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CALIFORNIA CONSERVATORSHIPS ATTORNEY
WHAT IS A CONSERVATORSHIP?
A conservatorship is a legal arrangement in which one person oversees the personal care and/or financial matters of another person who is considered unable to manage his own affairs or is susceptible to being taken advantage of by others. There are two kinds of conservatorships; 1) Conservatorship of the Person and 2) Conservatorship of the Estate. The first decision to make is whether you want to apply for Conservatorship of the Person, the Estate or both. If you are a conservator of the person, you are responsible for seeing that the conservatee has proper food, shelter and health care. If you are conservator of the estate you are responsible for handling the finances of the conservatee, including overseeing the conservatee’s assets.
A guardianship differs from a conservatorship in that a guardianship is only available for minors (i.e. under the age of 18). In many other respects, however, guardianships and conservatorships are similar. Because a conservatorship conveys very broad and deep powers over another person, the courts are very cautious and methodical in the conservatorship procedures. You must formally petition the court with detailed documentation, including confidential personal and health information about the proposed conservatee, confidential screening information about the proposed conservator, a physician’s capacity declaration etc. In addition a court investigator will be assigned to make a home visit and to prepare a report on the status of the proposed conservatee and the suitability of the proposed conservator. A court hearing is scheduled at which the proposed conservator must appear and in most cases the proposed conservatee must also appear. All parents, grandparents, children, brothers and sisters of the proposed conservatee must be notified in advance of the hearing so that they have an opportunity to attend and object if they wish. We can discuss if a conservatorship is right for you and whether you need a conservatorship of the person, the estate or both. If you decide to go ahead we can guide you through the conservatorship process and handle the required filings, document preparation and court appearances.