Werner v. Wright

737 S.W.2d 761, 1987 Mo. App. LEXIS 4712
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedOctober 6, 1987
DocketWD 38592
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 737 S.W.2d 761 (Werner v. Wright) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Werner v. Wright, 737 S.W.2d 761, 1987 Mo. App. LEXIS 4712 (Mo. Ct. App. 1987).

Opinion

CLARK, Judge.

This appeal is from the order of the circuit court of Platte County, probate division, which approved the final settlement of respondent as guardian of the person and conservator of the estate of appellant an incapacitated person, and which inferentially overruled appellant’s objections to the settlement. The question presented is whether the court may, after appointing a guardian, establish a conservatorship in a subsequent order without notice to the incapacitated person and without a hearing. We conclude it may not and therefore reverse the order approving the settlement.

This guardianship was instituted on petition filed by Geraldine Werner, mother of appellant, Linda S. Werner. It was alleged in the petition that Linda, then aged 37, was suffering from mental and physical disabilities and was in need of treatment which Mrs. Werner was unable to arrange. Notice of the petition and hearing was served upon Linda, and after taking evidence, the court issued letters to respondent as guardian of the person of Linda on October 28,1985. Neither the petition nor the order made any reference to a conser-vatorship, no evidence was taken at the hearing as to the extent of Linda’s assets and the judge’s notes indicate appointment of a conservator was not a subject considered or applicable.

On November 27, 1985, respondent filed a petition seeking to amend the letters of *763 guardianship and asking that he be appointed conservator of Linda’s estate. No notice of this additional petition was given to Linda, to her attorney or to Linda’s mother, the original petitioner. On that same date, November 27, 1985, the court issued letters of conservatorship to respondent. No evidence was taken relative to this petition and no appearance on behalf of Linda was recorded. Neither the judge's docket nor the legal file reflects any notice given to Linda or anyone on her behalf reporting the action taken by the court.

The next event recorded on the case docket shows a petition for restoration of Linda filed January 15,1986. That petition was not included in the legal file nor does the docket record any disposition made of the petition. The briefs indicate the petition was unopposed. It has apparently been assumed by the court and the parties that the later discharge of the guardian after approval of the settlement effectively accomplished restoration.

Respondent filed his final settlement March 13, 1986, slightly more than four months after the estate was first opened. The inventory in the conservatorship had not been filed until March 5,1986, although it purported to reflect an opening balance as of November 27, 1985. The inventory showed a bank account of $991.53 and miscellaneous personal property. Additional cash received was shown on the settlement as $1588.63 recorded November 12, 1985 for “back social security.” No explanation was given as to why respondent collected this amount some two weeks before he was appointed conservator.

Disbursements shown on the final settlement were $737.00 spent for the benefit of the ward. The entire balance of cash received by the respondent in the amount of $1843.16 was paid out in fees to respondent and his attorney and in other costs and fees. The settlement does not reflect collection of any social security payments for the ward currently during the period of administration from November, 1985 to March, 1986.

The incompetent filed objections to the final settlement on March 20, 1986. The objections raised two complaints. First, the incompetent protested the amounts of fees charged in relation to the assets of the estate. Second, the incompetent contended the order granting letters of conservator-ship to respondent was void because the order was entered without notice to the incompetent and without a hearing. Only this latter point is raised as an issue on appeal. We deem it unnecessary to discuss the excessive charges made for fees and costs in view of our conclusion that the order appointing respondent conservator was void.

Although the judge’s docket sheet includes an entry as of June 24,1986, “Objection to Final Settlement Overruled and Denied,” the legal file contains no order and, therefore, no statement of explanation of the ruling. There is a marginal notation on the final settlement showing it approved on June 24, 1986.

Appellant asserts two points of error which conjunctively argue the same proposition, that the court lacked jurisdiction to appoint respondent conservator of the incompetent’s property because the order was made without notice to the incompetent, or anyone acting on her behalf, and there was no hearing conducted, all as required by §§ 475.062 and 475.075, RSMo 1986. 1 Respondent counters with the argument that because the order for the conser-vatorship was made within thirty days of the original order appointing the guardian, the former was merely a modification which the court had jurisdiction to enter under § 472.150.

The statutory requirements for a petition for guardianship, § 475.060, are different from those applicable to a petition for a conservatorship, § 475.061, and the contents are different in each case. Where a guardianship of the person is sought, the petition must allege facts in ten subject areas which § 475.060 enumerates. In the case of a conservatorship, only three of those subjects need be included, but in ad *764 dition, the petitioner must allege that the respondent lacks the ability to manage his financial resources. 2 Inferentially, of course, the petition may and the ultimate hearing must consider the nature and extent of the alleged incompetent’s assets to appraise the circumstances of a conserva-torship.

Frequently and in appropriate cases, a petition for guardianship may be combined with a petition for conservator-ship. A guardianship does not on this account necessarily require a conservatorship in every case nor does every conservator-ship require appointment of a guardian. This aspect of such proceedings is a matter of common experience recognized by the language in § 475.061.2 which provides that a petition for appointment of a conservator may be combined with a petition for appointment of a guardian.

It requires no citation of authority to assert as an undisputable proposition that treatment of guardianships and conserva-torships as independent of each other in proper cases is a valid exercise of probate or equitable intervention. An incompetent person may require the services of a guardian to care for personal needs, access to medical attention and similar functions, but may have no need for a conservator for want of financial resources requiring management. Similarly, an incompetent may lack the ability to manage his assets but have no need for a personal guardian. In sum, therefore, guardianship and con-servatorship stand on different fact situations and require different allegations and proof to invoke the court’s jurisdiction in each instance.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
737 S.W.2d 761, 1987 Mo. App. LEXIS 4712, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/werner-v-wright-moctapp-1987.