(1) A conservator has all of the powers conferred in this chapter and any additional powers conferred by law on trustees in this state. In addition, a conservator of the estate of an unmarried minor as to whom no one has parental rights, has the duties and powers of a guardian of a minor described in Section 75-5-209 until the minor attains majority or marries, but the parental rights so conferred on a conservator do not preclude appointment of a guardian as provided by Part 2, Guardians of Minors.
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Terms Used In Utah Code 75-5-424

  • Agent: includes an attorney-in-fact under a durable or nondurable power of attorney, an individual authorized to make decisions concerning another's health care, and an individual authorized to make decisions for another under a natural death act. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
  • Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Conservator: means a person who is appointed by a court to manage the estate of a protected person. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Court: means any of the courts of record in this state having jurisdiction in matters relating to the affairs of decedents. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Distributee: means any person who has received property of a decedent from his personal representative other than as a creditor or purchaser. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
  • Estate: includes the property of the decedent, trust, or other person whose affairs are subject to this title as originally constituted and as it exists from time to time during administration. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
  • 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 who has qualified as a guardian of a minor or incapacitated person pursuant to testamentary or court appointment, or by written instrument as provided in Section Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Land: includes :
         (18)(a) land;
         (18)(b) a tenement;
         (18)(c) a hereditament;
         (18)(d) a water right;
         (18)(e) a possessory right; and
         (18)(f) a claim. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Lease: includes an oil, gas, or other mineral lease. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
  • Minor: means a person who is under 18 years old. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
  • Person: means an individual or an organization. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
  • Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
  • Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
  • Protected person: means a person for whom a conservator has been appointed. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
  • Security: includes any note, stock, treasury stock, bond, debenture, evidence of indebtedness, certificate of interest, or participation in an oil, gas, or mining title or lease or in payments out of production under such a title or lease, collateral trust certificate, transferable share, voting trust certificate, and, in general, any interest or instrument commonly known as a security, or any certificate of interest or participation, any temporary or interim certificate, receipt, or certificate of deposit for, or any warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase, any of the foregoing. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
  • State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, or a Native American tribe or band recognized by federal law or formally acknowledged by a state. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
  • Trust: includes :
              (60)(a)(i) a health savings account, as defined in Section 223of the Internal Revenue Code;
              (60)(a)(ii) an express trust, private or charitable, with additions thereto, wherever and however created; or
              (60)(a)(iii) a trust created or determined by judgment or decree under which the trust is to be administered in the manner of an express trust. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
  • Ward: means a person for whom a guardian has been appointed. See Utah Code 75-1-201 v2
(2)

     (2)(a) A conservator has the power to compel the production of the protected person‘s estate documents, including the protected person‘s will, trust, power of attorney, and any advance health care directives.
     (2)(b) If a guardian is also appointed for the ward, the conservator shall share with the guardian the estate documents the conservator receives.
(3) A conservator has power without court authorization or confirmation to invest and reinvest funds of the estate as would a trustee.
(4) A conservator, acting reasonably in efforts to accomplish the purpose for which the conservator was appointed, may use the funds of the estate and act without court authorization or confirmation, to:

     (4)(a) collect, hold, and retain assets of the estate, including land in another state, until, in the conservator’s judgment, disposition of the assets should be made, and the assets may be retained even though they include an asset in which the conservator is personally interested;
     (4)(b) receive additions to the estate;
     (4)(c) continue or participate in the operation of any business or other enterprise;
     (4)(d) acquire an undivided interest in an estate asset in which the conservator, in any fiduciary capacity, holds an undivided interest;
     (4)(e) invest and reinvest estate assets in accordance with Subsection (3);
     (4)(f) deposit estate funds in a bank including a bank operated by the conservator;
     (4)(g) acquire or dispose of an estate asset, including land in another state, for cash or on credit, at public or private sale; and to manage, develop, improve, exchange, partition, change the character of, or abandon an estate asset;
     (4)(h) make ordinary or extraordinary repairs or alterations in buildings or other structures, demolish any improvements, and raze existing or erect new party walls or buildings;
     (4)(i)

          (4)(i)(i) subdivide, develop, or dedicate land to public use;
          (4)(i)(ii) make or obtain the vacation of plats and adjust boundaries;
          (4)(i)(iii) adjust differences in valuation on exchange or partition by giving or receiving considerations; and
          (4)(i)(iv) dedicate easements to public use without consideration;
     (4)(j) enter for any purpose into a lease as lessor or lessee with or without option to purchase or renew for a term within or extending beyond the term of the conservatorship;
     (4)(k) enter into a lease or arrangement for exploration and removal of minerals or other natural resources or enter into a pooling or unitization agreement;
     (4)(l) grant an option involving disposition of an estate asset or take an option for the acquisition of any asset;
     (4)(m) vote a security, in person or by general or limited proxy;
     (4)(n) pay calls, assessments, and any other sums chargeable or accruing against or on account of securities;
     (4)(o)

          (4)(o)(i) sell or exercise stock subscription or conversion rights; and
          (4)(o)(ii) consent, directly or through a committee or other agent, to the reorganization, consolidation, merger, dissolution, or liquidation of a corporation or other business enterprise;
     (4)(p) hold a security in the name of a nominee or in other form without disclosure of the conservatorship so that title to the security may pass by delivery, but the conservator is liable for any act of the nominee in connection with the stock so held;
     (4)(q) insure the assets of the estate against damage or loss and the conservator against liability with respect to third persons;
     (4)(r)

          (4)(r)(i) borrow money to be repaid from estate assets or otherwise; and
          (4)(r)(ii) advance money for the protection of the estate or the protected person, and for all expenses, losses, and liabilities sustained in the administration of the estate or because of the holding or ownership of any estate assets, and the conservator has a lien on the estate as against the protected person for advances so made;
     (4)(s)

          (4)(s)(i) pay or contest any claim;
          (4)(s)(ii) settle a claim by or against the estate or the protected person by compromise, arbitration, or otherwise; and
          (4)(s)(iii) release, in whole or in part, any claim belonging to the estate to the extent that the claim is uncollectible;
     (4)(t) pay taxes, assessments, compensation of the conservator, and other expenses incurred in the collection, care, administration, and protection of the estate;
     (4)(u) allocate items of income or expense to either estate income or principal, as provided by law, including creation of reserves out of income for depreciation, obsolescence, or amortization, or for depletion in mineral or timber properties;
     (4)(v) pay any sum distributable to a protected person or dependent without liability to the conservator, by paying the sum to the distributee or by paying the sum for the use of the distributee either to the distributee’s guardian, or if none, to a relative or other person with custody of the person;
     (4)(w)

          (4)(w)(i) employ persons, including attorneys, auditors, investment advisors, or agents, even though they are associated with the conservator, to advise or assist in the performance of administrative duties;
          (4)(w)(ii) act upon a recommendation made by a person listed in Subsection (4)(w)(i) without independent investigation; and
          (4)(w)(iii) instead of acting personally, employ one or more agents to perform any act of administration, whether or not discretionary;
     (4)(x) prosecute or defend actions, claims, or proceedings in any jurisdiction for the protection of estate assets and of the conservator in the performance of the conservator’s duties;
     (4)(y) act as a qualified beneficiary of any trust in which the protected person is a qualified beneficiary; and
     (4)(z) execute and deliver the instruments that will accomplish or facilitate the exercise of the powers vested in the conservator.
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