This week Governor Bill Ritter nominated Monica Marquez to the Colorado Supreme Court. Monica will be replacing Chief Justice Mary Mullarky, who is resigning effective November 30, 2010.
A brief resume is available in this opinion article from the Denver Post. I have worked with Monica, know her personally, and consider her a friend. And I’m proud that she was appointed to the state’s highest court.
This past Sunday, February 21, the Denver Post ran an article on guardianships and conservatorships. The article, Probate court rife with lapses in training, oversight – Who’s protecting the unprotected?, covers issues that have arisen in the context of protective proceedings (which include both guardianships and conservatorships). The article focuses on issues that have arisen particularly in cases in the Denver Probate Court, and difficulties the Court has in monitoring the guardians and conservators who are supposed to be doing the protecting.
The article goes through many of the issues that the Denver Probate Court has encountered, including budget cuts and reductions in staff. It also talks about some of the initiatives through that court and the state court administrator’s office aimed at improving the tracking and reporting of Colorado protective proceedings.
It’s worth a read. It’s also worth noting that inevitably other courts will pick up on the article and could move reviewing whether or not guardianship and conservatorship reports have been filed in their courts to a higher priority. As detailed in this post there are numerous possible sanctions for failing to file reports on time, including removal and surcharge. So file the reports on time and always let the court supervising your protective proceeding know about an important change – like a change of address or the ward passing away. This will help keep you in the court’s good graces.
It’s a new year and it’s a time that courts tend to announce resolutions along with everyone else. On January 4, 2010, the Denver Probate Court announced its new policy with regard to conservators who fail to live up to their duties and statutory bond requirements.
As the Court points out, when the Colorado legislature adopted the Uniform Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Act on January 1, 2001, it imposed a new requirement that every conservator should post a bond to insure the faithful discharge of his or her duties. If a court decides not to impose a bond it must make specific factual findings that it was not required in the particular case because the conservator had demonstrated to the court indications of extra trustworthiness and reliability.
One of the duties that is imposed upon conservators is the filing of an inventory, financial plan, and annual reports or accountings as directed by the court or by law. C.R.S. §§ 15-14-418 to -420. The Denver Probate Court comments in its announcement that “[d]elinquency in filing reports exhibits a lack of trustworthiness and reliability and imposes extra responsibilities on courts at a time when our resources and staffs are stretched to the limit.”
Accordingly, the Denver Probate Court indicates that it will immediately order conservators who are currently delinquent to file a bond. Further, if the Court imposes a bond on a conservator for being delinquent, it will order that the conservator pay the bond personally and not from the protected person’s estate. If the conservator cannot qualify for a bond, he or she will be promptly replaced by the Court. It is important to realize that for a large estate, the premium for the bond could personally cost the conservator $5,000 per year or more.
While it is always of the utmost importance to comply with statutes and court orders, particularly when acting in a fiduciary capacity, this position raises the personal stakes for conservators serving in Denver. If you are a conservator, the reporting requirements in your particular case, along with the dates you must report by, can be found in the orders your received from the Court appointing you as conservator. You can also contact the court clerk’s office who should be able to look up the dates and reporting requirements for you.
The Court’s announcement can be found here.
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