§560:5-413 Who may be conservator; priorities. (a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d), the court, in appointing a conservator, shall consider persons otherwise qualified in the following order of priority:

(1) A conservator, guardian of the estate, or other like fiduciary appointed or recognized by an appropriate court of any other jurisdiction in which the protected person resides;

(2) A person nominated as conservator by the respondent, including the respondent's most recent nomination made in a durable power of attorney, if the respondent has attained fourteen years of age and at the time of the nomination had sufficient capacity to express a preference;

(3) An agent appointed by the respondent to manage the respondent's property under a durable power of attorney;

(4) The spouse or reciprocal beneficiary of the respondent;

(5) An adult child of the respondent;

(6) A parent of the respondent; and

(7) An adult with whom the respondent has resided for more than six months before the filing of the petition.

(b) A person having priority under subsection (a)(1), (4), (5), or (6) may designate in writing a substitute to serve instead and thereby transfer the priority to the substitute.

(c) With respect to persons having equal priority, the court shall select the one it considers best qualified. The court, acting in the best interest of the protected person, may decline to appoint a person having priority and appoint a person having a lower priority or no priority.

(d) An owner, operator, or employee of a long-term care institution at which the respondent is receiving care shall not be appointed as conservator unless related to the respondent by blood, marriage, adoption, or otherwise ordered by the court. [L 2004, c 161, pt of §1]