Choosing Fiduciaries

Personal representatives, guardians, and conservators can sometimes be shouldered with a great deal of responsibility. They can make their job easier by delegating various tasks, but the ultimate responsibility for carrying out your wishes and following procedure and law, rests with them. The role of a personal representative is to collect your assets, pay debts and taxes from those assets, and distribute the remaining assets as directed in the will. A guardian is a person who will look after the physical well-being of a child. A conservator is a person who will manage a child's assets and make payments from those assets for the child's benefit. Select them carefully. Do they have the inclination and aptitude for handling money, hiring professionals when necessary, or caring for children, as the case may be? Are they conveniently located, or willing to travel as necessary? Do they share your values, when it matters? Also, before you select them, describe some of their responsibilities to them, and ask them whether they are willing and able to serve.

Your spouse or the parent(s) of your child(ren) may die before you. Therefore, if you have a child under age 18, name an individual as guardian of the child, and an individual or eligible financial institution as conservator of the child's assets. The guardian and the conservator may, but need not be, the same person.

• Key provisions of EPIC, governing selection and appointment of personal representative by a probate court.

• Key provisions of EPIC, governing selection and appointment of guardians and conservators for a minor by a probate court.

• Key provisions governing the duties of guardians and conservators:

• The powers of conservators are similar to those of a trustee: