Conservatorship of the assets of an incapacitated person is not necessary if that person receives only Social Security income and owns minimal assets. For instance, if a person qualifies for Medicaid assistance (in Arizona, Medicaid is managed through the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System -- AHCCCS -- and its long-term care arm, ALTCS), then conservatorship is not necessary. Social Security will designate a representative payee for Social Security income, and usually accepts powers of attorney or guardianship appointment as sufficient evidence of the incapacitated person's consent to such designation.
As with guardianship (and usually in combination with guardianship proceedings), a petition for conservatorship must be made in writing, a hearing must be set before a commissioner, and the proposed ward, his family, and other interested parties must be given notice of the upcoming proceedings so that they can have an opportunity to object. An attorney for the proposed ward, a medical examiner, and an investigator are appointed.
The person seeking conservatorship must qualify for a surety bond securing the conservatorship assets. Those who have a poor credit record or recent bankruptcy may not be able to be bonded, and another individual should be designated to handle the ward's financial affairs. The bond premium, which usually runs around $100 per $20,000 in assets, and other costs of administration of conservatorship are paid from the ward's estate. The conservator should also be fully reimbursed out of the conservatorship estate for all out-of-pocket expenses, and can even petition the court for compensation for time spent on managing the ward's financial affairs.
The reporting requirements are somewhat more arduous than those for guardianship. An inventory of all the ward's assets must be filed within 90 days of appointment, and every year the conservator must file a complete annual accounting. The account must include all income received by the ward and expenditures made on behalf of the ward, and must be submitted on forms designed specifically for Pima County Superior Court, Probate Division. The forms may be obtained in hard form or on disk from the Pima County Bar Association in downtown Tucson.
When the ward recovers his or her mental capacity, or dies, or the conservatorship estate is taken over by a successor conservator, then the current conservator must make a final accounting to the court.
