1997 Minnesota Statutes

     525.56 Guardian's or conservator's powers and duties. 

    Subdivision 1.  A guardian or conservator shall be subject 
 to the control and direction of the court at all times and in 
 all things. 

    Subd. 2.  The court shall grant to a guardian or 
 conservator only those powers necessary to provide for the 
 demonstrated needs of the ward or conservatee.  

    Subd. 3.  The court may appoint a guardian of the person if 
 it determines that all the powers and duties listed in this 
 subdivision are needed to provide for the needs of the 
 incapacitated person.  The court may appoint a conservator of 
 the person if it determines that a conservator is needed to 
 provide for the needs of the incapacitated person through the 
 exercise of some, but not all, of the powers and duties listed 
 in this subdivision.  The duties and powers of a guardian or 
 those which the court may grant to a conservator of the person 
 include, but are not limited to: 

    (1) The power to have custody of the ward or conservatee 
 and the power to establish a place of abode within or without 
 the state, except as otherwise provided in this clause.  The 
 ward or conservatee or any person interested in the ward's or 
 conservatee's welfare may petition the court to prevent or to 
 initiate a change in abode.  A ward or conservatee may not be 
 admitted to a regional treatment center by the guardian or 
 conservator except (1) after a hearing pursuant to chapter 253B; 
 (2) for outpatient services; or (3) for the purpose of receiving 
 temporary care for a specific period of time not to exceed 90 
 days in any calendar year. 

    (2) The duty to provide for the ward's or conservatee's 
 care, comfort and maintenance needs, including food, clothing, 
 shelter, health care, social and recreational requirements, and, 
 whenever appropriate, training, education, and habilitation or 
 rehabilitation.  The guardian or conservator has no duty to pay 
 for these requirements out of personal funds.  Whenever possible 
 and appropriate, the guardian or conservator should meet these 
 requirements through governmental benefits or services to which 
 the ward or conservatee is entitled, rather than from the ward's 
 or conservatee's estate.  Failure to satisfy the needs and 
 requirements of this clause shall be grounds for removal of a 
 private guardian or conservator, but the guardian or conservator 
 shall have no personal or monetary liability.  

    (3) The duty to take reasonable care of the ward's or 
 conservatee's clothing, furniture, vehicles, and other personal 
 effects, and, if other property requires protection, the power 
 to seek appointment of a guardian or conservator of the estate.  
 The guardian or conservator must give notice in the manner 
 required and to those persons specified in section 525.55 prior 
 to the disposition of the ward's or conservatee's clothing, 
 furniture, vehicles, or other personal effects.  The notice must 
 inform the person of the right to object to the disposition of 
 the property within ten days and to petition the court for a 
 review of the guardian's or conservator's proposed actions.  
 Notice of the objection must be served by mail or personal 
 service on the guardian or conservator and the ward or 
 conservatee unless the ward or conservatee be the objector.  The 
 guardian or conservator served with notice of an objection to 
 the disposition of the property may not dispose of the property 
 unless the court approves the disposition after a hearing. 

    (4)(a) The power to give any necessary consent to enable 
 the ward or conservatee to receive necessary medical or other 
 professional care, counsel, treatment or service, except that no 
 guardian or conservator may give consent for psychosurgery, 
 electroshock, sterilization, or experimental treatment of any 
 kind unless the procedure is first approved by order of the 
 court as provided in this clause.  The guardian or conservator 
 shall not consent to any medical care for the ward or 
 conservatee which violates the known conscientious, religious, 
 or moral belief of the ward or conservatee. 

    (b) A guardian or conservator who believes a procedure 
 described in clause (4)(a) requiring prior court approval to be 
 necessary for the proper care of the ward or conservatee shall 
 petition the court for an order and, in the case of a public 
 guardianship or conservatorship under chapter 252A, obtain the 
 written recommendation of the commissioner of human services.  
 The court shall fix the time and place for the hearing and shall 
 give notice to the ward or conservatee and to the other persons 
 specified in section 525.55, subdivision 1.  The notice shall 
 comply with the requirements of, and be served in the manner 
 provided in section 525.55, subdivision 2.  The court shall 
 appoint an attorney to represent the ward or conservatee who is 
 not represented by counsel.  In every case the court shall 
 determine if the procedure is in the best interests of the ward 
 or conservatee.  In making its determination, the court shall 
 consider a written medical report which specifically considers 
 the medical risks of the procedure, whether alternative, less 
 restrictive methods of treatment could be used to protect the 
 best interests of the ward or conservatee, and any 
 recommendation of the commissioner of human services for a 
 public ward or conservatee.  The standard of proof is that of 
 clear and convincing evidence.  

    (c) In the case of a petition for sterilization of a 
 mentally retarded ward or conservatee, the court shall appoint a 
 licensed physician, a psychologist who is qualified in the 
 diagnosis and treatment of mental retardation, and a social 
 worker who is familiar with the ward's or conservatee's social 
 history and adjustment or the case manager for the ward or 
 conservatee to examine or evaluate the ward or conservatee and 
 to provide written reports to the court.  The reports shall 
 indicate why sterilization is being proposed, whether 
 sterilization is necessary and is the least intrusive method for 
 alleviating the problem presented, and whether it is in the best 
 interests of the ward or conservatee.  The medical report shall 
 specifically consider the medical risks of sterilization, the 
 consequences of not performing the sterilization, and whether 
 alternative methods of contraception could be used to protect 
 the best interests of the ward or conservatee. 

    (d) Any conservatee whose right to consent to a 
 sterilization has not been restricted under this section or 
 section 252A.101, may be sterilized only if the conservatee 
 consents in writing or there is a sworn acknowledgment by an 
 interested person of a nonwritten consent by the conservatee.  
 The consent must certify that the conservatee has received a 
 full explanation from a physician or registered nurse of the 
 nature and irreversible consequences of the sterilization 
 operation.  

    (e) A guardian or conservator or the public guardian's 
 designee who acts within the scope of authority conferred by 
 letters of guardianship under section 252A.101, subdivision 7, 
 and according to the standards established in this chapter or in 
 chapter 252A shall not be civilly or criminally liable for the 
 provision of any necessary medical care, including but not 
 limited to, the administration of psychotropic medication or the 
 implementation of aversive and deprivation procedures to which 
 the guardian or conservator or the public guardian's designee 
 has consented. 

    (5) The power to approve or withhold approval of any 
 contract, except for necessities, which the ward or conservatee 
 may make or wish to make. 

    (6) The duty and power to exercise supervisory authority 
 over the ward or conservatee in a manner which limits civil 
 rights and restricts personal freedom only to the extent 
 necessary to provide needed care and services.  

    Subd. 4.    Duties of guardian or conservator of the 
 estate.  The court may appoint a guardian of the estate if it 
 determines that all the powers and duties listed in this 
 subdivision are needed to provide for the needs of the 
 incapacitated person.  The court may appoint a conservator of 
 the estate if it determines that a conservator is necessary to 
 provide for the needs of the incapacitated person through the 
 exercise of some, but not all, of the powers and duties listed 
 in this subdivision.  The duties and powers of a guardian or 
 those which the court may grant to a conservator include, but 
 are not limited to: 

    (1) The duty to pay the reasonable charges for the support, 
 maintenance, and education of the ward or conservatee in a 
 manner suitable to the ward's or conservatee'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 guardian or 
 conservator has no duty to pay for these requirements out of 
 personal funds.  Wherever possible and appropriate, the guardian 
 or conservator should meet these requirements through 
 governmental benefits or services to which the ward or 
 conservatee is entitled, rather than from the ward's or 
 conservatee's estate.  Failure to satisfy the needs and 
 requirements of this clause shall be grounds for removal, but 
 the guardian or conservator shall have no personal or monetary 
 liability; 

    (2) The duty to pay out of the ward's or conservatee's 
 estate all just and lawful debts of the ward or conservatee and 
 the reasonable charges incurred for the support, maintenance, 
 and education of the ward's or conservatee'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 ward or conservatee; 

    (3) The duty to possess and manage the estate, collect all 
 debts and claims in favor of the ward or conservatee, or, with 
 the approval of the court, compromise them, institute suit on 
 behalf of the ward or conservatee and represent the ward or 
 conservatee 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 48.84 and 501B.151, or as otherwise 
 ordered by the court.  The standard of a fiduciary shall be 
 applicable to all investments by a guardian or conservator.  A 
 guardian or 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 ward or conservatee has inherited an undivided 
 interest in real estate, the court, on a showing that it is for 
 the best interest of the ward or conservatee, may authorize an 
 exchange or sale of the ward's or conservatee's interest or a 
 purchase by the ward or conservatee of any interest other heirs 
 may have in the real estate.  

    Subd. 5.    Transaction set aside.  If a ward or 
 conservatee has made a financial transaction or gift or entered 
 into a contract during the two-year period before establishment 
 of the guardianship or conservatorship, the guardian or 
 conservator may petition for court review of the transaction, 
 gift, or contract.  If the court finds that the ward or 
 conservatee was incompetent 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 
 subdivision does not affect any other right or remedy that may 
 be available to the ward or conservatee with respect to the 
 transaction, gift, or contract. 

    HIST: (8992-135) 1935 c 72 s 135; 1941 c 395 s 1; 1947 c 209 s 
 1; 1953 c 457 s 1; 1961 c 288 s 1; 1973 c 618 s 9; 1980 c 493 s 
 10; 1981 c 313 s 9,10; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 185 art 2 s 4; 1987 c 
 403 art 2 s 152; 1989 c 340 art 2 s 4; 1991 c 118 s 1; 1996 c 
 314 s 6