Consequences of Delinquent Filing of Inventory or Accounts

Additional fees are chargeable to the fiduciary personally based on the failure of the fiduciary to timely file inventory or accounts.

If an inventory or account due by the conservator is not filed within the deadlines previously indicated, the Commissioner’s office forwards a notice of delinquency to the fiduciary requiring the inventory or account to be filed within thirty (30) days of the date of the letter.  The issuance of this letter carries with it a $40.00 charge payable to the Commissioner of Accounts by the fiduciary personally.  This may not be paid from the estate.

If the fiduciary fails to file the required inventory or account within thirty (30) days of the delinquency letter, a summons is issued by the Commissioner of Accounts requiring the presentation of the accounting or missing documentation as stated in the summons, within thirty (30) days of receipt of the summons.  The issuance of this summons carries a charge personally payable by the fiduciary of $150.00, plus the service fees for the process server serving the document on the fiduciary.  These fees, when billed to the fiduciary, may not be paid from the estate but must be paid personally by the fiduciary.

In the event the fiduciary still has not filed the required inventory, account or other documentation, the Commissioner is obligated to report this failure to the Henrico County Circuit Court which issues an order requiring the fiduciary to appear before the Court and show cause why the fiduciary should not be fined and/or held in contempt of Court for failure to comply with the filing obligations.  The costs associated with that hearing are paid by the conservator personally and are not chargeable to the estate.

Additional Consequences of Failure to Timely and Properly File

In addition to the fees and costs stated above chargeable to the conservator personally, the Court may impose any or all of the following sanctions:

1. A fine payable by the conservator personally up to $500.00;
2. A contempt of Court proceeding against the fiduciary resulting in additional fines and/or jail sentence;
3. Removal as conservator of the estate;
4. Surcharge against the conservator for assets unaccounted for with a forfeiture on the bond posted by the conservator and the surety on the bond.