Conservator
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In re: Estate of Miraglia - Conservator Fees
Posted: March 4th, 2008 by Gaslowitz Frankel LLCA man was appointed conservator (formerly called “guardian of the property”) over the assets of another person (generally called the “ward”). When the ward died a year later, the conservator turned over the ward’s assets to the co-executors of the ward’s estate, but he retained $376,398 as compensation for his conservatorship services. The co-executors filed suit for the repayment of excess fees, claiming that the conservator had calculated his fees as 2.5% of stocks, bonds, and real property in addition to 2.5% of the “sums of money,” which is allowed by statute.
The Court of Appeals agreed1.
While there were no previous Georgia cases interpreting the phrase “sums of money” with regard to conservators, the Georgia Supreme Court had interpreted an almost identically-worded statute governing executor fees. In that case, the Supreme Court found that “sums of money” meant currency or a medium of exchange. Stocks, bonds, and real property are not sums of money because they have to be converted to cash. Additionally, the Court of Appeals ruled that the conservator was required to pay prejudgment interest (interest accruing from the time the dispute arose, rather than from the time the court issued its judgment) on the excess commissions.
1 2008 WL 565702 (Ga. Ct. App. 2008)
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