An Act Regarding the Reporting Requirements of Guardians and Conservators
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 0354
Committee Amendment CA_A_H374 (House)
Amends: 18-A MRSA §5

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 284, L.D. 354, Bill, "An Act 
Regarding the Reporting Requirements of Guardians and Conservators" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act Regarding the Reporting Requirements of Conservators' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 18-A MRSA §5-419, suh-§(a), as amended by PL 2001, c. 280, §2, is 
further amended to read: 
(a). 
Every conservator shall account to the court for the administration of the trust 
as specified by the court at the time of the initial order or at the time of a subsequent 
order or as provided by court rule and upon resignation or removal. OR termiRatioR of the 
proteeted persoR's miRority or disability, a eORSaf"t'ator may aeeouRt to the eourt or may 
aeeouRt to tha formar proteetad parsoR or that parsoR's pars oRal reprasaRtati,ta. Prior to 
the tarmiRatioR of the proteetad parsoR's miRority, the eORservator shall aeeouRt to the 
eourt aRd the protaetad parsoR. Notwithstanding any other duty to render an accounting, 
a private conservator appointed after January 1, 2008 shall file an annual account with the 
court for approval. The court, for good cause shown by a conservator who is the spouse 
or domestic partner of the protected person, may waive or modify the duty to file an 
annual account. 
The annual account must be approved by the court before the 
conservator's obligation to file the annual account ends. 
Prior to the termination of the protected person's minority, the conservator shall account 
to the court and the protected person. On termination of the protected person's minority 
or disability, a conservator shall file a final accounting with the court and that accounting 
must be approved by the court before the conservator's obligation to account ends. The 
conservator shall provide a copy of the final accounting to the former protected person or 
that person's personal representative at the time it is filed with the court. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
.~ 
~ 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to H.P. 284, L.D. 354 
Sec. 2. 18-A MRSA §5-430, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 540, §1, is amended to 
read: 
§5-430. Termination of proceeding 
( 
The protected person, his the protected person's personal representative, the 
conservator or any other interested person may petition the court to terminate the 
conservatorship. A protected person seeking termination is entitled to the same rights and 
procedures as in an original proceeding for a protective order. The court, upon 
determining after notice and hearing that the minority or disability of the protected person 
has ceased, ~ 
shall terminate the conservatorship upon approval of a final account. 
Upon termination, title to assets of the estate passes to the former protected person or to 
ft.i.s the former protected person's successors subject to provision in the order for expenses 
of administration or to conveyances from the conservator to the former protected persoRs 
person or his the former protected person's successors, to evidence the transfer. 
Sec. 3. Guardian annual report working group. The Commissioner of Health 
and Human Services shall convene a working ,group consisting of staff from the 
Department of Health and Human Services, Adult Protective Services and interested 
parties, including, but not limited to, representatives of registers of probate, Legal 
Services for the Elderly, Disability Rights Center, attorneys in private practice, members 
of the public and such other persons as may be necessary to review the need for a practice 
requiring private guardians to make a detailed annual report to the Probate Court of the 
financial circumstances of the ward. The working group shall report its findings and 
recommendations to the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary by January 11, 2008.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bilI. 
This amendment requires a private conservator to file an annual account with the 
Probate Court for approval. The Probate Court may waive or modify the duty to file an 
annual account for good cause shown by the conservator who is the protected person's 
spouse or domestic partner. The duty does not end until the court approves the account. 
This change concerning annual accounting applies to conservators appointed after 
January 1, 2008. 
This amendment requires the conservator to account to the court and the protected 
person before the termination of the protected person's minority. Current law gives the 
Probate Court authority to require a final accounting when the protected person's minority 
or disability ends; this amendment requires a final accounting. The duty to file the 
accounting is not complete until the court approves the final accounting. The conservator 
must provide a copy of the final accounting to the former protected person or that 
person's personal representative. 
This amendment provides that when the Probate Court determines that the minority 
or disability of the protected person has ceased, the court shall terminate the 
conservatorship upon approval of a final account. 
The bill provided reporting requirements for guardians. This amendment deletes 
those requirements, but requires the Commissioner of Health and Human Services to 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~~'" 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to H.P. 284, L.D. 354 
convene a working group to review the reporting requirements for guardians and report to 
the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary by January II, 2008. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
( 
Approved: 04/13/07 
~ae 
123rd MAINE LEGISLATURE ( 
LD354 
LR 879(02) 
An Act Regarding the Reporting Requirements of Guardians and Conservators 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "ff " 
Committee: Judiciary 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Any additional cost to the Department of Health and Human Services in implementing this bill can be absorbed by the 
department utilizing existing budget resources. 
LR0879(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1