To: Pentagon Federal Credit Union
Box 1432
Alexandria, VA 22313-2032
Subj: Opening a CD account as a conservator
PenFed,
I'm the conservator for my father, and I've been seeking better CD rates for his fixed-income asset allocation. I've been a happy PenFed CD customer for several years, so I decided to open an account for Dad. Several months ago I mailed my court appointment and my conservator's letter to the Eugene branch and asked to have an account set up in my father's name.
To my surprise, I received the enclosed letter from Mr. ... It asked me to complete section 4A of the application as "Guardian" and "joint owner". I can't do that. My father is technically a ward, but I'm his conservator. (My brother is Dad's guardian.) I am not joint owner of any of Dad's assets-- I'm only investing them for him. With other financial institutions, I've been given a separate account in the name of Dean Nordman with authorized access under his login (as conservator) or with my own login. At these institutions, I've signed the applications as "Doug Nordman, Conservator".
I was a little confused by Mr. ...'s request for an "original notarized copy of the court documents appointing me as Guardian". I've already sent PenFed the court order and my conservator's letter of appointment from the Denver probate court. It's based on the order of the probate judge, and the letter of appointment is signed by the clerk of the court. The court did not distribute an "original notarized copy of the court documents", and frankly "original copy" sounds a little contradictory. I've provided everything that I was given by the court. I don't have what Mr. ... is asking for, and I'm not sure that it can be obtained.
When I called Mr. ... to discuss these questions, he told me "This is the way we do it" and "The probate court doesn't care". He also pointed out that my appointment letter expired in a few months and that he wouldn't be able to accept it. I didn't care to explain to him that the Denver probate court re-issues annual appointment letters to ensure that conservators file their annual reports.
During this discouraging conversation, I decided that I wasn't comfortable working with Mr. ... However in March a good friend of mine relayed my story to a PenFed customer service department and suggested that I might hear from PenFed. Now that some time has passed without any response from PenFed, perhaps it's worth trying this again.
Based on the "guardian" error in Mr. Vogt's PenFed letter, there may be some confusion over the nature of my appointment and the authority of a court order. I'd appreciate it if you'd figure out a way for me to open a share account in the name of my father with me as conservator. When the account is open, I'd like to electronically transfer funds from Dad's Fidelity brokerage account and buy CDs.
The probate court has approved my conservator's report and issued a new letter effective through April 2013. I've enclosed a copy. I expect to receive these letters each year in February or March, and if necessary I'm happy to provide updated copies for PenFed's files.
Please let me know how you'd like to proceed. Thanks,