A conservatorship in Massachusetts is a court-supervised arrangement in which the Probate and Family Court appoints someone to manage the finances and property of an adult who can no longer do so on their own. The judge will only make that appointment after finding two things: the person has a clinically diagnosed impairment that keeps them from receiving, evaluating, or acting on financial information, and their property is at real risk of being wasted or lost without help.1General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 190B Section 5-401 The bar is set high on purpose, because a conservatorship takes away financial autonomy, and the court is required to look at less restrictive options first.
Who Qualifies for a Conservator
Both statutory conditions have to be met. A diagnosis alone will not do it, and neither will worry about a relative’s judgment. The court needs evidence of a clinically diagnosed impairment that affects the person’s ability to receive and evaluate information or communicate decisions, even with technological help, and evidence that property will actually be wasted or that funds are needed for the person’s support, care, or welfare and cannot be obtained without protective intervention.2Mass.gov. Massachusetts Code c.190B Section 5-401
Common fact patterns include advanced dementia paired with vulnerability to financial exploitation, a traumatic brain injury that has ended someone’s ability to track bills and income, or a serious mental illness driving spending that is depleting savings. The statute also reaches adults who are detained or otherwise unable to return to the United States.
Guardianship Is a Separate Case
One of the most common mistakes families make is conflating guardianship with conservatorship. A guardian is appointed to handle personal decisions such as housing, medical care, and daily welfare. A conservator handles only money and property. Each role requires its own petition, its own hearing, and its own finding by the judge, and the court can appoint different people to the two roles. Many families end up needing both, but neither one gets you the authority of the other.
Limited vs. Unlimited Conservatorships
Massachusetts courts can appoint either a limited conservator, with only the specific powers spelled out in the order, or an unlimited conservator with full financial authority.1General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 190B Section 5-401 Judges generally prefer the limited version because it preserves as much independence as the person can still exercise safely. If someone can pay routine bills but cannot manage a brokerage account, the order might grant authority over investments and large transactions only.
Petitioners who reflexively ask for unlimited authority should expect the court to push back and ask why. Think carefully about the specific powers actually needed, and be ready to justify anything broader.
Filing the Petition and What Happens Next
Any interested person can start the case by filing a petition in the Probate and Family Court. The category is read broadly: the individual themselves, a spouse, parent, adult child, or anyone with a genuine concern about the person’s welfare can file.3Mass.gov. Probate and Family Court Forms for Guardianship and Conservatorship
Notice
Before the hearing, the petitioner has to give notice to the person to be protected and to other interested parties, using the same rules that apply to guardianship notice under Section 5-304. If the person has disappeared or cannot practically be served in person, the court allows notice by leaving a copy of the petition and citation at their last known address.4Mass.gov. Massachusetts Code c.190B Section 5-405
The Hearing
At the hearing, the petitioner presents evidence of the impairment and the financial risk. The court can appoint a guardian ad litem to investigate independently and report back. The person whose finances are at issue has the right to counsel, and the court can appoint an attorney if they cannot afford one. Before granting the petition, the judge weighs less restrictive alternatives, including a durable power of attorney, a representative payee, or a joint bank account. If one of those tools can address the problem, the court will usually go that route instead.
Bond, Duties, and Annual Accounts
Every conservator in Massachusetts must post a surety bond unless a specific exception applies. Banks and trust companies serving as conservators are exempt unless the court finds a reason to require one. For everyone else the bond is mandatory. The amount equals the value of the property under the conservator’s control plus one year of estimated income, minus any securities held under court-controlled arrangements and any real estate the conservator cannot sell without court approval.5General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 190B Section 5-410 The premium is paid from the protected person’s estate every year and typically runs from about half a percent up to a few percent of the bond amount, depending on the bonding company and the estate.
Fiduciary Standard
A conservator is a fiduciary held to the same standard of care as a trustee.6Mass.gov. Court Required Duties as a Conservator of a Protected Person That means managing the money with the skill and caution a prudent person would use handling someone else’s assets. Self-dealing, risky speculation, and neglect can all lead to personal liability. Where possible, the conservator should follow the protected person’s known preferences and habits, so long as doing so does not harm their welfare.
Day-to-Day Work
Routine responsibilities include paying bills, managing bank and investment accounts, filing tax returns, and making sure the person’s needs are covered without unnecessarily draining the estate. The conservator also has to take custody of any wills and estate planning documents the protected person has executed.7General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 190B Section 5-407
Actions That Need Court Approval
Some decisions go beyond routine management and require the court to authorize them. With court approval, a conservator can make gifts, create or revoke trusts, exercise options under insurance policies and annuities, change beneficiaries, and even make or amend the protected person’s will. When ruling on any of these, the court has to consider what the protected person would have decided if not impaired.
Inventory and Annual Accounts
Shortly after appointment, the conservator files an inventory of the protected person’s property. After that, annual accounts are required. Each account has to show the balance carried forward, income received, disbursements and distributions made, and assets remaining at the end of the reporting period. It also has to describe the services provided and recommend whether the conservatorship is still needed and whether its scope should change.8Mass.gov. Massachusetts Code c.190B Section 5-418 These are not paperwork exercises. An order approving an intermediate account settles the conservator’s liability for the matters covered in it, and an order approving a final account settles everything outstanding. If the numbers raise questions, the court can demand explanations and take corrective action.
Rights the Protected Person Keeps
A conservatorship restricts financial autonomy. It does not erase the person’s rights. The protected person keeps the right to be treated with dignity, to receive clear information about their finances, and to have their preferences weighed in how money is spent and invested. To the extent capacity allows, the conservator should involve them in decisions.
The protected person can also push back against the arrangement. They can petition the court to review the conservator’s actions, ask for modifications to the conservator’s powers, or seek termination altogether. Any interested party can file a complaint about mismanagement. Whenever a hearing occurs on any petition filed after the conservator is appointed, both the protected person and the conservator have to be notified.4Mass.gov. Massachusetts Code c.190B Section 5-405 That open channel to the court is the primary safeguard against abuse, and it stays open for the life of the case.
Public Benefits Are the Biggest Trap
Many people under conservatorship receive Supplemental Security Income, MassHealth, or both, and these programs have strict asset limits. For SSI, a single individual cannot hold more than $2,000 in countable resources; a married couple cannot exceed $3,000. Going over the limit even briefly in a single month makes the person ineligible for that month.
Cash, bank accounts, stocks, bonds, and most investments count toward the SSI limit. Excluded assets include the primary home, one vehicle, household goods, burial plots, and designated burial funds up to $1,500. Money in an ABLE account is excluded up to $100,000 for SSI purposes, and assets in a properly structured special needs trust do not count at all. A conservator handling an inheritance or settlement for someone on benefits should work with a benefits-planning attorney before the funds land in the protected person’s account. A poorly timed deposit can cost benefits that are worth far more than the assets themselves.
One boundary is worth calling out: a court-appointed conservator is not automatically recognized by the Social Security Administration as authorized to manage SSA benefits. The SSA runs its own representative payee process, with a separate application and screening. If you need to manage the protected person’s Social Security or SSI payments, apply through the SSA on top of your conservatorship appointment.
What It Costs
Almost every expense of a Massachusetts conservatorship comes out of the protected person’s estate.
The Probate and Family Court charges a $240 filing fee for a conservatorship petition, plus a $15 surcharge. Citations run $15 each and summonses $5 each. If publication is required, the petitioner covers those costs too.9Mass.gov. Probate and Family Court Filing Fees
Attorney fees for an uncontested petition typically run several thousand dollars, and contested cases go higher. A guardian ad litem, if appointed, is entitled to reasonable compensation from the estate. An attorney whose work led to a protective order benefiting the estate can also seek compensation from it.10General Court of Massachusetts. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 190B Section 5-413
Conservators themselves are entitled to reasonable compensation, subject to court approval. Reasonableness turns on the complexity of the estate, the time spent, and the skill required. Family members serving as conservators often waive fees. Professional fiduciaries and attorneys serving in the role usually charge hourly rates that scale with experience and estate complexity. And the bond premium is an ongoing annual expense that grows with the size of the estate.
Changing or Ending a Conservatorship
A conservatorship is not fixed in scope. If the protected person’s situation changes, anyone can petition to expand, narrow, or otherwise modify the conservator’s powers, and the court evaluates the request against current circumstances and foreseeable needs. An unlimited conservatorship can be narrowed as capacity returns; a limited one can be expanded if the person’s condition worsens.
Under Section 5-429, the court can remove a conservator who fails to fulfill their duties or acts against the protected person’s best interests. A conservator can also resign with court permission. Any interested party can petition for removal for mismanagement, missed accountings, or breach of fiduciary duty, and the court takes those petitions seriously because the protected person often cannot speak up for themselves.
A conservatorship ends when it is no longer needed: the person has regained capacity, circumstances have shifted enough that less restrictive tools now work, or the person has died. The protected person, the conservator, or any interested party can petition for termination. On termination, the conservator files a final accounting covering all remaining activity and delivers the assets to whoever is entitled to them.8Mass.gov. Massachusetts Code c.190B Section 5-418
The safeguards built into the system — mandatory bonding, annual accountings, and open access to court review — only work if someone is watching. Families with a loved one under conservatorship should ask for copies of the annual accounts and read them carefully rather than assume the court will catch every problem on its own.