What to do when your elderly loved ones become incapacitated: the conservatorship process.

 A Conservator is a guardian, a protector appointed by a judge to protect and manage the financial affairs and/ or the person’s daily life due to physical or mental limitations or old age, which also makes the person incapable to make decisions for themselves. The conservator may be only of the “estate” (financial affairs) but may also be of the “person” when he/she also takes care of the health or living arrangement of the Conservatee.

 Mental capacity has to be determined by a medical physician or a psychiatrist and provided to the court as evidence.

 In most cases it is unlikely that the person appointed will be a non-relative. Nonetheless, anyone may object to the conservatorship in general or to the specific choice of Conservator, which may put families in complicated and painful situations.

Also, in order to prevent abuses and mismanaging, the court requires periodic reports detailing the actions of the Conservator and sometimes to seek permission for major decisions such as selling real estate or terminating life support. Those are precautions in order to prevent abuse but also represent a lot of paperwork and potential headaches for the family of the incapacitated person.

That is why it is better to think ahead and execute a power of attorney or a living trust before a health crisis occurs, so families can avoid going through those difficult and highly regulated proceedings.

The Conservator will act until the Court issues an order ending the Conservatorship which happens when the Conservatee dies; when he no longer needs assistance; when his assets are used up if the Conservator was only dealing with financial affairs or when the Conservator resigns.