Opinion ID: 2160038
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Appointment of Conservator

Text: The Guardianship Act authorizes the court to appoint a conservator for an incapacitated individual if the petitioner shows by clear and convincing evidence that [t]he individual has property that will be wasted or dissipated unless property management is provided, or that [m]oney is needed for the support, care, and welfare of the individual ... and protection is necessary or desirable to obtain and provide money. D.C.Code § 21-2051(b). Such evidence was lacking in this case. There was no evidence that Ms. Orshansky's assets were in danger of being wasted or dissipated, or that a conservator was needed to obtain and provide money for her support, care and welfare. There likewise was no showing that a conservator was needed to track down Ms. Orshansky's property, or to exercise her rights for her. On the contrary, the only evidence before the court was that, in accordance with Ms. Orshansky's own wishes, her money and other property were situated in a trust for her sole benefit that Rose Orshansky, her sister and co-trustee, was continuing to administer without any impropriety. The court concluded that Rose Orshansky had a conflict with her sister because she had funds of her own that remained in the trust and because she also was a residual beneficiary of the trust. Assuming for the sake of argument that the contradictory hearsay testimony of Mr. Jordan and Ms. Pollack adequately supported this conclusion, [28] it did not establish that Ms. Orshansky's assets were in any actual jeopardy sufficient to justify the establishment of a full-fledged conservatorship. Absent any evidence that Ms. Orshansky's trust was not fulfilling its purpose, the court abused its discretion in deciding to appoint a conservator. That said, we hasten to acknowledge that many relevant questions were left unasked and unanswered at the hearing in this case, and that there may exist grounds  not revealed on the record before us  to appoint a conservator or enter some other suitable protective order to ensure that Ms. Orshansky's not inconsiderable assets and income are properly maintained. For example, this case would be different if the evidence showed that Rose Orshansky lacked the requisite ability to deploy, conserve or invest trust assets; or that the trust instrument (which was not introduced in evidence, though Mr. Jordan had reviewed it) limited the cotrustee's powers or lacked adequate provision for the appointment of a successor trustee (or other desirable provision); or that Mollie Orshansky had significant property outside her trust. In this latter regard, we note that although Ms. Orshansky's monthly pension was being deposited in the trust's Merrill Lynch account, the pension itself is presumably not a trust asset and it is conceivable that Ms. Orshansky's pension rights may require protection. The foregoing observations are merely illustrative. Many reasons may exist for a conservator to be appointed, as reflected in the broad array of powers and duties that a conservator may have. See D.C.Code §§ 21-2070, -2071; see also D.C.Code § 21-2055. In view of the evidentiary deficiencies in the record, we add only that Super. Ct. Prob. R. 312 provides that the court may authorize the parties in an intervention proceeding to take discovery in accordance with Superior Court Civil Rules 26 through 37. Such discovery may be used to ascertain, among other things, the existence and status of an incapacitated individual's assets and income, as well as trust arrangements and related matters.