The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has just released a new set of resources to help courts monitor conservatorship cases. A three-part video series for court staff is now available online and provides guidance on case management, detecting red flags and ways to respond to suspected fraud or abuse.

The videos – Monitoring Conservatorship and Guardianship Cases, Red Flags in Financial Reports and Responses to Potential Fraud or Abuse – provide specific instruction on how court staff can ensure a conservator or guardian appropriately fulfills their duties through communication and effective case management. Court staff can also learn how to identify and report suspected fraud.

To ensure conservatorship cases are effectively managed, NCSC recommends that courts:  

• Make expectations clear by providing instructions and communicating deadlines to conservators.
• Adopt case management practices that can easily track pending and closed cases, along with important deadlines and missing reports.
• Proactively develop an action plan to address issues.

NCSC also released a series of videos for conservators and prospective conservators that defines the role and responsibilities of a conservator. The videos outline specific questions a conservator should ask the court when appointed and provide guidance on what to consider when making decisions on behalf of another person and the information needed to successfully complete reports.