Virginia Code 64.2-2021: General duties and liabilities of conservator.
A. At all times the conservator shall exercise reasonable care, diligence, and prudence and shall act in the best interest of the incapacitated person. To the extent known to him, a conservator shall consider the expressed desires and personal values of the incapacitated person.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 64.2-2021
- Conservator: includes (i) a local or regional program designated by the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services as a public conservator pursuant to Article 6 (§ Virginia Code 64.2-2000
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Estate: includes both real and personal property. See Virginia Code 64.2-2000
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Fiduciary: includes a guardian, committee, trustee, executor, conservator, or personal representative. See Virginia Code 64.2-100
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Guardian: means a person appointed by the court who has the powers and duties set out in § Virginia Code 64.2-2000
- Incapacitated person: means an adult who has been found by a court to be incapable of receiving and evaluating information effectively or responding to people, events, or environments to such an extent that the individual lacks the capacity to (i) meet the essential requirements for his health, care, safety, or therapeutic needs without the assistance or protection of a guardian or (ii) manage property or financial affairs or provide for his support or for the support of his legal dependents without the assistance or protection of a conservator. See Virginia Code 64.2-2000
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
B. Subject to any conditions or limitations set forth in the conservatorship order, the conservator shall take care of and preserve the estate of the incapacitated person and manage it to the best advantage. The conservator shall apply the income from the estate, or so much as may be necessary, to the payment of the debts of the incapacitated person, including payment of reasonable compensation to himself and to any guardian appointed, and to the maintenance of the person and of his legal dependents, if any, and, to the extent that the income is not sufficient, he shall so apply the corpus of the estate.
C. A conservator shall, to the extent feasible, encourage the incapacitated person to participate in decisions, to act on his own behalf, and to develop or regain the capacity to manage the estate and his financial affairs. A conservator also shall consider the size of the estate, the probable duration of the conservatorship, the incapacitated person’s accustomed manner of living, other resources known to the conservator to be available, and the recommendations of the guardian.
D. A conservator stands in a fiduciary relationship to the incapacitated person for whom he was appointed conservator and may be held personally liable for a breach of any fiduciary duty. Unless otherwise provided in the contract, a conservator is personally liable on a contract entered into in a fiduciary capacity in the course of administration of the estate, unless he reveals the representative capacity and identifies the estate in the contract. Claims based upon contracts entered into by a conservator in a fiduciary capacity, obligations arising from ownership or control of the estate, or torts committed in the course of administration of the estate may be asserted against the estate by proceeding against the conservator in a fiduciary capacity, whether or not the conservator is personally liable therefor. A successor conservator is not personally liable for the contracts or actions of a predecessor.
E. A conservator shall comply with and be subject to the requirements imposed upon fiduciaries generally under Part A (§ 64.2-1200 et seq.) of this subtitle, specifically including the duty to account set forth in § 64.2-1305.
1997, c. 921, § 37.1-137.3; 2005, c. 716, § 37.2-1022; 2012, c. 614.