Is a Los Angeles Conservatorship Attorney Necessary?

Setting up or maintaining a conservatorship (or any sort of legal care for an adult) isn’t easy. If you think that a conservatorship might be needed for a loved one who needs help, you might be wondering if a Los Angeles conservatorship attorney can assist you. After all, they’re the experts, right?

We’ve got good news for you. If you have a basic understanding of how the process works and what it applies to, the need for conservatorship lawyers decreases. If you have a simple conservatorship case on your hands, you can probably handle it without expensive attorney fees associated with a Los Angeles conservatorship attorney.

Below is a breakdown of the crucial information about conservatorship in Los Angeles, California, although much of this information can be applied to the rest of the state as well. This should provide some clarity and guidance on the whole process. With this information, you can get through a conservatorship as amicably and quickly as possible. You can also determine whether a Los Angeles conservatorship attorney is necessary for you.

What Is a Conservatorship?

Let’s start with this basic question. A conservatorship is a legal process where a judge appoints a responsible individual (conservator) to care for another adult or (conservatee) who is unable to take care of themselves or their financial matters. In some cases, a conservator can be appointed to manage the daily life of an individual depending on their age and mental or physical health conditions. In other cases, the conservatee is more capable of controlling issues like financial decisions for themselves (limited conservatorship).

Before determining the types of conservatorships to apply in your case, it’s important to evaluate the conservatee’s overall health. If the person is unable to reason and plan logically, focus, communicate, regulate their mood, and recognize familiar people and objects, then their mental health is not optimal. This may be a disabled person who requires a conservatorship. A physical health condition may prevent them from carrying out their everyday activities and responsibilities. Any situation like this can be considered grounds for a conservatorship.

Conservatorship of an Estate

This type of conservatorship exerts less control over an individual. It is where the court appoints an individual to help with managing the finances and assets of another. This is primarily due to the person being unable to do this on their own; they may need help from a temporary conservator to manage the estate.

When appointed by the court, the estate’s conservator is responsible for various tasks such as finding and taking control of assets, collecting income, and paying bills. The conservator is responsible for sending accounting reports to the court at regular intervals to ensure that the estate is being managed properly based on the outlined legal arrangement. With court approval, the conservatee is allowed to receive a stipend from the conservatory. The conservatee can still go out shopping for small items or have lunch with some friends. The conservatee may also require help with estate planning matters, such as setting up a living trust.

Conservatorship of a Person

This type of conservatorship takes effect when an individual is unable to manage their daily needs, including health care. In cases like this, the court appoints a conservator who arranges for the care and protection of the individual. The conservator is now responsible for the decisions regarding the personal matters and medical care plan of the conservatee.

For a conservatee, the factor of where they live can be important. In some cases, the conservatee can live at their home with someone to aid them. On the other hand, the conservatee could also be placed in a care facility to benefit from social and environmental stimulation. If the conservatee has a mental health issue, then the conservator may wish to place them in a special care facility with special safety features. This is most common with elderly persons.

A court can appoint two conservators for the conservatee. One can separately manage the conservatee’s estate while the other is in charge of the conservatee’s medical treatment and care. For some families, this makes the responsibilities of conservatorship more manageable. However, one conservator can also be responsible for both aspects.

What Is a Conservator?

A conservator is clearly defined as a responsible person appointed by the court who is tasked to make decisions regarding the benefit of the conservatee’s well-being. As mentioned above, the conservator can be responsible for both the conservatee’s estate and personal care. This can include decisions regarding treatment options, clothing, food, and where the conservatee will live.

In these matters, the conservatee loses all power to make decisions. The responsibility goes to the conservator to handle such matters without any form of undue influence from the conservatee. It’s a serious responsibility.

The California court requires conservators to file a report at least once a year. This can include financial records if the conservator is put in charge of an estate. The conservator is required to present to court approval for major transactions such as purchasing or selling property, gifting assets, or any major transaction from the conservatee’s estate. Some choose to ask a lawyer for conservatorship report help, while others use a document preparation service like A People’s Choice to save money.

Duties of a Conservator

A conservator is responsible for much more than managing the conservatee’s finances, care, and filing reports with the court. The conservator has a duty of loyalty and is not allowed to use the assets of the conservatee for any personal use or benefit. A conservator of an estate has the responsibility for the collection, care, and investment of the conservatee’s property and assets. The conservator has to use the estate for the support, care, and benefit of the conservatee and their dependents.

As mentioned above, the conservator is required to file a report listing the conservatee’s estate with the court and deliver copies to the conservatee and other relevant individuals according to court rule. Doing so calls for a detailed list of how the conservatee’s property and assets are held. This helps ensures that the conservator is performing responsibly, and failure to do this can result in conservatorship litigation.

When to Set Up a Conservatorship

As mentioned before, a conservatorship can’t be taken lightly. It needs to be established only when an adult is either physically or mentally incapable of taking care of themselves. For many, this involves a family member who is suffering from age, illness, or accident-related physical or mental hardship.

Different forms of conservatorships determine what decisions a conservator can make for the conservatee. If you’re caring for someone who can’t care for themselves physically or can’t manage their financial responsibilities, then you might need a conservatorship. To acquire this, you may first need to file for a petition for conservatorship. A conservatorship hearing will then be scheduled, and you can start the process of appointing a conservator.

Is a Los Angeles Conservatorship Attorney Necessary?

The process of filing for conservatorship in Los Angeles is certainly not easy. It’s true that by seeking the services of conservatorship lawyers, the entire process can be much easier. The question is if hiring a Los Angeles conservatorship attorney the best option.

Whether or not you can truly benefit from a Los Angeles conservatorship attorney depends on the circumstances around the reason for filing for conservatorship. If you know the whole legal process well, you can do it yourself with the aid of a legal document assistant service like A People’s Choice. We can prepare all the documents you need to file for a conservatorship and guide you through each step of legal representation.

Below, we will highlight some of the few reasons it might be prudent to hire or not to hire an experienced conservatorship attorney. Simply put, it depends on your preference and how well you comprehend the process to file for conservatorship in Southern California.

When Is a Los Angeles Conservatorship Attorney Necessary?

If an individual is new to the conservatorship process, their initial instinct may be to hire a Los Angeles experienced conservatorship attorney to help. With specialized experience, the lawyer for a conservatorship can help you identify which type of conservatorship will suit the best interests of both you and the incapacitated person. Having an attorney can provide a sense of ease when going through this legal matter.

A Los Angeles conservatorship attorney can help you with filling out the necessary forms you will need to file for a conservatorship. They can also file the initial petition to the court. The petitioner and the potential conservator cannot be the same person, however; this is considered a conflict of interest. This is where a Los Angeles conservatorship attorney’s services can be of some help to you as a professional conservator.

You can also hire a Los Angeles conservatorship attorney to help you write a citation. This is a document that is a part of the application process which notifies the identified conservator. This document needs to be delivered by an individual who is not part of the conservatorship and is considered neutral. An attorney can be used in this scenario to deliver the document, but you can also use a legal document preparation service to file this for a fraction of the price.

When Is a Los Angeles Conservatorship Attorney Unnecessary?

If you have done enough research and are aware of every step of the conservatorship process, then you can begin filing your documents without the need for a Los Angeles conservatorship attorney or any other legal team. However, you do need a neutral third party to file the petition with the court and deliver the citation to the identified conservatee. By choosing this option, you can make use of a legal document assistant service that will prepare what you will need for filing at your request.

Using a legal document preparation service will save you money and time. It is crucial to be well studied in the conservatorship process and certain of every step you take, but having a professional set of eyes on your paperwork will help you file it correctly and completely the first time without the need for an attorney’s assistance and large legal fees.

The Best Assistance

Filing for conservatorship doesn’t have to be tedious or difficult. By preparing yourself and finding the right guidance, you can file for conservatorship in no time. And by using affordable legal assistance, you can reduce your chances of error by ensuring that you have all steps identified and covered.

Consider using A People’s Choice as you prepare for the conservatorship. We are a team of legal document assistants that have all the necessary forms related to your conservatorship prepared and at the ready. You will receive quality guidance on the steps you need to take to file for a swift and pain-free conservatorship for your loved one, all while saving money. Don’t waste any more time; contact A People’s Choice today!