A conservatorship continues until a terminated by the death of the conservatee or by court order.

Can the Final Accounting be Waived?

According to California Conservatorship Practice or CEB regarding waiver of final accounting, there is no express statutory authority exists. And there appears no reason that one should be required if the interested persons have the capacity and do not want to incur the expense and delay of an accounting. The fundamental fiduciary principles prevent that person from using the position of personal representative for his or her own benefit by relieving his or her obligation to account as a conservator if the person serving as personal representative was also the conservator. According to California Conservatorship Practice, the court may allow a waiver of the conservatorship accounting only if the waiver is also executed by the beneficiaries of the former conservatee’s estate if the personal representative and the conservator are the same people. Waiving the final accounting might be improper if the conservator is also the deceased conservatee’s successor trustee or executor.

Is Final Accounting Required?

Following the death of the ward or conservatee, the final accounting of the guardian or conservator shall include a court accounting for the period that ended on the date of death and a separate accounting for the period subsequent to the date of death. A conservator of the estate whose administration is terminated by operation of law or by court order must file and obtain the court’s approval of a final account of the administration. After the death of a conservatee, the court continues to have jurisdiction over the conservatorship for the purposes of settling the accounts of the guardian or conservator or for some other reason occurrence to the requirement of the judgments and requests of the court upon such account or upon the end of the relationship.

How Does A Conservatorship End After the Death of a Conservatee?

A conservatorship continues until terminated by the death of the conservatee or by court order, therefore, a conservatorship terminates by operation of law upon the conservatee’s death. Nevertheless, the conservator continues to have the duty of custody and conservator of estate after death of the conservatee pending the delivery thereof to the personal representative of the conservatee’s estate or other disposition according to law, according to California Probate Code 2467.

Conservatorship and courts avoid the term permanent conservatorship as it suggests that the conservatee will never regain their independence and this is exactly what happens in most cases particularly those involving elderly conservatees.