Blog

What is a Conservatorship?

Rachael Phillips
June 18, 2014

Conservatorship is a Court-supervised process through which an individual obtains the authority to manage the personal care and/or finances of another individual who lacks capacity to handle those matters for himself or herself.  The conservator is appointed by the Court, and is required to periodically account for the use of conservatorship funds. The conservator must also obtain Court authorization before taking certain actions.

General probate conservatorship is commonly used in the cases of individuals who have suffered a head injury or stroke, or who have dementia. In addition to general probate conservatorship, there are two special types of conservatorship: limited conservatorship and LPS conservatorship.

Limited conservatorship works similarly to general probate conservatorship, but is used specifically in the case of an individual with developmental disabilities. The authority of the limited conservator is specifically tailored to minimize the restrictions placed on the limited conservatee, recognizing that the developmentally disabled individual may have greater capacity than an individual who would require a general probate conservatorship.

LPS conservatorship is used specifically in the case of individuals who lack capacity due to mental health issues, to the point of posing a danger to himself or herself, or others. This type of conservatorship can allow the conservator to have the mentally ill conservatee committed to a mental health facility, or to force them to take psychiatric medication.

All types of conservatorship are Court supervised, and the conservator can be a family member or friend of the conservatee, or a private professional fiduciary. In cases where there is no family member able or willing to act as conservator, and insufficient funds to a pay a private professional fiduciary, a county official called the Public Guardian can be appointed.