The court also noted she had filed for an elective share of the estate, and the court concluded the value of these accounts, plus accrued interest, must be reflected as part of the ending inventory of the conservatorship. The court concluded interest amounts withdrawn by Beryl Stensland from accounts held in joint ownership between Engvald Stensland and Deibler must be returned to those accounts together with any interest which would have been earned on amounts withdrawn from those accounts. The county court ordered Beryl Stensland to furnish copies of bank statements and other documents so the personal representative could verify the accounting of the conservatorship. The court also ordered her to amend the final accounting and ending inventory of the conservatorship to accurately reflect the value of the estate according to the decisions of the court. The court held a hearing, ordered certain changes to be made in the final accounting, and then approved, as amended, the second final accounting and inventory.
Every conservator has a duty to account to the court for administration of the trust.
A conservator is a fiduciary and, as such, owes a high degree of good faith to the ward, to the estate of the ward, and to other persons interested in the estate. A trial court has discretionary authority regarding management of a protected person's estate, and its decisions will not be reversed on appeal unless the court abuses its discretion. In approving the amended final accounting, the county court reversed its position on the conservator's transfer of funds from accounts held jointly between her and her husband to accounts solely in her name. In its final decision the court ruled the value of those accounts need not be included in the ending inventory. The court instead required the conservator to disclose those transfers in an attachment to the final inventory.