CONSERVATORSHIPS - A BRIEF INTRODUCTION

A conservatorship is a court case in which a judge appoints a family member, friend or other responsible person (called a conservator) to care for another adult who cannot care for him or herself (called a conservatee). Once you are appointed conservator, you are legally responsible to provide care for the conservatee’s daily needs.

There are three types of conservatorship actions:

General Probate Conservatorship is for adults who are unable to provide for their personal needs due to physical injury, dementia or other reasons rendering them incapable of caring for themselves or making them subject to undue influence.

Limited Conservatorship is only for a person who is developmentally disabled. In this type of conservatorship the powers of the conservator are limited so that the disabled person may live as independently as possible.

LPS (Lanternman-Petris-Short) Conservatorship (W&I 5350-5371) is for a gravely disabled person who may be a danger to themselves or others and requires hospitalization in a psychiatric facility. An LPS conservatorship requires the annual reappointment of the conservator. A person under an LPS conservatorship may be placed in a locked facility. There are many extra protections in LPS conservatorships to insure that the conservatee's civil rights are not being violated.

When representing a client on a conservatorship, our primary focus is on General Probate Conservatorships.  These conservatorships procedurally are separated into two applications, the Temporary and Permanent Conservatorship Petition.  Furthermore, these Petitions are separate by either being a Conservatorship of the  Person, a Conservatorship of the Estate, or both.  The process can be overwhelming, and having an attorney on your side can make the process much easier and quicker than facing Probate Court alone.  Call me today for a consultation.