 TITLE: What Is a Conservatorship? CONTENT: Responsibilities of a Conservator\n---------------------------------\nA court-appointed conservator holds broad powers over an adult's financial and personal matters. Responsibilities of a conservator may include:\n*   Protecting the conservatee's assets.\n*   Reporting to the court and the conservatee about how the assets are being managed.\n*   Creating the conservatee's budget.\n*   Collecting their income.\n*   Paying their bills.\n*   Investing their money.\n*   Choosing where they will live.\n*   Arranging for health care, personal care and other day-to-day needs of the conservatee.\n*   Obtaining court approval for certain decisions about health care and living arrangements.\nA conservator is a fiduciary, meaning they must always act in the best interest of the conservatee. A judge can penalize a conservator who isn't properly carrying out their fiduciary duties. A conservator who fails to act in the best interest of the conservatee, such as spending conservatorship money for unauthorized purposes, may be removed from that role or be held liable for financial harm. If relatives or other interested parties believe a conservator isn't upholding their fiduciary responsibilities, they could sue the conservator.\nAs a conversator, you're not allowed to:\n*   Pay yourself or an attorney without court permission. If approved by the court, a family member who acts as a conservator can receive an hourly fee for work done on behalf of the conservatorship. Likewise, a professional conservator can be paid from money in the conservatee's estate.\n*   Combine the conservatee's assets with their own assets.\n*   Borrow money from the conservatorship.\n*   Lend money from the conservatorship to another person.\n*   Make risky investments with the conservatorship's money. END