Filing Requirements and Responsibilities of a Conservator

Guidance from the Office of the Assistant Commissioner of Accounts

Serving as a conservator is an important fiduciary responsibility. A conservator is responsible for managing the property and financial affairs of an incapacitated adult to the extent authorized by the order appointing the conservator and Virginia law.

In Virginia, conservators are subject to continuing oversight through the Commissioner of Accounts. Commissioners of Accounts are attorneys appointed by the judges of the circuit court and are charged with the general supervision of fiduciaries who qualify before the court or clerk and with settling fiduciary accounts. [vacourts.gov]

The purpose of this page is to help conservators understand the principal inventory and accounting requirements that arise after qualification.

Important: This information is intended as general guidance. A conservator should carefully review the court’s order of appointment because the authority granted to a conservator may be limited or subject to particular requirements.

Important Filing Deadlines

A newly appointed conservator should place the following deadlines on the calendar immediately:

Virginia Code § 64.2-1300(B) requires a conservator to return an inventory to the Commissioner of Accounts within four months after the order conferring authority. [law.lis.virginia.gov]

Virginia Code § 64.2-1305 requires the first account within six months after qualification, reporting the property received, chargeable to the fiduciary, or disbursed during the first four months. After the first account has been filed and settled, subsequent accounts generally cover succeeding 12-month periods and are due within four months after the end of each period, unless the Commissioner extends the filing period for reasonable cause. [law.lis.virginia.gov]

Example: If a conservator qualifies on January 15, the inventory generally must be filed by May 15, and the first account generally must be filed by July 15 and cover the period beginning January 15 through May 15.

1. The Conservatorship Inventory

Inventory Due Within Four Months

One of the conservator’s first responsibilities is preparing and filing an Inventory for Estate of Incapacitated Adult, Virginia Form CC-1671.

The official form identifies the fiduciary as a conservator, limited conservator, or other applicable fiduciary and provides separate sections for different categories of the incapacitated person’s property. [vacourts.gov]

Virginia law generally requires the inventory to identify:

• personal property under the conservator’s supervision and control;
• real estate;
• certain legal or equitable interests that will pass to another person at death outside testate or intestate succession; and
• periodic payments to which the incapacitated person is entitled. [law.lis.virginia.gov]

The property is generally valued as of the conservator’s date of qualification, not the date the inventory happens to be prepared. [law.lis.virginia.gov], [vacourts.gov]

After-Discovered Property

Finding an asset after filing the original inventory does not mean that it should simply be ignored.

The Virginia instructions explain that after-discovered assets must be reported. Depending upon the circumstances, this may be accomplished through an amended inventory, an additional inventory, or, with permission of the Commissioner of Accounts, through the next regular accounting. The instructions generally require the filing, or permission from the Commissioner, within four months after discovery of the asset. [vacourts.gov]

Official Virginia Forms

Inventory for Estate of Incapacitated Adult, Form CC-1671
View the official Virginia form [vacourts.gov]

Instructions for Form CC-1671
View the official Virginia instructions [vacourts.gov]

2. The First Conservatorship Account

The filing of the inventory is only the beginning of the conservator’s reporting obligations.

The conservator must also periodically account for the financial activity of the conservatorship.

Under Virginia Code § 64.2-1305, the first account is due within six months after qualification and reports the money and property received, chargeable to, or disbursed by the fiduciary during the first four months after qualification. [law.lis.virginia.gov]

Virginia’s official instructions similarly state that the first account covers the period from the date of qualification through the next four months and must be filed within six months from qualification. [vacourts.gov]

Official Virginia Account Form

Conservators should generally use Form CC-1682, Account for Incapacitated Adult.

Account for Incapacitated Adult, Form CC-1682
https://www.vacourts.gov/forms/circuit/fiduciary [vacourts.gov]

Instructions and Sample Account for Incapacitated Adult
View the official instructions and sample [vacourts.gov]

The instructions are particularly important because they explain the supporting documentation expected with an account.

3. Annual and Subsequent Accounts

The conservator’s responsibility to account generally continues for as long as the conservatorship remains active.

After the first account has been filed and settled, Virginia Code § 64.2-1305 provides that the second and subsequent accounts are for each succeeding 12-month period and are due within four months following the last day of that accounting period, unless the Commissioner of Accounts allows an extension for reasonable cause. [law.lis.virginia.gov]

The official CC-1682 instructions therefore describe subsequent accounts as covering no more than 12 months and being due within 16 months from the ending date of the previous account. [vacourts.gov]

Do not assume that receiving approval of one account eliminates the obligation to file the next account. The accounting obligation continues while the fiduciary remains responsible for property requiring an accounting.

4. Keep Complete Financial Records

A conservator should maintain careful records throughout every accounting period rather than attempting to reconstruct the financial history when the account becomes due.

The official Virginia CC-1682 instructions require appropriate documentation supporting an account and discuss documentation such as receipts, statements, invoices, canceled checks, and financial institution statements. [vacourts.gov]

As a practical recordkeeping matter, a conservator should maintain an organized file containing:

• monthly bank and investment statements;
• records of deposits and income;
• invoices and bills;
• proof of payment;
• receipts;
• canceled checks or equivalent banking records;
• records relating to purchases or sales of property; and
• documents supporting significant conservatorship transactions.

Maintaining contemporaneous records can make preparation and review of the conservator’s account substantially easier.

5. Federal Benefits Require Special Attention

Conservators should pay particular attention to Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Veterans Affairs benefits, and certain other federal payments.

Virginia’s official accounting instructions explain that when specified federal benefits are paid to a designated representative who is separately required to report to the applicable federal agency, and the benefits are maintained separately from other conservatorship assets, the treatment of those benefits in the Commissioner of Accounts accounting differs from benefits commingled with other conservatorship property. [vacourts.gov]

Because the treatment depends upon how the benefits are received and maintained, conservators should review the CC-1682 instructions carefully before preparing the account.

6. Changes in Assets During the Conservatorship

A conservator’s responsibility is not limited to listing the property that existed when the conservator qualified.

During a conservatorship, assets may be sold, transferred, reinvested, or converted from one form of property into another. Income may be received, and expenses may be paid for the incapacitated person’s benefit.

These transactions must be accurately reflected in the appropriate accounting, with the supporting documentation required by the Commissioner of Accounts.

A conservator should therefore be able to trace the financial history of conservatorship assets from one accounting period to the next.

7. Conservator and Guardian Are Different Roles

A guardian and a conservator perform different legal functions.

The conservator’s filing responsibilities discussed on this page concern the incapacitated person’s property and financial affairs. A guardian may have separate reporting responsibilities.

For example, the Virginia Judicial System provides Form CC-1644, Report of Guardian for an Incapacitated Person, together with separate instructions for that form. [selfhelp.v…courts.gov]

When the same individual serves as both guardian and conservator, that person should be careful not to treat the separate responsibilities as a single filing obligation.

8. What Happens When a Conservatorship Ends?

A conservatorship may eventually terminate because of circumstances such as the death of the incapacitated person or further action by the circuit court.

Termination of the conservatorship does not necessarily mean that the conservator’s financial reporting responsibilities have immediately ended. Remaining conservatorship activity must be properly accounted for and the fiduciary’s administration brought to conclusion through the applicable accounting process.

Because the appropriate closing procedure depends upon the circumstances and the court’s orders, a conservator should contact the Office of the Commissioner of Accounts concerning the filings required to conclude the conservatorship.

Official Virginia Resources for Conservators

Virginia Judicial System

Circuit Court Fiduciary Forms
https://www.vacourts.gov/forms/circuit/fiduciary
The Virginia Judicial System identifies this as the collection of Circuit Court fiduciary forms used by Commissioners of Accounts. [vacourts.gov]

Guardianship and Conservatorship Forms
Virginia Judicial System Guardianship & Conservatorship Forms [selfhelp.v…courts.gov]

Key Forms

CC-1671 – Inventory for Estate of Incapacitated Adult
Download Form CC-1671 [vacourts.gov]

CC-1671 – Instructions
Download the Instructions [vacourts.gov]

CC-1682 – Account for Incapacitated Adult
Available through the https://www.vacourts.gov/forms/circuit/fiduciary. [vacourts.gov]

CC-1682 – Instructions and Sample Account
Download Instructions and Sample [vacourts.gov]

Key Virginia Statutes

Conservators may wish to review:

• Virginia Code § 64.2-1200, concerning the general supervisory role of Commissioners of Accounts. [vacourts.gov]
• Virginia Code § 64.2-1300, governing fiduciary inventories, including the four-month inventory requirement for conservators. [law.lis.virginia.gov]
• Virginia Code § 64.2-1305, governing accounts of conservators and establishing the first and subsequent accounting deadlines. [law.lis.virginia.gov]

Questions About Your Filing?

Every conservatorship is different. Questions may arise concerning the proper reporting of an asset, supporting documentation, an accounting period, after-discovered property, or the filing necessary to close a conservatorship.

The Office of the Assistant Commissioner of Accounts assists in the review and settlement of fiduciary inventories and accounts submitted pursuant to Virginia law.

If you have questions concerning a filing, please contact the Office before the applicable deadline. When contacting the Office, please have the incapacitated person’s name, court file or fiduciary number, and the name of the conservator available.

Important Notice

The information provided on this website is intended to assist fiduciaries in understanding general filing requirements. It is not legal advice, does not modify an order of the Circuit Court, and does not replace the requirements of the Code of Virginia or the instructions applicable to Virginia’s official fiduciary forms.

A conservator who requires legal advice concerning the conservator’s authority, administration of assets, interpretation of a court order, or other legal questions should consult qualified legal counsel.