What is Conservatorship, and How Do I Avoid it?

Conservatorship is a court process wherein someone is granted permission to take care of another adult. This can be in the form of a limited conservatorship, which covers those persons over the age of 18, but who have mental disabilities that do not allow them to sign paperwork, or it could be a general conservatorship which covers adults who have lost the capacity to care for themselves either physically or financially.

Conservatorships are costly and time consuming. And of course, it means the court is in your family business, watching everything that happens to you. There are the initial hearings and paperwork, and then there are yearly accountings if your estate is involved. A bond is required for the person who is asking to be appointed to care for you.

How Can a Conservatorship Be Avoided?

Avoiding a conservatorship is fairly easy. A person needs to correctly fill out a Durable Power of Attorney form and an Advanced Healthcare form. I do not provide a link to the many free forms available online because I don’t want to be biased. In your searching, just make sure it is written for California. (Please understand this does not apply to a limited conservatorship. You must have capacity in order to sign documents. That is a complicated area of law. Please consult an attorney on whether or not a limited conservatorship might be right in your situation.)

Also, if you fill these forms out incorrectly, you will still be looking at the inside of a courtroom to fix them later. When you do anything yourself, whether it is fixing a leaky sink or your own legal work, it is important to know what you are doing and to do it right the first time. Doing it incorrectly could lead to a more expensive and time consuming problem later.

Hours and Location Update

My office is located at 5104 Lake Isabella Blvd, Suite B., Lake Isabella, CA. I mostly serve the Kern River Valley area, but I have clients located all over the United States. If you live in California, I can help you with an estate plan. If you have a probate that needs to be completed in Kern County, regardless of where you live, I can help with that. I have many probate clients I’ve never met in person! As long as we can phone, mail, and email, this process works well.

At this time, I am closed on Mondays and Fridays for appointments.

I am willing to make house calls to the Bakersfield and Ridgecrest area, but I do charge a travel fee for my time. Also, if you decide a house call is appropriate, you will be responsible for paying the notary fees associated with the estate plan. If you are an in-office client, the notary fees are included since my notary is in house.

Our hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 9am-4am.