Client Stories: Connie

Connie’s mother lives nearby and her memory is getting worse and worse. When Connie talks to her mom, their conversations become confusing; her mom does not understand things as quickly or easily as she once did. Connie worries that her mom is not paying all of her bills on time and recently had to hire a caregiver to help make sure her mom eats regularly. Her mom doesn’t have any estate planning documents, so her mom’s bank and credit card company won’t talk to Connie. Connie knows about the scammers that pray upon seniors and worries that her mom might become a victim of fraud without realizing it, but is not sure what to do.

How Widlast Legal Can Help

At Widlast Legal, we often get calls from adult children like Connie, who are struggling with their aging parents experiencing cognitive decline. Just like Connie’s mom, many seniors do not have any estate planning documents that appoint someone to help them when they are no longer able to do things themselves. In California, a person needs to have cognitive capacity to create estate planning documents, and if they’ve passed that stage, then only a court can appoint someone to provide assistance. At Widlast Legal, we can help you file the court papers to seek appointment to help your aging parent or other loved one with their financial and health matters. You can seek to have yourself appointed or a professional fiduciary. It’s not an easy process, but we support you along the way.

Don’t wait until tomorrow to take this step. Contact an attorney at Widlast Legal, and let us help you to help your loved one.

Two Types of Conservatorships

There are two main types of conservatorships in California: probate conservatorships and Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) conservatorships. Within Probate conservatorships, there are two categories:

General Probate Conservatorship: This type of conservatorship is usually for elderly adults who cannot take care of themselves or their finances due to dementia or other cognitive decline related to aging. They can also be used for younger people who are seriously impaired due to accident injuries. This type of conservatorship can be a conservatorship over the person and/or their estate.

Limited Conservatorship: This type of conservatorship is for adults with developmental disabilities that prevent them from fully caring for themselves or their finances. These people don’t need the higher level of care or assistance that conservatees in general conservatorships require.

LPS conservatorships are used to care for adults who have serious mental health illnesses and require specialized care in very restrictive living arrangements, such as living in a locked facilities.

Steps to Become a Conservator

• Complete and file a petition with the local California court, providing information about yourself, the proposed conservatee and conservator, relatives, and the reasons why a conservatorship is necessary. The petition usually needs to include a physician’s declaration of incapacity and explain why other alternatives are not feasible; additionally, you must pay the court’s fees to initiate the process.
• A court date will be set.
• A copy of the court petition and notice of the hearing date must then be provided to the proposed conservatee, and to the proposed conservatee’s spouse/domestic partner and close relatives.
• A court investigator will then interview the proposed conservatee and others who are familiar with his/her condition.
• The proposed conservatee is entited to have a lawyer too, and the court will appoint one for him/her, if needed.
• The proposed conservatee must attend the hearing unless they have an excusable illness.
• The judge will either grant or deny the conservatorship. If the petition is granted, an order appointing the conservator will be filed and Letters of Conservatorship will be issued. If there is an estate for the conservatee, then a surety bond must be filed, unless the court orders the conservatee’s bank accounts to be frozen.

Handbook for Conservators

Once a conservator is appointed, there is a state handbook to guide them. The attorneys at Widlast Legal will also stay involved, to help you along the way.

If you need assistance with a matter regarding conservatorships, such as establishing or contesting a conservatorship, then please contact us at Widlast Legal today.