North Dakota Code 30.1-29-10 – (5-410) Who may be appointed conservator – Priorities
1. The court may appoint an individual, limited liability company, association, corporation, or other entity with general power to serve as trustee, as conservator of the estate of a protected person.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 30.1-29-10
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Individual: means a human being. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
- Property: includes property, real and personal. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
2. Unless lack of qualification or other good cause dictates the contrary, the court shall appoint a conservator in accordance with the protected person’s most recent nomination in a durable power of attorney.
3. Except as provided in subsection 2, persons who are not disqualified have priority for appointment as conservator in the following order:
a. A conservator, guardian of property, or other like fiduciary appointed or recognized by the appropriate court of any other jurisdiction in which the protected person resides.
b. An individual or corporation nominated by the protected person by other means than provided for in subsection 2 if the protected person is fourteen or more years of age and, in the opinion of the court, has sufficient mental capacity to make an intelligent choice.
c. The spouse of the protected person.
d. An adult child of the protected person.
e. A parent of the protected person, or a person nominated by the will of a deceased parent.
f. Any relative of the protected person with whom the protected person has resided for more than six months prior to the filing of the petition.
g. A person nominated by the person who is caring for or paying benefits to the protected person.
4. A person denominated in subdivision a, c, d, e, or f of subsection 3 may nominate, in writing, a substitute to serve instead and thereby transfer the priority to the substitute.
With respect to persons having equal priority, the court is to select the one who is best qualified of those willing to serve. The court, for good cause, may pass over a person having higher priority and appoint a person having lower priority or no priority.