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Account and Order, the conservator’s accounting

The yearly account a D.C. conservator files. There is no filing fee, but court costs on the estate’s value come due with the first one.

By Fidura staff. Last reviewed .

Who files
The conservator in an intervention proceeding
A guardian of a minor’s estate files the same form, on the same yearly clock. Prob. R. 506(a) (opens in a new tab)
When it’s due
30 days after each anniversary of your appointment
Prob. R. 319(b)(2)(A) (opens in a new tab)
Where
The Probate Division of D.C. Superior Court
The Register of Wills audits it. A judge approves it on sheet 11.
The form
Form Account and Order
The court’s copy (PDF) (opens in a new tab)

Serve the account and report within 7 days of filing: on the ward, any guardian, known successors, dependants, the parties and anyone who asked for notice. Attach a certificate of service. Prob. R. 319(c) (opens in a new tab)

What you need

Have the last account or the inventory, the year’s bank and brokerage statements, and a voucher for every payment. Schedule A is last account’s Schedule L, at carrying value.

The example follows Augustin Fairweather, an invented ward whose conservator was appointed 05/06/2024. This is account number two, covering 05/06/2025 to 05/06/2026. It was due 06/05/2026.

The columns must agree

The summary on sheet 1 has two columns. Debits are what you started with, what came in, and gains. Credits are losses, what went out, and what is left. The form says the totals “must agree”.

Augustin Fairweather, invented ward · summary of transactions
A. Beginning balance$35,695.60
B. Dividend income186.40
C. Interest income312.55
D. Annuity income24,940.00
E. Rental income0.00
F. Other collections318.00
G. Gain420.00
Total debits$61,872.55
G. Losses0.00
H. Administrative expenses1,446.00
I. Rental property expenses0.00
J. Other disbursements142.00
K. Maintenance and care expenses25,500.05
L. Ending balance, carrying value34,784.50
Total credits$61,872.55

Where the figures came from

Beginning balance (Schedule A)
Checking$4,215.60
Savings22,480.00
Index fund, 200 shares at $45.009,000.00
Carrying value$35,695.60
Annuity income (Schedule D)
Social Security, 8 at $1,640.00$13,120.00
Social Security, 4 at $1,680.006,720.00
Pension, 12 at $425.005,100.00
Annuity income$24,940.00
Disbursements (Schedules H, J, K)
H. Bond premium$210.00
H. Bank charges36.00
H. Attorney’s fee, approved by order1,200.00
J. D.C. income tax142.00
K. Assisted living, 12 at $1,950.0023,400.00
K. Pharmacy684.30
K. Clothing215.75
K. Personal allowance, 12 at $100.001,200.00
Disbursements$27,088.05
Ending balance (Schedule L)
Checking$6,591.95
Savings22,792.55
Index fund, 120 shares at $45.005,400.00
Carrying value$34,784.50

Schedule B is the fund’s dividends, Schedule C the savings interest, and Schedule F a tax refund.

The sale

Augustin’s conservator sold 80 fund shares for $4,020.00. Schedule A already carries them at $3,600.00, so only the $420.00 gain goes in Schedule G. The rest of the proceeds is the same money, moved from the fund to checking.

Schedule L lists each asset at carrying value and at market value on the closing date. The summary uses carrying value. At $51.30 a share, the market value column totals $35,540.50.

What goes with it

File the account with a Conservator’s Report (form 903.10.v2) and a notice of filing (form 954.10.v2). Prob. R. 319(a) (opens in a new tab) If the account shows any account number, add the sealed account-number form (Form 27). Prob. R. 113(b)(5) (opens in a new tab)

Attach copies of every bank and brokerage statement for the period. Add the checks and receipts behind each receipt and payment, the papers for any sale, and the year’s tax returns. If no return was due, say so in the account. Prob. R. 113(e)(1) (opens in a new tab)

Court costs are charged on the estate’s value, leaving out real property, and paid with the first account. A later account owes the difference if the estate grows into a higher bracket. Prob. R. 108 (opens in a new tab)

After you file

Anyone served may file exceptions within 14 days of the notice of hearing. The notice form still prints 10 days; the rule says 14. Prob. R. 319(e) (opens in a new tab)

A late account draws a notice to cure from the Register of Wills, then a report to the court. The court can order you to show cause and can remove you. Prob. R. 114 (opens in a new tab)

Keep every record behind the account until the final account is approved and any appeal is over. Prob. R. 319(f) (opens in a new tab)

The final account

When the ward dies, file a notice of death promptly. Within 60 days of the death, file a final account that ends on the date of death. Prob. R. 320(b) (opens in a new tab)

It goes in with a petition to terminate the conservatorship (form 937.10.v2), a final Conservator’s Report and a Certificate of No Unsettled Liabilities (form 955.10.v2). The court holds a hearing on the final account.

A final account also states that every claim is paid or rejected, lists any unsettled liabilities, and proposes the distribution. Prob. R. 113(c)(2) (opens in a new tab)

Common mistakes

Market value in the summary

Schedule L has two columns. Only carrying value goes to the summary. Carry market value over and the columns stop agreeing.

A period that does not join the last one

The first account starts on the day you were appointed. Each later one starts where the last ended and covers one year. Instructions to Conservators, item 13(d)(1) (opens in a new tab)

Schedule D rates that do not match the deposits

List each benefit by months and rate. The form’s example uses the net amount deposited and shows the gross and the premium beside it.

Sources

Also for District of Columbia: 907.10.v2, Inventory

We make Fidura, guardianship accounting software built on a reconciled register for each ward. See the product

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