What is a Conservatorship Bond?
When people are applying to be a conservator of an estate, they are often told that they need to have what is known as a conservator's bond or guardianship bond. These are court bonds that serve to protect the conservatee's estate from severe losses should the conservator lose a large sum of money. Most often conservators will hear about bonds if they are seeking a probate conservatorship of the estate.
The court uses the bond as a way of ensuring that the conservator will follow the rules and protect the conservatee's assets. Should the conservator be caught abusing their rights or mishandling finances, the conservatee's estate will be compensated.
In order to obtain a bond, the conservator must find an agency that issues bonds. These bond agencies prefer that the conservator be represented by counsel. In fact most will not allow a person who is representing themselves (pro per) to obtain a bond by themselves.
The county uses a formula for calculating conservator's bond. They calculate the value of the conservatee's savings, their income if they have any, and any other gifts or other forms of estate. In some cases the court may even cont valuables and homes as assets. All of these are factored into the cost of the conservator's bond.
The court will order that the conservator post annual inventory and appraisals to ensure that the conservatee's estate is being properly managed. In some very rare cases, if the estate is small enough the court may wave a conservator's bond. It is best to ask an attorney about having a bond waved since it is not the norm.