Georgia Conservatorship Statute: Appointment, Powers, and Duties

Georgia conservatorship law lets a probate court appoint someone to manage an adult’s finances when that adult cannot make or communicate responsible decisions about property. The rules live in Title 29, Chapter 5 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, and they are built around a specific finding by the court: without clear and convincing evidence that the adult lacks that capacity, and without proof that less restrictive tools won’t work, a conservator cannot be appointed.¹

Conservator or Guardian

These are two different appointments in Georgia, and confusing them causes real problems. A conservator handles money and property: collecting income, paying bills, managing investments, protecting assets. A guardian handles the person: healthcare, where the ward lives, day-to-day welfare. Chapter 4 of Title 29 governs guardians of adults; Chapter 5 governs conservators.²

If an adult needs help with both, the court can appoint a guardian and a conservator separately. They may be the same person or different people. A conservator has no authority to make medical decisions. A guardian has no authority to sell property.

When Georgia Courts Will Appoint a Conservator

Georgia courts do not presume any adult needs a conservator. The petitioner has to prove the case by clear and convincing evidence, a standard higher than the ordinary civil “more likely than not.”³ The finding the court has to make is narrow: the adult lacks sufficient capacity to make or communicate significant responsible decisions about managing property.¹

Capacity isn’t enough on its own. Before ordering a conservatorship, the court also has to find that less restrictive alternatives are not available or appropriate. That means tools like a durable power of attorney, a trust, or a representative payee arrangement that could handle the finances without a court-supervised process. When a conservatorship is ordered, the statute requires it to be tailored to what the adult actually can’t do, and to encourage as much self-reliance as possible.¹

How the Appointment Process Works

Any interested person can file. So can the proposed ward. The petition goes to the probate court in the county where the proposed ward lives or is found. It has to include identifying information, the reasons a conservator is needed, a description of the property involved, and the name of a proposed conservator.

If the court finds probable cause to move forward, it appoints an evaluator — a physician, psychologist, or licensed clinical social worker — to examine the proposed ward. That evaluator has to be someone other than any professional whose affidavit was attached to the petition.⁴ The evaluator explains the purpose of the exam to the proposed ward, who has the right to stay silent. Anything the proposed ward says during the evaluation is privileged and can’t be used in other legal proceedings.

The evaluation is built to be minimally intrusive. It happens during business hours, and the proposed ward cannot be held overnight. The evaluator may review medical records, assess functional abilities, weigh cultural and language factors, and conduct a direct interview.⁴

The court also appoints legal counsel for the proposed ward, who has the right to attend any hearing.⁵ If the court reviews the evaluation and finds no probable cause to believe a conservator is needed, it can dismiss the petition without a hearing.

Emergency Conservatorship

When property is in immediate danger of being wasted or lost, waiting for the full process isn’t realistic. Georgia allows an interested person to petition for an emergency conservator on a compressed timeline. The petition has to describe the specific emergency, explain why the normal process cannot be followed in time, and confirm that no one else with authority (such as an agent under a power of attorney) is willing and able to act.⁶

Two petitioners have to swear to the petition, or it has to be backed by an affidavit from a licensed physician, psychologist, or clinical social worker who examined the proposed ward within the previous 15 days.⁶ The hearing is expedited, but the standard is the same clear and convincing evidence used in ordinary proceedings.⁷

An emergency conservator only gets the powers absolutely necessary to handle the immediate threat. The appointment lasts up to 60 days and can end sooner if the court removes the emergency conservator, a permanent conservator is appointed, or the underlying petition is dismissed.⁷ The proposed ward still gets appointed counsel and notice.

What a Conservator Can and Cannot Do

A conservator’s authority comes from two places: the statute and the specific order signed by the probate court. Unless the order says otherwise, a conservator can make reasonable disbursements for the ward’s support and care, enter service contracts, collect and hold the ward’s property, bring or defend lawsuits on the ward’s behalf, and invest the ward’s assets.⁸

Some actions need separate court approval. Selling real estate is the clearest example. A conservator who wants to sell the ward’s real property has to petition the court, and the court decides whether the sale serves the ward’s interest. Other transactions outside ordinary estate management follow the same rule.

Beyond the specific powers, a conservator has fiduciary duties. That means acting in the ward’s best interest, using reasonable care and prudence, considering the ward’s own values and expressed wishes, and encouraging the ward to participate in financial decisions and rebuild independent capacity where possible.⁹ A conservator who ignores these duties can be removed and held personally liable.

Inventory, Annual Returns, and Bond

Within two months of appointment, the conservator has to file a sworn inventory of the ward’s assets and liabilities with the probate court, along with a plan for managing, spending, and distributing the property and an estimate of how long the conservatorship will last. If the ward also has a guardian, the conservator has to share copies with the guardian.¹⁰

Every year after that, within 60 days of the anniversary of appointment, the conservator has to file a verified annual return. The return lists all receipts and expenditures, updates the inventory and the management plan, and includes anything else needed to show the true condition of the estate.¹¹ The court reviews it and can require original supporting documents.

Missing an annual return matters. A conservator who fails to file on time forfeits all commissions and compensation for that year, and willful, continued failure to file is grounds for removal.¹¹

Georgia also requires conservators to post a surety bond. The bond acts as a financial guarantee protecting the estate from mismanagement or theft, is generally tied to the value of the estate, and has to stay current throughout the conservatorship.

How Conservators Get Paid

Compensation is set by statute rather than left entirely to the judge. A conservator is entitled to a 2.5% commission on all money received on behalf of the estate and another 2.5% commission on all money paid out. On top of that, the conservator gets an annual commission of 0.5% of the estate’s market value, plus 10% of any interest earned during the conservatorship.¹²

When property is delivered in kind instead of liquidated, the court can allow reasonable compensation up to 3% of appraised value. A conservator can also waive some or all of these fees.¹² Family members serving as conservator sometimes do exactly that; professional conservators generally don’t, and the numbers add up quickly on a larger estate. That cost is one reason to weigh a trust or power of attorney before choosing the court-supervised route.

What Rights the Ward Keeps

A conservatorship does not strip the ward of every legal right. Georgia’s statute lists the specific powers that are removed, and anything not on the list stays with the ward. By default, appointing a conservator removes the power to make or terminate contracts other than marriage, to buy or sell property, to conduct business transactions, to revoke a revocable trust, and to bring or defend lawsuits unrelated to the conservatorship itself.¹³

The word “unless” runs through that statute. The court can tailor the order so the ward keeps particular powers. If someone can handle routine purchases but not investment decisions, the order can say so. The right to marry stays with the ward as a matter of default.¹³

Appointing a conservator also does not automatically revoke a durable power of attorney for healthcare, an advance directive, or a psychiatric advance directive the ward signed earlier. A healthcare agent already in place keeps that authority unless the court’s order specifically addresses it.¹³

The ward also keeps the right to appointed counsel throughout the conservatorship and the right to attend and participate in hearings.

Changing or Ending a Conservatorship

A conservatorship is not permanent by default. Any interested person, including the ward, can ask the probate court to modify it — to expand or narrow the conservator’s powers, restore powers to the ward, or adjust the arrangement to fit changed circumstances.¹⁴

If the petition alleges a significant change in the ward’s capacity, it has to be backed by affidavits from two people with knowledge of the ward, or from a licensed physician, psychologist, or clinical social worker, and the court orders a fresh evaluation. If the change is about the conservator’s duties rather than the ward’s capacity, the court can approve it based on the ward’s best interest without ordering a new evaluation.¹⁴

When a petition seeks to expand the conservator’s powers or further restrict the ward, the petitioner has to prove the change is warranted by clear and convincing evidence. When a petition seeks to restore rights to the ward, the court appoints legal counsel for the ward and provides notice to the conservator and other interested parties.¹⁴

When a conservatorship ends — because the ward regains capacity, the ward dies, or the estate is exhausted — the conservator files a final return covering the period since the last annual return. Notice of the petition for dismissal is published so any objections can be raised. If no valid objection is filed, the court enters an order dismissing the conservator.¹⁵ That dismissal doesn’t shield the conservator from later lawsuits over mismanagement during the conservatorship.