Fiduciary Adding a Signer to an Account

If the conservator is unable to discharge his/her responsibilities for managing the funds she or he can resign and a successor custodian can pick up the reins, but the conservator cannot delegate conservatorship responsibility to a third party.

If the custodian wants to add an existing co-custodian to the account, that's a different matter. Some states (Virginia is one) allow for co-custodians to share custodial responsibility. Just make sure that the co-custodian was named in a way provided by the UTMA statute in your state.

First published on BankersOnline.com 3/26/07