Los Angeles Attorney Conservatorship

CONSERVATORSHIP ATTORNEY WOODLAND HILLS
L

Conservatorship Woodland Hills Ca

In a general Conservatorship in California, a person who cannot take care of himself or herself is protected by a competent adult called a conservator, who is given the right to make decisions for the incomptent or incapacitated person.   Woodland Hills residents should know that a conservator attorney is best used to set up a conservatorship and to guide you to properly maintain it.  The conservatorship court makes this relationship a legal conservatorship and with a court order, gives the person named as a conservator some rights and duties to manage the life of the disabled person who is called a conservatee.  

Since a conservatorship is judicially created relationship, it comes with many deadlines and requirements which must be followed in the conservatorship process which the conservatorship lawyer can assist you in meeting.   Our attorneys guide clients to keep them in check with the conservatorship duties and responsibilities.  Our trusted Conservatorship lawyers in Woodland Hills have helped thousands of families with the caring for their elderly and disabled members who are connected with the conservatorship process in Woodland Hills California.

Conservatorship as an Asset Protection Tool for Older Adults in Woodland Hills

Types of Conservatorship in California:

General Conservatorships are protective tools and solutions for Woodland Hills residents, which can be three basic types:

1) Conservatorship of the person.  In this type of conservatorship, food, health care, caregiving and housing location are the most common themes.

2) Conservatorship of the Estate. A conservatorship for the assets and income of the disabled individual is called a conservatorship of the estate.  This is common for a disabled person, such as a aged parent or elderly family member, allows someone to access and protect the assets of the disabled person and keeps away others that want to get the assets of the conservatee;

and 3) Conservatorship of person and estate.  You certainly can have both kinds of conserservatorship together.  As a Woodland Hills Conservatorship Attorney Woodland Hills CA, Sirkin Law Group helps clients get the right kind of conservatorship in California.

A purpose of the conservatorship is essentially to protect the elderly and disabled from themselves and from others.

Frequently or Commonly Asked Questions about Conservatorship:

What is the difference between a general conservatorship and a developmentally disabled conservatorship or limited conservatorship in California?

When you create a limited conservatorship or a develpmentally disabled conservatorship, you generally ask for seven powers.  Those seven powers are 7 essential powers for protecting a developmentally disabled person. Limited Conservatorships are for persons who have special needs that manifested when they were below 18 years of age, but who are now adults for whom decisions need to be made.   The Regional Center generally has recommended a conservatorship for developmentally disabled, and will make a report as to five toseven powers it recommends to be used, such as the abilty to make medical decisions, arrange for education and house, get doctor's records, other Regional Center documents, and to make decisions about the social, sexual and marriage of the conservatee.

The general conservatorship has a broader set of powers than the special needs conservatorship and you can read about here.

Why is a Developmentally Disabled Conservatorship or Limited Conservatorship called Limited? 

It is called Limited because it is intended to encourage adults who have some ability to retain some of their rights, and to encourance the special needs person to do somethings for themselves.   In general, this process is very routine and we can obtain a developmentally disabled conservatorship very easily for parents of young adults.    If you are a parent of a special needs child, and did not obtain the conservatorship when your special child turned 18,  we can ask for a conservatorship from the court at any time.

Who can and is suitable to file for a Conservatorship in California?

Generally, a spouse, a domestic partner, children, a relative of the conservatee, a friend, the public guardian, and a professional fiduciary can file papers in court to get a conservatorship. Professional fiduciaries often file conservatorship cases where there is no close relative or where the public guardian is not suitable. Contact our family conservatorship lawyer for assistance.

Who can't file for a conservatorship in California and what can be done to help?

If you are a creditor of the disabled person, you cannot file for a conservatorship of a debtor.  The reason for this is that as a conservator, you have the duty to act in the best interest of the conservatee, and as a creditor of the conservatee, you cannot do that due to your conflict of interest.  We do on occassion represent creditors in an estate of a conservatee or disabled person.  Call Mina Sirkin, Conservatorship attorney for more information about debts and creditors in a conservatorships case in California.

What is you are getting a divorce and your spouse becomes incompetent?

Persons in a divorce proceeding are closely scrutinized by the courts and if you are a spouse in a divorce proceeding, you generally cannot become a conservator of your ill spouse, UNLESS you can show it is in the best interest of the conservatee.   The reason for this is that people in divorce proceedings generally have conflicting interests, so the law is tilted towards protecting the ill spouse.   If you are in family court and your husband or wife has become so ill that he or she cannot make decisions, a Guardian Ad Litem is appointed in family court to address those issues.  

Who are Competitors in Conservatorships and what does it mean when the judge orders someone to file a competing conservatorship?

If there are several persons, each of whom has filed a competing conservatorship, the requests can be evaluated by the conservatorship judge based on some rules of priority in conervatorships in California.    Ultimately, the proof of suitability will be presented by each side, and each side gets a chance to show the court why he/she is more suitable as a conservator.  After the presentation of the evidence, the court will decide who shall become the conservator.  Preference rules are priority rules which exist for making such a determination. Contested Conservatorship proceedings can take long and may result in a trial.

How long does a conservatorship last in California, and how are the termination of the conservatorship different in among the conservatorships in California?

In a limited conservatorship, the authority of the limited conservator ends in a different way from a general conservatorship as follows:

(1) A Limited Conservatorship the death of the limited conservator.

(2) The death of the limited conservatee.

(3) By an order appointing a conservator of the former limited conservatee.

(4) By an order of the court stating that the limited conservatorship is no longer necessary for the limited conservatee and terminating the limited conservatorship.

A conservatorship must continue until the court orders the conservator relieved from his or her duties. This can happen if the conservatee dies; if the estate is used up; if the conservatee regains his or her capacity; or if the conservator becomes unable or unwilling to act. In the last situation, the court will assign a successor conservator.  A new conservatorship petition needs to be filed then.

Conservatorships are time consuming and expensive. They should only be used when absolutely necessary.   If you want to know how a conservatorship can be avoided, call us.  We can help you avoid a conservatorship in many cases, or replace a conservator, if you feel the conservatorship is not acting correctly or is stealing, dies or is incompetent.  Ask us how we can help.

Candidates for conservatorships are usually disabled.  Some conservatees may have Alzheimer's disease, dementia, parkinsons, autism, cerebraly palsy, mental retardation, brain injuries, or other diseases.   Once a Conservator is appointed, the Conservator can ask the Court for permission to do Medi-Cal planning or estate planning for the Conservatee including a substituted judgment petition to protect the assets from Medi-Cal, and to purchase or sell the real property or home of the Conservatee.  All of those require a court order.

PROTECTING THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED WITH A CONSERVATORSHIP

Conservatorship proceedings and actions of conservators are court supervised and are mean to protect people who cannot protect themselves. 

Family members (a long list of them) are given notice of the proceeding and financial records of the conservatee are summarized in an accounting filed with the court.

When a Conservatee needs psychiatric medications or dementia medications (called psychotropic medication), the Court reviews a doctor's declaration regarding the need for the medication.    The ability of the Conservator to administer dementia medication depends on the court's approval of administering such medication.

When a Conservator wants to sell real estate or purchase real property, the court must first evaluate and give permission for such a transaction, especially when it involves moving the Conservatee from his or her home.

A CAC attorney (a court appointed attorney in Los Angeles County)  is sometimes appointed for the Conservatee.  The role of this type of attorney is to advocate the wishes of the proposed conservatee when there is litigation, or when certain rights of the Conservatee are affected.

California Conservatorship Process is Complicated for Woodland Hills Residents

Conservatorship proceedings usually start when a person is so incapacitated or incompetent that he or she cannot manage his or her own affairs, medical and financial aspects of life. In California, the person who is the caretaker is called the conservator, and the person who is being taken care of is called the conservatee.  Sometimes, with a little bit of help, as person can help one self.  

A conservatorship begins with a petition for appointment of a conservator is filed with the court, followed by an investigation by a court investigator and a court hearing. The Court Investigator will prepare a report and let the judge know of the situation in the conservatorship and gathers the information from relatives and other sources for the investigator's report.  Many factors can affect a conservatorship. For example, if the conservatee objects to the conservator's appointment, he or she may object and the court will assign counsel for the conservatee for that purpose.

A conservator of the estate is required to provide an accounting on a schedule set by the court, that give details of the conservatee's assets, income and expenses, showing exactly how the conservatee's money was spent. The accounting is a report of the work of the conservator with great detail and requires hours to prepare. Conservators should be prepared to keep receipts of all transactions in the conservatorship. Additionally, the court will require that the conservator of the estate to post a bond. The conservator is paid by the conservatee's estate and the court supervises the reasonableness of the payments to the conservator.

WHEN ARE POWER OF ATTORNEY DOCUMENTS INSUFFICIENT?

While a valid power of attorney document can authorize the power of attorney holder to accomplish certain tasks of a conservator, a power of attorney cannot prevent the ill person from contracting, conveying property or marrying. For example, a patient with Alzheimer's disease may become subject to fraud or undue influence by unscrupulous persons. 

While he or she could have given a valid power of attorney while he or she was well, he or she may be befriended, may marry, and convey his or her property to a new spouse. In that situation, the probate code provides that a conservatorship may be established, and the conservator may ask the court to set aside any contract entered into by the ill conservatee.

The advantage of the conservatorship is that it can safeguard against fraud or undue influence by a third party against the ill person.   Conservatorships can get costly when there is litigation involved.  Persons filing for conservatorship should consider the costs before filing.

Administration of psychotropic medications or demential medications requires consent of the patient.  Sometimes, the patient is unable to give consent.  When the patient has a power of attorney, but is medication non-compliant, a power of attorney is not enough and cannot be used to administer psychotropic medication against the will of the patient.

A Power of Attorney cannot be used to make a will for someone in California, or to change his/her will.   It can be used to create a trust, but not a will.

Estate Planning For Senior Citizens

Elder Law Planning involves reviewing a senior's entire estate plan in a holistic way.  We view elder law as a preventative area of practice, with an eye to prevent and protect the seniors from elder finicial abuse.

Are you faced with a Conservatorship Contest?

What is a Contested Conservatorship or Conservatorship Litigation?

A Contested Conservatorship and conservatorship litigation can involve any of the following situations:

1. Objections to the initial appointment of a particular person as a conservator.

2. Removal of an existing Conservator for cause and replacin the conservator.

3. Actions requesting appointment of a successor conservator to which others object.

4. Disputes involving contested conservatorship accountings.

5. Determination of a undue influence on an elderly or disabled person.

6. Objections to Proposed Actions by Conservator including substituted judgment actions and trusts.

7. Family mediations in determining the best conservator.

8. Requests to terminate a conservatorship or modify powers in a conservatorship.

9. Determination of rights to assets and disputes relating to ownership and title.

10. Conservatorship trials.

 Conservatorship Law Firm Address in Woodland Hills: 21550 Oxnard St. 3rd Fl., Woodland Hills, Ca 91367

Call our Law Office for information about Conservatorship in Woodland Hills Ca at 818.340.4479.   To find out if a conservatorship is needed or to talk to our conservatorship attorney in Woodland Hills about setting up a conservatorship or handling a litigation or contested conservatorship and conservatorship, ask for our our specialist.  Woodland Hills Conservatorship Attorney Woodland Hills Ca.