In some cases, the conservatee's assets may already be in a trust that is being managed by someone else (called a trustee) for the conservatee's benefit. This could happen, for example, if the conservatee set up a living trust to hold his or her assets before s/he became incapacitated and appointed someone else to serve as trustee if s/he became incapacitated.

If you are serving as conservator and someone else is serving as trustee of a trust holding some or all of the conservatee's assets, what are your powers in regard to the trust and the assets in the trust? The answer to this question may be found in the terms of the trust itself, in the terms of any court orders concerning the trust or the conservatorship, and in the rules governing conservatorships and trusts generally.

The trust document itself may spell out your rights as conservator. For example, many trust documents provide that the person creating the trust (which in the case of a revocable living trust would usually be the conservatee) retains the power to change (amend) or revoke the trust. Such trusts often also provide, however, that these powers can be exercised only by the conservatee and cannot be exercised by a guardian or conservator. Some trusts allow a conservator to change the trustee of the trust if there is a good reason (the types of reasons are often described in the trust) for doing so.

Sometimes there will be a court order that describes what your powers are in regard to the trust. For example, the order appointing you as conservator may talk about the relationship between you and the trust.

If neither the trust itself nor any court order describes your rights as conservator, the general law regarding trusts and conservatorships will govern. The trustee will generally have the power to control the assets in the trust but you, as the conservatee's representative, would be entitled to information about what the trustee is doing and would have the right to challenge the trustee's actions in court (including to ask that the trustee be changed) if you think s/he is not acting in the best interests of the conservatee.