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Los Angeles Conservatorship Attorneys

Los Angeles Conservatorship Dispute Attorneys

Our Los Angeles Conservatorship litigation attorney team can help you manage lives of disabled family members, including those with dementia and alzheimers disease. We practice conservatorship litigation in all California Probate courts as well as in Los Angeles.

CONSERVATORSHIP LITIGATION IN LOS ANGELES

Los Angeles Conservatorship Attorneys Lawyers

At Sirkin & Sirkin, our attorneys focus on protecting the elderly and disabled in Conservatorship litigation matters in Los Angeles, CA during family dispute or where the elder has been subject of undue influence or fraud.  Conservatorship litigation can occur in many contexts.  Frequently, there are more than one conservatorship petiton before the court as well as objections to a petition for conservatorship.   Suitability of a family member to act as the Conservator is usually one of the factors in conservatorship battles.  Many of the litigated conservatorship cases result in settlements by the appointment of either one of the petitioners or a professional fiduciary, as a conservator in Los Angeles, Ca.

Conservatorship Law Los Angeles California

A Conservatorship in California is a judicially created relationship where an adult is given the legal authority and responsibility to care for another adult.   Our Los Angeles Conservatorship lawyers can assist you with the conservatorship litigation process in Los Angeles County.

Types of Conservatorship:

General Conservatorships in Los Angeles County can be three basic types:

1) Conservatorship of the person; 2) Conservatorship of the Estate; and 3) Conservatorship of person and estate.

There are several other types of Conservatorship matters also available such as LPS Conservatorships (mental health) and Developmentally Disabled (Limited) Conservatorships. 

We also handle conservatorship litigation in limited conservatorship of developmentally disabled in Los Angeles where divorced parents dispute the suitability of each other as conservators.

Who can file for a Conservatorship?

Generally, a spouse, any child, relative, friend, the public guardian, and professional fiduciaries all can file a petition for conservatorship.  Professional fiduciaries often come into conservatorship litigation in Los Angeles and the court happily appoints them to end the litigation.

A person who is authorized by law to file a conservatorship can also file a competing conservatorship petition asking for his or her appointment as a conservator in the conservatorship, theeby requesting the Court finds him/her most suitable as a conservator in place of the other persons who petitioned for conservatorshpi.   Each petitioner asks that he or she becomes the conservator, and the  the court will decide who shall ultimately become the conservator.  Most of the conservatorship of the estate cases are subject matter of litigation or disputes.  Preference rules exist for the appointment of the conservator. Contested Conservatorship proceedings can take long and frequently result in a trial.

Termination of a Conservatorship:  Many people ask us how to terminate a conservatorship.  A case may be terminated by a Petition for Termination submitted to the Court or by death of the conservatee.  A conservator generally continued until the court orders the conservator relieved from his or her duties.   When a conservatee dies, there remain some tasks for the conservator which are generally protective acts to preserve the assets or maintain the rights the conservatee had in assets of other situations.

A conservator can petition to end the conservatorship of the estate if there are no more assets left and estate is depleted. A conservator of the person can petition to end the conservatorship  if the conservatee regains his or her capacity.  A conservator of either person or estate can ask the court to allow for his or her own resignation if the conservator becomes unable or unwilling to act. In the last situation, the court will may allow a successor conservator to be appointed.   Sometimes the issue  of appointment of a successor conservatorship that results conservatorship litigation in Los Angeles.

Conservatorships are generally time-consuming and expensive. They should only be used when absolutely necessary.

Candidates for conservatorships are usually disabled.  Some conservatees may have Alzheimer's disease, dementia, Parkinsons, autism, brain injuries or other disabiling diseases.   Once a Conservators is appointed, the Conservator can ask the Court for permission to do Medi-Cal planning for the Conservatee including substituted judgment petitions to protect the assets from Medi-Cal, and to purchase or sell property of the Conservatee.  Making a will or a trust for the conservatee is the subject of a substituted judgment petition.

What is the job of a conservatorship litigation attorney or lawyer?

The job of a conservatorship litigation attorney is to protect the interests of his or her own client in the conservatorship proceeding, whether in Los Angeles or in other parts of the State of California.   A conservatorship litigation lawyer files petitions and objections to other petitions in the conservatorship case, promoting the view point of the client who may be a relative or other person.

CONSERVATORSHIPS ARE OFTEN USED FOR THE PROTECTION THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED

Dispute and undispute Conservatorship proceedings in California and all actions of conservators are court supervised. 

What is a notice of hearing and when is it required? Family members to the second degree are given notice of the proceeding and financial records of the conservatee are summarized in an accounting filed with the court.  California Conservatorship law requires a notice of hearing when there is a new conservator appointed and when the conservator seeks to take certain types of actions.

When a Conservatee needs psychiatric medications (also called psychotropic medications), the Court reviews a doctor's capacity declaration regarding the need for the medication.    The ability of the Conservator to administer dementia medication depends on the court's approval of administering such medication and the capacity declartion signed by the approprite doctor.

When a Conservator wants to sell real property or purchase real property, the court must give permission for such a transaction, especially when it involves moving the Conservatee from his or her home.  The sale of the conservatee's home also requires a notice of heariing and a hearing.

A CAC or court-appointed attorney is commonley appointed for the Conservatee by the court.  The role of this type of court-appointed attorney is to advocate the wishes of the proposed conservatee when there is conservatorshp litigation, or when rights of the Conservatee are affected in Los Angeles.  Other counties have different procedures.  Some counties such as Ventura County appoints the Public Defender as the court-appointed attorney for the Conservatee.

California Conservatorship Process:

Conservatorship proceedings usually start when a person is so incapacitated that he or she cannot manage his/her own affairs.  The first step in the conservatorship begins with filing a conservatorship petition, then followed by a conservatorship hearing.  The person who is the caretaker is called the Conservator, and the person who is being taken care of is called the Conservatee.

A conservatorship process includes an investigation by a court investigator and a visit by the Court-Appointed Attorney (CAC). Many factors can affect a conservatorship and whether it results in a conservatorship dispute in Los Angeles. For example, if the conservatee objects to the conservator's appointment, he or she may object and the court will consider the contents of the court-appointed attorney or even an oral objection by him or her.

A Temporary Conservatorship is one where an emergency situation exists which requires a conservatorship and someone to make immediate decisions for a disabled person to prevent harm.   A Temporary conservatorship litigation is also a frequent event in Los Angeles.

Litigated Conservatorship Accountings: A conservator of the estate is required to provide accountings that give details of the conservatee's assets, income and expenses, showing exactly how the conservatee's money was spent. Additionally, the court will require that the conservator of the estate to post a bond. The conservator is paid by the conservatee's estate and the court supervises the reasonableness of the payments to the conservator.  The court-appointed attorney will often look into the accounting's details and submit a report to the court.

POWER OF ATTORNEY DOCUMENTS MAY RESULT IN CONSERVATORSHIP LITIGATION

Disputes about the validity of a power of attorney are generally about whether or not the person who gives the power is competent or suitable.   Because power of attorney fraud is very common, the judges in the Probate Court in Los Angeles often suspend or revoke power of attorney documents of the elderly or disabled.  A Power of Attorney cannot be used to make a will for someone, or to change his/her will.   It can be used to create a trust, but not a will.

While a valid power of attorney document can authorize the power of attorney holder to accomplish certain tasks of a conservator, a power of attorney cannot prevent the ill person from contracting, transferring or conveying property or marrying. For example, a patient with dementia or Alzheimer's disease may become subject to fraud or undue influence by unscrupulous persons. 

While he or she could have given a valid power of attorney while he or she was well, he or she may be befriended, may marry, and convey his or her property to a new spouse. In that situation, the probate code provides that a conservatorship may be established, and the conservator may ask the court to set aside any contract entered into by the ill conservatee.

One advantage of the conservatorship is that it can safeguard against fraud or undue influence by a third party against the ill or disabled person.   Conservatorships can get costly when there is litigation involved.  Persons filing for conservatorship should consider the costs of conservatorship litigation before filing.

Administration of dementia and some other types of medications requires consent of the patient.  When the patient has a power of attorney, but is medication non-compliant, a power of attorney is not enough and cannot be used to administer psychotropic medication against the will of the patient. 

What does a Contested Conservatorship or Conservatorship Litigation in Los Angeles involve?

Contested Conservatorship and conservatorship litigation can involve any of the following situations:

1. Objections to the initial appointment of a particular person as a conservator.

2. Removal of an existing Conservator for cause.

3.  Suspension of a power of attorney.

4. Actions requesting appointment of a successor conservator to which others object.

5. Disputes involving contested conservatorship accountings.

6. Determination of a undue influence on an elderly or disabled person.

7. Objections to Proposed Actions by Conservator including substituted judgment actions and trusts.

8. Family mediations in determining the best conservator.

9. Requests to terminate a conservatorship or modify powers in a conservatorship.

10. Determination of rights to assets and disputes relating to ownership and title.

11. Conservatorship trials.

Call us for a Free Conservatorship Consultation regarding Conservatorship Litigation in
Los Angeles at 818-340-4479. For more information on conservatorship and contested conservatorships and conservatorship litigation matters, call 818.340.4479.  Los Angeles Conservatorship Litigation Attorneys at Sirkin Law Group.

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