What Must a Conservator's Annual Accounting Show the Court?

A conservator’s annual accounting must show the court every dollar that came in, every dollar that went out, and what is left, with proof for each entry. It starts from the inventory you filed after appointment, lists receipts and disbursements line by line, and ends with the assets on hand reconciled to bank and brokerage statements. In Virginia the account goes to the commissioner of accounts; in Washington, DC, to the Probate Division; in New York, where the role is a guardian of the property, to a court examiner. The reviewer’s job is to find discrepancies, and the conservators who get into trouble are rarely the ones who stole. They are the ones who could not document what they did.

The inventory is the baseline

Everything in the annual account traces back to the inventory. It lists each asset owned by the person on the date you qualified, with a value: account balances as of that date, real estate at a defensible appraisal or assessment, vehicles, personal property of significance, and any income stream. Virginia requires the inventory to be filed with the commissioner of accounts within four months of qualification. DC and New York require an inventory or initial report on their own schedules, each measured in months.

Get this right, because every later account opens with the closing balance of the one before, and the first account opens with the inventory. A missed account or an undervalued house will follow you through every filing until it is corrected by an amended inventory.

What each conservator’s annual accounting contains

The format is set by the court or the commissioner, but the content is the same everywhere:

• Beginning balance: the assets on hand at the start of the period, matching the prior account or the inventory.
• Receipts, itemized: each pension deposit, rent payment, dividend, refund, and sale proceed, with date and source.
• Disbursements, itemized: each payment, with date, payee, amount, and purpose. Facility bills, medical costs, taxes, insurance, bond premium, and your own compensation if the court approved it.
• Gains and losses on investments, and any assets sold or acquired.
• Ending balance: assets on hand, with current statements for each account.
• A reconciliation showing that beginning balance plus receipts minus disbursements equals the ending balance.

Virginia’s commissioner will expect vouchers, meaning receipts or cancelled checks, for disbursements, and bank statements covering the whole period. DC and New York reviewers expect the same support. If you cannot produce a receipt, be prepared to explain the payment in a way the reviewer can verify. Our conservatorship practice prepares these accounts for clients and, more often, repairs accounts that were filed without adequate support.

Who reviews the account and what they look for

In Virginia the commissioner of accounts audits the account and reports to the circuit court. DC’s Probate Division has its own auditing staff. New York assigns a court examiner. Each looks for the same things: payments to the conservator or family members, cash withdrawals with no explanation, transfers between accounts that are not matched on both sides, spending that does not fit the person’s needs, and assets that disappeared from one account to the next without a sale or a court order.

They also compare the account against the order. If the order required court approval before selling real estate or making gifts, and the account shows either without an approval on file, expect a show-cause notice. The reviewer is not your adversary, but the reviewer is also not your accountant; questions go back to you, and the account is not approved until they are answered.

Records to keep from the first day

The accounting is easy if the records exist and nearly impossible if they do not. Use one dedicated account in the person’s name, with you as conservator, for all receipts and disbursements. Do not pay anything in cash. Keep every receipt in a folder or scanned file labeled by month. Keep a running ledger, even a simple spreadsheet, with the same columns the account will require. Keep copies of every court order, approval, and prior filing. If you pay yourself, keep a time log and the order authorizing compensation. A conservator who does this spends an afternoon on the annual account; one who does not spends weeks reconstructing a year from statements. The setup steps for the first months are listed in how to become conservator of a parent’s finances.

When the account is late or wrong

Late filing triggers a show-cause order, which means a hearing where you explain yourself. Repeated failure, or an account that reveals commingling, undocumented payments, or self-dealing, leads to removal, an order to repay the estate (a surcharge), a claim against the bond, and in serious cases a referral for prosecution. Even honest mistakes, such as paying a family caregiver without court approval, can produce a surcharge if the reviewer cannot confirm the payment benefited the person. Removal and the steps that follow are described in how to end a conservatorship or change the conservator.

Note that a guardian of the person files a different document: a report on the person’s condition and living situation, not a financial account. In Virginia that report goes to the local department of social services. If you hold both appointments, you file both, on their separate schedules. The legal guardianship page covers the personal side.

If you are a conservator facing your first annual accounting, or have received questions from a commissioner or examiner about one you already filed, a consultation with Capitol Law Partners can get the account into approvable shape. Schedule a consultation.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by this communication.

Attorney Sena Sahin. Clear advice for individuals, families, and business owners.

Need help with this topic? See our conservatorship inventories and accountings page or schedule a consultation.