Steps to Creating a California Conservatorship

Legal Documents and Court Hearing for Conservatorship

A California court will only order a conservatorship if the legal requirements are met, which means you must follow these steps:

An attorney must prepare a Petition for Conservatorship (a legal document) and file it with the Probate Department of the Superior Court of California. The petition with its attached legal documents asks the court to appoint a specific person to be the conservator of a person and offers proof that:

a. The proposed conservator meets the legal requirements and can competently manage the conservatee's affairs.

b. A surety agency has agreed to issue a bond for the conservator;

c. The proposed conservatee is "unable to provide properly for his or her personal needs for physical, health, food, clothing, or shelter" (for a conservatorship of the person) or is "substantially unable to manage his or her own financial resources or resist fraud or undue influence" (for conservatorship of the estate). Supporting evidence must be provided to prove either or both of these things; just saying them is not enough.

d. All legal alternatives to the conservatorship are unsuitable or unavailable.

San Diego Law Firm advises on and prepares petitions for conservatorship and for the various legal alternatives to conservatorship. If you believe your loved one needs some type of legal protection, we can help you choose the best legal approach for your particular situation.

Where needed to protect the proposed conservatee's health or assets, the attorney can prepare and file a request for a temporary conservatorship until the hearing date for the Petition for Conservatorship.

The attorney for the proposed conservator must serve notice of the hearing on any other proposed conservator, the proposed conservatee, the spouse or registered domestic partner of the proposed conservatee, and interested parties (such as family members) who have requested "special notice." If the conservatee will not be physically or mentally able to attend the hearing on the Petition, a physician's declaration must be obtained to prove this.

San Diego Law Firm also represents proposed conservatees or interested persons who oppose either the granting of a conservatorship or the appointment of a particular conservator. As your attorneys, we can gather the evidence to support your opposition, prepare your legal documents, and appear and argue for you at the court hearings. Conservatorships are serious matters and courts are required to consider all evidence and legal arguments before making a decision.

Everyone must then wait for the court-appointed investigator to interview the proposed conservatee and report back to the court.

About 60 days after the petition is filed, the proposed conservator, proposed conservatee, and other interested persons must attend the public hearing. If several persons have filed petitions to become the conservator, the court will apply legal rules of preference to select between them.

If the conservatee opposes the conservatorship, he or she has the right to appear at the hearing and explain why, to request the court to appoint an attorney (which the proposed conservatee must pay for), and to request a jury trial. If the court appoints an attorney for the conservatee and/or orders a jury trial, nothing else will be decided at that time. Otherwise, the court will either deny the conservatorship or will grant it and specify exactly what powers the conservator will have.

If the court grants a permanent conservatorship, then the conservatee and anyone else who had opposed it in court can file an appeal. Appeal documents must then be prepared and filed, and all the attorneys must usually appear to argue the legal issues, in the Court of Appeal.

Costs of Conservatorship

The initial expenses of the petition and hearing must be paid by the proposed conservator, who may request that the court approve reimbursment from the conservatee's estate. Once a conservatorship is granted, the ongoing expenses must be paid from the conservatee's assets unless a family member or other person is willing and able to pay them. Conservatorship expenses include:

• Initial legal fees related to gathering evidence, preparing the petition, attending the hearing, and handling any related disputes.
• Ongoing legal fees to prepare and file regular accountings with the court and seek court approval of any major financial transaction.
• Court filing fees, investigator fees, appraisal fees, and other related expenses.
• Conservator's fees, typically $50 to $100 per hour, to properly handle or delegate all of their personal care and/or financial duties to the protected person. All conservator's fees must be submitted to and approved by the Court before they can be paid.
• Bank trust department or other professional asset manager fees for high-value estates; these fees typically run 1% to 1.4% of the asset value per year.

In some situations, a conservatorship is necessary either because the legal alternatives are unavailable or the vulnerable person needs more protection. But in many situations, less expensive legal alternatives to a conservatorship are adequate and available. San Diego Law Firm can help you evaluate all the options so you can choose the best one for your situation.

Changing Conservator; Ending the Conservatorship

The court will appoint a new conservator if the existing conservator wants to quit. The court will end the conservatorship if the conservatee dies or regains his or her abilities, or if there are no funds left to pay for the conservatorship's expenses. Unfortunately, in most California counties there is no government agency that will take over or pay for a conservatorship of a person who has used up their assets. However, there are state and federal agencies with programs providing in-home services and medical care, or nursing home care, to adults with very limited income and assets. Such programs may provide a reasonable alternative where no funds remain for a conservatorship but the impaired person still needs extensive assistance. San Diego Law Firm can provide legal advice and assistance where a conservator needs to be replaced, or a conservatorship needs to be ended.

Click links below for more conservatorship information:

How to Manage an Ongoing California Conservatorship

Legal Alternatives to California Conservatorship

California Conservatorship: Reasons & Benefits

How to Contact Us

For more information or an appointment, please call San Diego Law Firm

619-794-0243,

or, if you prefer, send us an e-mail at and an attorney from our office will contact you. Please note that making a phone call or sending an e-mail does not create an attorney-client relationship; this requires a written agreement. Please do not e-mail any confidential information to us until an agreement is signed; at that point, we can exchange confidential information freely.