar and time limits. Section 475.130.6, RSMo permits, without prior approval: receiving additions to the estate; buying insurance on estate property and liability coverage; contracting for repairs; leasing land for not more than one year; voting stock; contracting for board, lodging, education and medical care for periods not exceeding one year; depositing funds; paying taxes and expenses of administration; prosecuting and defending actions; executing instruments; and investing under § 475.190. Four powers carry a $5,000 cap: settling a claim against the estate, settling or abandoning a claim of the estate, selling personal property, and exchanging property of equivalent value. Anything larger, anything involving real estate, and anything on the § 475.094 extraordinary list requires an order. When in doubt, petition — § 475.130.7 makes the conservator personally answerable for breaches.
Can a conservator sell the house?
Only with a court order, and the protectee now gets notice. Section 475.200, RSMo permits sale, mortgage, pledge, lease or exchange of the protectee’s real property “upon such terms as the court may order” for care and support, family maintenance, education of the protectee’s children, debts, administration costs, reinvestment of proceeds, or where it is otherwise in the protectee’s best interests. The conservator petitions setting out the condition of the estate and the facts relied on, and the court examines the petition and, if it deems it necessary, testimony from credible and disinterested witnesses. Section 475.230.1 requires the sale be conducted as a decedent’s estate sale, and § 475.230.2 — added in 2018 — requires that unless waived for cause the protectee receive ten days’ prior notice of the hearing on a sale of real or tangible personal property. A creditor or other interested person may also petition for a sale on twenty days’ notice to the conservator under § 475.200.3.
Can a conservator do Medicaid or estate tax planning?
Yes, with authorization, and the standard the court applies is substituted judgment. Section 475.094, RSMo permits a conservator, with court authorization after notice to interested persons, to make gifts the protectee might have been expected to make — “including, but not limited to, gifts to qualify for government benefits or to reduce federal estate taxes” — to convey, release or disclaim interests including marital property rights, to exercise or release powers of appointment, to create a revocable or irrevocable trust of estate property even one extending beyond the conservatorship, to exercise rights under insurance and annuities, and to elect against a deceased spouse’s will. In deciding, the court considers primarily what decision the protected person would have made, together with financial needs, tax consequences, benefit eligibility, prior giving patterns, the existing estate plan and life expectancy. This is real planning authority, but every step of it runs through a petition. See Medicaid and long-term care trusts and taxable estate planning.
Does a conservatorship cancel a power of attorney?
No — not automatically, and this is widely misstated. Section 404.717.1, RSMo lists the six events that modify or terminate a power of attorney between principal and attorney in fact: the document’s own terms, the principal so informing the attorney in fact, recorded written notice, the principal’s death, the attorney in fact becoming unqualified, and the filing of a dissolution action between spouses. Appointment of a conservator is not on that list. A court may terminate or modify a durable power of attorney, or remove the attorney in fact, under § 404.727.5 — but only on petition and for good cause shown, and it may equally choose to confirm the agent’s authority. And § 475.094 forbids the conservator from revoking or amending the POA unilaterally. The narrow automatic rule is different: under § 475.361.3, appointment of a guardian revokes the powers of an agent under a durable power of attorney for health care unless the court orders otherwise.
What happens if a conservator mismanages the money?
Surcharge, removal, loss of compensation, and potentially criminal exposure. Section 475.130.7, RSMo provides that a conservator who breaches the duties in § 475.130.1 “may be surcharged for losses to the estate caused by the breach” — though good-faith third parties without notice may keep the benefit of their transactions. Section 475.132.4 confirms that liability between the estate and the conservator personally may be determined “in a proceeding for accounting, surcharge, or indemnification.” Section 475.265 lets the court deny compensation entirely where the fiduciary “has failed to discharge his duties.” Removal runs through § 475.110 and § 473.140. And exploiting a protectee can be a crime: § 570.145 reaches undue influence “including improper use of a power of attorney or guardianship,” escalating from a class A misdemeanor to a class A felony at $75,000. See contested guardianship.
Can a conservator be paid?
Yes, in an amount the court fixes. Section 475.265, RSMo allows a guardian or conservator “such compensation for his services…as the court shall deem just and reasonable,” with additional compensation for necessary services as attorney and for other services not required of a fiduciary, plus necessary administration expenses “including reasonable attorney fees if the employment of an attorney for the particular purpose is necessary.” Compensation is fixed by the court and allowed at an annual or final accounting, though the fiduciary or the attorney may apply earlier for an allowance on work already performed. Two things cut the other way: the court “may deny him any compensation whatsoever or may reduce the compensation” if duties were not discharged, and it “may consider ties of blood, marriage or adoption” in setting the figure — which in practice often means a family member serves for little or nothing.
Is a conservatorship needed for a small estate?
Often not. Section 475.330, RSMo gives the court discretion, where the whole estate does not exceed $10,000, to act without appointing a conservator or requiring bond — by depositing the funds in a fiduciary depositary payable to a future conservator or to the minor at eighteen; by delivering them to a suitable person the court designates; or by paying or delivering them to a parent, to the person having care or custody, or to the person themselves. Section 475.330.2 applies the same $10,000 ceiling to an adult adjudicated disabled, and § 475.330.3 lets the court discharge an existing conservator and dispose of the assets the same way. Note the phrasing: the court “may, in its discretion” — this is something to request, with a proposal for how the money will be handled, not something that happens automatically. Separately, § 475.276 allows settlements to be waived where assets sit with a representative payee or VA fiduciary or in restricted custody.
What has to be filed, and when?
Bond first, then annual settlements, then a final one. Section 475.100 requires the bond before entering on the duties. Section 475.270 requires an annual settlement at a time the court fixes within sixty days after the anniversary of appointment, in the form required by § 473.543, plus the narrative disclosures described above. Section 473.543 requires vouchers for disbursements over seventy-five dollars, and expressly allows an electronic copy of a check or a bank statement. Section 475.290 requires final settlement within ninety days after termination of authority, with the account and notice delivered at least twenty days before the settlement date. The practical advice is dull and it matters: open a separate account in the conservatorship’s name on day one, never commingle, and keep every receipt as you go.
Can a conservator continue the protectee’s business or investments?
Within limits, and with the court’s supervision. Section 475.130.1, RSMo requires the conservator to “protect, preserve, and manage the estate” using the care of an ordinarily prudent person managing the property of others — and if the conservator has special skills, or was appointed on the basis of representing that they do, they must use them. Investment of liquid assets runs through § 475.190. Continuation of a business is addressed at § 475.155. Since 2018, § 475.130.3 also requires the conservator to make reasonable efforts to determine income, assets and liabilities, to ascertain the protectee’s needs and preferences, to coordinate with the guardian where there is one, and to prepare a management plan. Where a closely held business is the main asset, the conservatorship and the business succession question really are the same question — see business continuity planning.
How does a conservatorship end?
By operation of law or by order. Section 475.083.1, RSMo terminates the conservator’s authority when a minor ward turns eighteen; on an adjudication that the person has been restored to capacity or ability; on revocation of letters; on the court’s acceptance of a resignation; on the death of the protectee; on expiration of an ad litem appointment; or by court order. Section 475.083.2 adds discretionary grounds including that the estate is exhausted or the conservatorship is “no longer necessary for any other reason.” Restoration petitions may be brought by the conservator, by anyone on the protectee’s behalf, or by the protectee — on a preponderance standard, once every 180 days, and the protectee’s petition may be an informal letter. Whatever the route, § 475.083.3 preserves authority to wind up, and § 475.290 requires the final settlement within ninety days.
Conservatorship
A separate account on day one prevents most of the problems.
Whether you are seeking appointment, serving already, or worried about how someone else is handling a family member’s money, the answers turn on the filings — the bond, the settlements, and what required an order.
Schedule a Free Consultation(314) 732-1547
Email derek@haakelawgroup.com · Offices in Wildwood, MO & St. Louis, MO (by appointment)
This page is general information about Missouri law, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Guardianship and conservatorship outcomes depend on the specific facts, the medical evidence, and the practice of the particular probate division. Several deadlines described here are set by local rule rather than statute. Consult a licensed attorney about your situation.