Section 475.130

Title XXXI TRUSTS AND ESTATES OF DECEDENTS AND PERSONS UNDER DISABILITY

Chapter 475

Effective - 28 Aug 2009, 3 histories, see footnote   (history) 

  475.130.  General duties and powers of conservator of estate. — 1.  The conservator of the estate of a minor or disabled person shall, under supervision of the court, protect, preserve and manage the estate, apply it as provided in this code, account for it faithfully, perform all other duties required of the conservator by law, and at the termination of the conservatorship deliver the assets of the protectee to the persons entitled thereto.  In protecting, preserving and managing the estate, the conservator of the estate is under a duty to use the degree of care, skill and prudence which an ordinarily prudent person uses in managing the property of, and conducting transactions on behalf of, others.  If a conservator of the estate has special skills or is appointed on the basis of representations of special skills or expertise, the conservator is under a duty to use those skills in the conduct of the protectee's affairs.  A conservator of the estate is under a duty to act in the interest of the protectee and to avoid conflicts of interest which impair the conservator's ability so to act.

  2.  The conservator of the estate shall take possession of all of the protectee's real and personal property, and of rents, income, issue and profits therefrom, whether accruing before or after the conservator's appointment, and of the proceeds arising from the sale, mortgage, lease or exchange thereof.  Subject to such possession, the title to all such estate, and to the increment and proceeds thereof, is in the protectee and not in the conservator.  Upon a showing that funds available or payable for the benefit of the protectee by any federal agency are being applied for the benefit of the protectee, or that such federal agency has refused to recognize the authority of the conservator to administer such funds, the court may waive, by order, the duty of the conservator to account therefor.

  3.  The court has full authority under the rules of civil procedure to enjoin any person from interfering with the right of the conservator to possession of the assets of the protectee, including benefits payable from any source.

  4.  The conservator of the estate shall prosecute and defend all actions instituted in behalf of or against the protectee; collect all debts due or becoming due to the protectee, and give acquittances and discharges therefor, and adjust, settle and pay all claims due or becoming due from the protectee so far as his or her estate and effects will extend, except as provided in sections 507.150 and 507.188.

  5.  A conservator of the estate has power, without authorization or approval of the court, to:

  (1)  Settle or compromise a claim against the protectee or the estate agreeing to pay or paying not more than one thousand dollars;

  (2)  Settle, abandon or compromise a claim in favor of the estate which does not exceed one thousand dollars;

  (3)  Sell, or agree to sell, chattels and choses in action reasonably worth not more than one thousand dollars for cash or upon terms involving a reasonable extension of credit;

  (4)  Exchange, or agree to exchange, chattels and choses in action for other such property of equivalent value, not in excess of one thousand dollars;

  (5)  Insure or contract for insurance of property of the estate against fire, theft and other hazards;

  (6)  Insure or contract for insurance protecting the protectee against any liability likely to be incurred, including medical and hospital expenses, and protecting the conservator against liability to third parties arising from acts or omissions connected with possession or management of the estate;

  (7)  Contract for needed repairs and maintenance of property of the estate;

  (8)  Lease land and buildings for terms not exceeding one year, reserving reasonable rent, and renew any such lease for a like term;

  (9)  Vote corporate stock in person or by general or limited proxy;

  (10)  Contract for the provision of board, lodging, education, medical care, or necessaries of the protectee for periods not exceeding one year, and renew any such contract for a like period;

  (11)  On or after August 28, 2009, invest the estate in accordance with the provisions of section 475.190.

  6.  If, in exercising any power conferred by subsection 5 of this section, a conservator breaches any of the duties enumerated in subsection 1 of this section, the conservator may be surcharged for losses to the estate caused by the breach but persons who dealt with the conservator in good faith, without knowledge of or reason to suspect the breach of duty, may enforce and retain the benefits of any transaction with the conservator which the conservator has power under subsection 5 of this section to conduct.

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(RSMo 1939 § 470, A.L. 1955 p. 385 § 308, A.L. 1959 H.B. 537, A.L. 1978 H.B. 1634, A.L. 1983 S.B. 44 & 45, A.L. 1998 H.B. 1571, A.L. 2006 S.B. 892, A.L. 2009 H.B. 239)

Prior revisions: 1929 § 471; 1919 § 467; 1909 § 497

CROSS REFERENCE:

Multinational banks, securities and obligations of, investment in, when, 409.950

(1976) Guardian of an incompetent joint tenant has same power over joint tenants' interest in a joint bank account as his ward had prior to incompetency and may withdraw full amount of account without approval of probate court. Matter of Estate of Thompson (A.), 539 S.W.2d 650.