Conservator or Guardian of the Estate
What is a Conservator or Guardian of the Estate?
A conservator or guardian of the estate may be appointed by the Court to manage the financial affairs of the protected person when they can no longer manage them on their own. This may include such assets as income, real property, investments, and other intangible assets that must be protected from inappropriate wasting, exploitation, or other mismanagement.
When the court appoints BPS as Conservator or Guardian of the Estate, we may have the following responsibilities:
- Inventory and secure assets
- Obtain appraisals on inventoried property
- File initial and annual accountings and reports to the Court and interested parties
- Collect on debts that may be owed to the protected person
- File appropriate tax returns
- Organization of mail & paperwork
- Bill paying
- Reconciling bank statements
- Budgeting and cash flow management
- All banking activities
- Medical claims management
- Management and protection of real & personal property
- Assistance with liquidating or consolidating assets including real or personal property and cars
- Review and reconcile credit card statements
- Coordination and management of other outside services. Anything from lawn care to legal services
- Negotiate with creditors to reduce debt
- Track income and expenses for budgeting and tax deduction reporting
- Provide user-friendly financial reports to client and their families
- Organizing information for tax return preparation
- Communicate with other professionals including your CPA, financial advisor and attorney
- Capture and manage all important personal information (financial, legal, insurance, credit cards, investments) and ensure this data is readily available when needed
- Referrals to other service providers and professionals when needed
- Review and analyze credit reports
- Household and property management
- Applying for and maintaining government benefits such as Medicaid, VA and Medicare.
- Investigating and pursuing financial exploitation and abuse
- Set up filing system for bills and important paperwork
- Anything else as required