Conservatorship Bond (Bond of a Conservator)
A conservator bond (conservatorship bond) fall in to the fiduciary class of commercial surety bonds. The instrument serves as a guarantee that a conservator will discharge his or her duties faithfully and in the best interests of the beneficiary. A "fiduciary" is an individual who acts on behalf of another person, generally in the management of that person's assets. A fiduciary is in a position of trust, owing the highest legal duty to act solely in the best interests of the beneficiary of the assets under his or her control. Because of the possibility of mishandling or misappropriation of those assets a conservatorship bond may be ordered by a court.
Most conservator orders are temporary and limited, often referred to as "limited conservatorships". A conservatorship is sort of like a guardianship "light". Where a guardian may be responsible for a ward (conservatee) that cannot take care of his or her basic physical needs, a conservator may be appointed to manage a ward's personal financial affairs only because the ward IS able to care for his or her physical needs. A conservatorship may become a guardianship or a probate matter. A different type of fiduciary bond would then likely be required. Learn more about them at these links.
Guardianship Bond - court appointed guardians of minors (legally incompetency) or elderly infirm/disabled (physical incompetency).
Probate Bond - surety bond of an administrator(ix), personal representative or executor(ix).
Appointment and therefore the supporting conservator bond tend to be short-term. In some states, such as California a limited conservatorship is often order for an initial thirty (30) days, during which time a court makes a determination of how long a ward might be disabled. The conservatorship may be extended or may be converted. Upon appointment the conservator must immediately make efforts to locate assets, such as property and money which belong to the conservatee and begin to use those assets to ensure the basic needs and treatment, medical or mental which the ward may require, pay his or her bills and manage any property owned by the ward. These are significant responsibilities, performance of which are guaranteed by a conservatorship bond.
A conservator is held to a very high legal standard of care so his or her pattern of adult financial responsibility is very important to surety bond underwriters. Good personal credit evidencing timely payment of personal obligations and judicious use of personal assets are observations that assist an underwriter in approving a conservator bond. The participation of legal and accounting professionals is helpful and some surety companies will require them to approve a bond. A conservator bond application submitted to a surety agent will contain the following:
- Fiduciary bond application
- Personal financial statement of the conservator
- Schedule of the conservatee's assets
- Identification of the attorney and/or accountant advising the conservator
- Copy of the pertinent court documents
How do you know if you need a a conservatorship bond and not a bond of a guardian? There are specific differences. Learn more about conservatorship v. guardianship administration.
Underwriting of conservatorship bonds requires review by a surety specialist with knowledge about fiduciary law in the jurisdiction where the bond will be filed. Surety bond leader, Surety One, Inc., specializes in probate, guardianship and consevator bonds. We offer these surety bonds in all fifty states, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. Application submissions are reviewed and responded to within one hour. We are the MOST RESPONSIVE surety underwriter in the business. Call (800) 373-2804, email us at Underwriting@SuretyOne.com, or click here to discuss your conservator bond need.
Surety bond application review and quoting are free of charge. There is no obligation to purchase.
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