37.2-1022 - General duties and liabilities of conservator. - Virginia Statutes

§ 37.2-1022. General duties and liabilities of conservator.

A. At all times, the conservator shall exercise reasonable care, diligence,and prudence and shall act in the best interest of the incapacitated person.To the extent known to him, a conservator shall consider the expresseddesires and personal values of the incapacitated person.

B. Subject to any conditions or limitations set forth in the conservatorshiporder, the conservator shall take care of and preserve the estate of theincapacitated person and manage it to the best advantage. The conservatorshall apply the income from the estate, or so much as may be necessary, tothe payment of the debts of the incapacitated person, including payment ofreasonable compensation to himself and to any guardian appointed, and to themaintenance of the person and of his legal dependents, if any, and, to theextent that the income is not sufficient, he shall so apply the corpus of theestate.

C. A conservator shall, to the extent feasible, encourage the incapacitatedperson to participate in decisions, to act on his own behalf, and to developor regain the capacity to manage the estate and his financial affairs. Aconservator also shall consider the size of the estate, the probable durationof the conservatorship, the incapacitated person's accustomed manner ofliving, other resources known to the conservator to be available, and therecommendations of the guardian.

D. A conservator stands in a fiduciary relationship to the incapacitatedperson for whom he was appointed conservator and may be held personallyliable for a breach of any fiduciary duty. Unless otherwise provided in thecontract, a conservator is personally liable on a contract entered into in afiduciary capacity in the course of administration of the estate, unless hereveals the representative capacity and identifies the estate in thecontract. Claims based upon contracts entered into by a conservator in afiduciary capacity, obligations arising from ownership or control of theestate, or torts committed in the course of administration of the estate maybe asserted against the estate by proceeding against the conservator in afiduciary capacity, whether or not the conservator is personally liabletherefor. A successor conservator is not personally liable for the contractsor actions of a predecessor.

E. A conservator shall comply with and be subject to the requirements imposedupon fiduciaries generally under Title 26, specifically including the duty toaccount set forth in § 26-17.4.

(1997, c. 921, § 37.1-137.3; 2005, c. 716.)