Social Services Children Legal

Conservatorship
What?
Conservatorship is a legal arrangement that allows an adult, appointed by the court, to make financial decisions for another individual who is not able to make those decisions due to a diminished mental or physical capacity. Conservatorship is both similar and different than guardianship. Guardianship, like conservatorship, is a legal arrangement where an adult is assigned to make decisions for an individual with diminished mental or physical capacity. A guardian makes decisions regarding the individuals personal life, such as where to live, medical and educational decisions. A conservator is limited to making decisions about finances.

Who?
Conservators are assigned to individuals with developmental disabilities, brain injuries, or other conditions that make it difficult to manage money to pay for care services and other everyday expenses.

The process to obtain conservatorship took longer than I anticipated. My daughter looked at the process as a new partnership with her mom. She knew that being on her own when it came to finances and decision making would not be a good thing for her. -Sarah, parent Before my daughter turned 18, we started the process of gaining conservatorship. She was angry and resentful initially, but eventually accepted the arrangement. We have a joint bank account with her so she can only withdraw money when I sign the slip with her. -Mary, parent

How?
Conservators are assigned by the court and act as agents of the court. The process begins with someone involved in the disabled individuals life filing a petition for the assignment of a conservator. The court determines who the conservator will be based on the best interests of the individual in need of assistance. Factors that influence this decision include whether there is a family member willing to be the conservator, who the current guardian is, and the preference of the individual in need of assistance. Once assigned, conservators are responsible for conserving and managing finances and documenting how the money was spent to care for the individual.

Where?
For more information, visit the Minnesota Association for Guardianship and Conservatorship website. Look at the Minnesota Courts Manual on Conservatorship and Guardianship. Click here for Minnesota Court Forms for conservatorship and guardianship.