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Q. What is probate conservatorship? A probate conservatorship is a judicial procedure in which someone
(a conservator) is appointed to manage another person's (the conservatee's) financial and/or personal affairs. The establishment of a conservatorship restricts the conservatee's powers over financial and personal care decisions.
Q. What is an LPS (Lanterman-Petris-Short Act) conservatorship? An LPS conservatorship is a court proceeding in which a conservator is appointed for a person who has been found to be "gravely disabled" and can be used to involuntarily commit an individual to a mental institution. It is designed for persons with serious mental disorders, or who are impaired by chronic alcholism. An LPS conservatorship, different from a probate conservatorship, must be initiated by the county government. A spouse or other relative cannot petition for an LPS conservatorship.
Q. When is a conservatorship needed? A conservatorship may be needed when someone is competent to manage his or her own finacial affairs and/or personal care, and has no viable alternative method of delegating these duties to another (either through a durable power of attorney, living trust or other means).
Q.What is a conservator of the person? A conservator of the person is responsible for making decisions about personal matters for the conservatee, including decisions about medical care, food, clothing, and residence. Under a probate conservatorship, the conservator may not place the conservatee into a locked mental institution against his or her will.
Q. What is a conservator of the estate? A conservator of the estate is responsible for handling the financial affairs of the conservatee. The conservator has the power to collect all the conservatee's assets, pay bills, make investments, etc. However, the conservator must seek court supervision for major transactions, such as the purchase or sale of real property, borrowing money and gifting of assets.
Q. What are the disadvantages of a conservatorship? Because a conservatorship is a court supervised proceeding, there may be substantial costs in establishing it, such as court filing fees, legal fees, investigator's fees and conservator's fees. In addition, a conservatorship is a public proceeding and the conservatee's assets, income and expenses become a matter of public record. The conservatorship can be a cumbersome method of managing a person's financial affairs, as the conservator must return to court for approval of certain transactions, such as the sales of real property, borrowing money, setting up a trust, etc. These formal court hearing require additional attorneys; fees and can create delays in completing these transactions.
Q. What are the advantages of conservatorship? While the court supervision makes a conservatorship more costly and time consuming than other methods of management, it offers a higher degree of protection to the conservatee than other mangement mechanisms. The conservator must file an inventory which list all property of the conservatee and must file accountings with the court that reflect all transactions involving the conservatee's assets. A conservatorship allows for management of the incapacitated person's affairs when he or she does not have alternative mechanism in place to do so. Another advantage to a conservatorship proceeding is that it provides a method to assist an incapacitated individual who may be unwilling to accept such assistance.
Q. Do I need a conservatorship to place my relative in a nursing home? It depends-if a person does not object to going into a nursing home, a relative may sign the admission agreement as an agent or as a "responsible party" to place a person in a nursing home. That person may not make medical care decisions on behalf of the individual unless he or she has authority to do so as an agent under a durable power of attorney or health care or as a court-appointed conservator. However, if a person objects or is unwilling to go to a nursing home, a conservatorship is required.
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