Conservatorship

Conservatorships

    Conservatorship is the court-supervised appointment of someone to take care of the physical and financial matters of persons over 18 years old, who are unable to do that for themselves. The person whose affairs are being managed is the conservatee. The person managing the affairs is the conservator.

     The conservatorship process begins by filing of a petition for conservatorship with the Court by a family member or interested person. The Court may appoint an investigator in any petition for conservatorship filed, where the conservator is unable to appear in court. After approval of the conservatee, an inventory and appraisement of the property of the conservatee must be filed with the court listing all of the conservatee’s assets. Regular accounting must be made to the court. The conservatee may even have to petition the court and obtain the court’s permission before taking certain actions. In short, the court will oversee many aspects of the conservatorship and directs payment of the costs and attorney fees from the conservatee’s estate.

     As you can imagine, the need to involve the court at every step of the conservatorship process could result in the same adverse consequences which makes Probate unattractive; mainly, it is time consuming, expensive, and lacks privacy. For these reasons, a Living Trust is a far more desirable alternative, which accomplishes the purpose of a conservatorship of your estate, but in shorter time, without exorbitant fees and costs, and while preserving your privacy from others.

Example: Even though Groucho Marx had a will, he still didn't plan for incapacity. Towards the end of his life, Marx was deemed incompetent by the Court in conservatorship proceedings. A public circus followed in which attorneys for his family members and his companion engaged in fierce battles for control of his care and money. Marx could have avoided this public humiliation and costs altogether, had he placed his assets in a Living Trust before his incapacity and named a person of his choosing to be the successor Trustee.

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