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Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language

                            CHAPTER 91-H.F.No. 2156 
                  An act relating to civil law; providing for certain 
                  conservator's transactions; amending Minnesota 
                  Statutes 2004, sections 524.5-417; 524.5-423. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 524.5-417, is 
        amended to read: 
           524.5-417 [GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF CONSERVATOR.] 
           (a) A conservator shall be subject to the control and 
        direction of the court at all times and in all things. 
           (b) The court shall grant to a conservator only those 
        powers necessary to provide for the demonstrated needs of the 
        protected person. 
           (c) The court may appoint a conservator if it determines 
        that all the powers and duties listed in this section are needed 
        to provide for the needs of the protected person.  The court may 
        also appoint a conservator if it determines that a conservator 
        is necessary to provide for the needs of the protected person 
        through the exercise of some, but not all, of the powers and 
        duties listed in this section.  The duties and powers of a 
        conservator include, but are not limited to: 
           (1) the duty to pay the reasonable charges for the support, 
        maintenance, and education of the protected person in a manner 
        suitable to the protected person's station in life and the value 
        of the estate.  Nothing herein contained shall release parents 
        from obligations imposed by law for the support, maintenance, 
        and education of their children.  The conservator has no duty to 
        pay for these requirements out of personal funds.  Wherever 
        possible and appropriate, the conservator should meet these 
        requirements through governmental benefits or services to which 
        the protected person is entitled, rather than from the protected 
        person's estate.  Failure to satisfy the needs and requirements 
        of this section shall be grounds for removal, but the 
        conservator shall have no personal or monetary liability; 
           (2) the duty to pay out of the protected person's estate 
        all lawful debts of the protected person and the reasonable 
        charges incurred for the support, maintenance, and education of 
        the protected person's spouse and dependent children and, upon 
        order of the court, pay such sum as the court may fix as 
        reasonable for the support of any person unable to earn a 
        livelihood who is legally entitled to support from the protected 
        person; 
           (3) the duty to possess and manage the estate, collect all 
        debts and claims in favor of the protected person, or, with the 
        approval of the court, compromise them, institute suit on behalf 
        of the protected person and represent the protected person in 
        any court proceedings, and invest all funds not currently needed 
        for the debts and charges named in clauses (1) and (2) and the 
        management of the estate, in accordance with the provisions of 
        sections 48A.07, subdivision 6, and 501B.151, 524.5-423, or as 
        otherwise ordered by the court.  The standard of a fiduciary 
        shall be applicable to all investments by a conservator.  A 
        conservator shall also have the power to purchase certain 
        contracts of insurance as provided in section 50.14, subdivision 
        14, clause (b); 
           (4) where a protected person has inherited an undivided 
        interest in real estate, the court, on a showing that it is for 
        the best interest of the protected person, may authorize an 
        exchange or sale of the protected person's interest or a 
        purchase by the protected person of any interest other heirs may 
        have in the real estate, subject to the procedures and notice 
        requirements of section 524.5-418; 
           (5) the power to approve or withhold approval of any 
        contract, except for necessities, which the protected person may 
        make or wish to make; and 
           (6) the power to apply on behalf of the protected person 
        for any assistance, services, or benefits available to the 
        protected person through any unit of government. 
           (d) The conservator shall have the power to revoke, 
        suspend, or terminate all or any part of a durable power of 
        attorney of which the protected person is the principal with the 
        same power the principal would have if the principal were not 
        incapacitated.  If a durable power of attorney is in effect, a 
        decision of the conservator takes precedence over that of an 
        attorney-in-fact. 
           (e) Transaction set aside.  If a protected person has made 
        a financial transaction or gift or entered into a contract 
        during the two-year period before establishment of the 
        conservatorship, the conservator may petition for court review 
        of the transaction, gift, or contract.  If the court finds that 
        the protected person was incapacitated or subject to duress, 
        coercion, or undue influence when the transaction, gift, or 
        contract was made, the court may declare the transaction, gift, 
        or contract void except as against a bona fide transferee for 
        value and order reimbursement or other appropriate relief.  This 
        paragraph does not affect any other right or remedy that may be 
        available to the protected person with respect to the 
        transaction, gift, or contract. 
           (f) After the filing of the petition, a certificate of the 
        district court certified to that fact may be filed for record 
        with the Minnesota secretary of state in the same manner as 
        provided in section 336.9-501.  The certificate shall state that 
        a petition is pending and the name and address of the person for 
        whom a conservator is sought.  If a conservator is appointed on 
        the petition, and if the conservatorship order removes or 
        restricts the right of the protected person to transfer property 
        or to contract, then all contracts except for necessaries, and 
        all transfers of personal property, tangible or intangible, 
        including, but not limited to, cash or securities transfers at 
        banks, brokerage houses, or other financial institutions, or 
        transfers of cash or securities, made by the protected person 
        after the filing and before the termination of the 
        conservatorship shall be voidable. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 524.5-423, is 
        amended to read: 
           524.5-423 [SALE, ENCUMBRANCE, OR OTHER TRANSACTION 
        INVOLVING CONFLICT OF INTEREST.] 
           Any transaction involving the conservatorship estate which 
        is affected by a conflict between the conservator's fiduciary 
        and personal interests is voidable unless the transaction is 
        expressly authorized by the court after notice to interested 
        persons.  A transaction affected by a conflict between personal 
        and fiduciary interests includes any sale, encumbrance, or other 
        transaction involving the conservatorship estate entered into by 
        the conservator, the spouse, descendant, agent, or lawyer of a 
        conservator, or corporation or other enterprise in which the 
        conservator has a beneficial interest.  Notwithstanding a 
        conflict between the conservator's fiduciary and personal 
        interests, if the protected person is a parent, child, or 
        sibling of the conservator, the court has discretion to allow a 
        transaction of beneficial interest to the conservator, as long 
        as the conservator can prove that this transaction is primarily 
        in the best interest of the protected person.  
           [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective July 1, 2005, 
        and shall include all proceedings open or pending on that date. 
           Presented to the governor May 21, 2005 
           Signed by the governor May 25, 2005, 4:05 p.m.

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes