Conservatorship - sustany/dvg GitHub Wiki

A conservatorship is the appointment of a conservator by the court to manage a person�s affairs who is unable to handle them due to their mental capacity, age, or physical disability. The person under the conservatorship is referred to as �conservatee.��

A person who is unable to handle their financial affairs or daily life responsibilities will be considered incapacitated by the court, so the court will assign a conservator to make decisions on behalf of the person.�

Conservatorships are governed differently in each state depending on their laws. California has two kinds of conservatorships a person can be under: 1) probate and 2) Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS). A probate conservatorship is for people who can�t handle their financial affairs and the LPS conservatorship is for people who are undergoing involuntary mental health treatment. In Conservatorship of Roulet, the California Supreme Court held that a jury must unanimously agree, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the conservatee is gravely disabled under the LPS Act as opposed to the jury only needing to apply the preponderance of the evidence instruction with 9/12 jurors in agreeance.�

California Welfare and Institutions Code lays out the procedure for obtaining a conservatorship under each of their conservatorship options. But, in general the process of starting a conservatorship begins when a person petitions for the court to appoint a conservator to an individual. The court will examine factors such as the person�s finances, health condition, and the person�s wishes to determine whether the person is incapacitated and needs a conservator. The potential conservatee must receive notice that this petition has been filed with the court, so they are able to make their wishes known.�

A judge may appoint a family member as the conservator or an independent party who has no relation to the conservatee. A judge may also choose to appoint a conservator and a guardian, where the conservator handles the conservatee�s financial affairs and the guardian handles the person�s physical and medical care. In some cases, the conservator and guardian can be the same person.�

Conservators will be responsible for updating the court regularly on a financial accounting of the conservatee�s assets. This requirement acts as a safeguard to make sure the conservator does not take advantage of the conservatee while managing their finances. For any major decisions regarding the conservatee�s financial assets or medical care, the conservator will have to seek permission from the court before performing. An example of this would be the selling of the conservatee�s home.�

Conservators are paid for their services through the conservatee�s assets, but the court will review these payments to make sure they are reasonable.�

The conservatee or the conservatee�s relatives can ask for the conservator to be removed and replaced if the conservator is not performing their duties. They can also move to have a conservatorship removed if they feel the appointment is not necessary. Other ways a conservatorship can end include: 1) the conservatee dies and 2) the conservatee�s assets have been depleted.

In 2021, the conservatorship of Britney Spears received widespread media attention. Britney had been under a conservatorship for 13 years, despite people feeling she was not incapacitated.�