Guardianships/Conservatorships

Robert Chesley

• Guardianship
• Conservatorship

Do you have a relative who cannot care for himself or herself, either personally or in his/her money matters?  If the person is an adult, and he or she is cooperative, a trusted family member can often get him or her the kind of help he or she needs. That might include moving to an assisted living facility or even a nursing home.

But what do you do when the person is not cooperative? One step that can be taken in this situation is to obtain a guardianship or conservatorship.

A guardianship is a court supervised arrangement whereby a trusted person, called a guardian, makes decisions regarding the health, safety, and welfare of the protected person.  A conservatorship is similar to a guardianship in that it is a court supervised arrangement, but the trusted person is called a conservator, and the decisions made regard the finances of the protected person.  Anyone can petition for a guardianship or conservatorship, but these can only be established by the court.  In a guardianship or conservatorship proceeding, the court requires “clear and convincing” evidence because a guardianship/conservatorship proceeding takes away civil rights of the protected person.

Contact our office with your questions regarding guardianships and conservatorships.