Respecting the Plan Already in Place
A conservatorship does not erase what the protected person set up before they lost the ability to manage their own affairs. If someone created a will, set up a trust, or arranged payable-on-death accounts, the conservator must consider those plans when making money choices.
The goal is to preserve the protected person's wishes, not override them.
In investing the estate, and in selecting assets of the estate for distribution under section 14-5425, subsection A, in utilizing powers of revocation or withdrawal available for the support of the protected person, and exercisable by the conservator or the court, the conservator and the court shall take into account any known estate plan of the protected person.
A.R.S. § 14-5427This means a conservator should not sell assets set aside for a certain person unless the protected person's care truly requires it. If a trust names certain people as heirs, the conservator must weigh that intent before using trust assets.
Why This Matters for Families
Without this safeguard, a conservator could undo a carefully built estate plan by accident. For example, think about someone who spent years setting up a trust to protect their children's share.
If the conservator focused only on daily costs and drained trust assets without looking at the bigger picture, the children could lose everything. This statute prevents that outcome.
The law names wills, revocable trusts, and any arrangement with death-benefit terms. It also gives the conservator the right to review the protected person's will. This helps the conservator make well-informed choices.
Annual accountings give the court and family the chance to check that the estate plan is being preserved. These reports show how assets are managed and whether spending fits the protected person's known wishes.