How to Get an Adult Conservatorship in California

What is an Adult Conservatorship in California?

An adult conservatorship in California allows a person to make legal or financial decisions for an incapacitated person. A person asking for the conservatorship requests the court to appoint themselves or another responsible person (the conservator) to care for another adult (the conservatee).  In this regard, there are three different types of an adult conservatorship in California – conservatorship of the estate, of the person or both the estate and person.

Adult Conservatorship of the Estate

First, when the court limits an adult conservatorship in California to a person’s estate, the conservator only has control over the conservatee’s assets and monies. In other words, with the conservatorship of the estate, the conservator can manage the conservatee’s finances. For example, this type of legal arrangement allows the conservator to use the conservatee’s income to pay their bills, housing expenses, and investments, prepare and file the conservatee’s taxes, and invest/manage real estate transactions.

On the other hand, when the court limits an adult conservatorship to the person, someone else is only in charge of the conservatee’s medical and personal decisions. To put it differently, a conservatorship of the person requires the conservator to make arraignments for the conservatee, arranging their food, shelter, clothing, and health care. Notably, it also allows the conservator to make health decisions for the conservatee.

As mentioned above, an adult conservatorship in California can be of both the estate and the person.

General vs. Limited Conservatorship

In addition to the three variations of adult conservatorship in California, there are two different types of conservatorship. There is a limited conservatorship and a general conservatorship.

California Limited Conservatorship

A limited conservatorship allows the conservator to serve in a limited capacity. As a result, the court will grant a limited conservatorship in cases where an adult has developmental disabilities. In other words, this type of conservatorship allows the conservatee to continue to care for his/her everyday well-being while limiting his/her authority to make financial transactions without the conservator’s assistance.

California General Conservatorship

In contrast, the court may grant a general conservatorship for an older adult who has severely compromised mental or physical capacity because of age or dementia. A general conservatorship is also filed when a person has had a severe accident and, as a result, is in a coma or severely impaired.

Temporary and Permanent Adult Conservatorship in California

The court can order for the conservatorship to be temporary or permanent.  Keep in mind, there is no such thing as only a temporary adult conservatorship in California. A person can ask for a temporary conservatorship if immediate orders are needed while waiting for the normal hearing. In other words, a temporary adult conservatorship petition would be filed with, and at the same time as, the petition for permanent conservatorship. Contrary to common belief, a person seeking a conservatorship would never file a petition for temporary conservatorship by itself.

Once someone files a petition for adult conservatorship in California, the court will schedule an extensive background investigation.

Petition Forms for Permanent Adult Conservatorship:

The following forms must be completed to get an adult conservatorship in California:

• Petition for Appointment of Probate Conservator (JC Form #GC-310)
• Citation for Conservatorship (JC Form #GC-320)
• Confidential Supplemental Information (JC Form #GC-312)
• Confidential Conservator Screening Form (JC Form #GC-314)
• Duties of Conservator and Acknowledgment of Receipt of Handbook for Conservators (JC Form #GC-348)
• Local forms needed

Petition Forms for Temporary and Permanent Adult Conservatorship:

• All of the above forms plus
• Petition for Appointment of Temporary Conservator (JC Form #GC-111)
• Local forms needed

You may want to also refer to this article that goes into greater detail how to get an emergency conservatorship.

The court will require additional forms in cases where the proposed conservatee has dementia. Furthermore, there are also other non-form “attachments” that the court typically requires with the filing of conservatorship petitions. Lastly, the court will require a Notice of Hearing, Letters, and proposed Orders.

In conclusion, completing the mounds of paperwork required to file an adult conservatorship in California can be overwhelming. Contact A People’s Choice for more information on our conservatorship documents preparation services. Using our services will make it so much easier for you to get an adult conservatorship in California. Call us today at 800-747-2780.

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