A conservator is a person appointed by the court to manage the health care and/or financial matters of an adult (the conservatee) who is found to lack the legal capacity to care for themselves.  A conservatee does not lose all of his or her rights.  The conservatee retains the right to be treated with understanding and respect, have his or her wishes considered, and to be well cared for.  In addition, conservatees retain the right to ask a judge to end or change the conservatorship.

There are two types of conservatorships:  conservator of the person and conservator of the estate.  A conservator of the person arranges for the conservatee’s care and protection and decides where the conservatee will live.  The conservator of the person is also in charge of health care, food, personal care, and housekeeping.  However, a conservator cannot move the conservatee out-of-state.  In addition, the conservator cannot put the conservatee in a mental health treatment facility.  A conservator may be able to move the conservatee into a special residential care facility provided certain protocol is met.

A conservator of the estate is responsible for managing the conservatee’s finances, protecting his or her income and property, compiling a list of everything in the estate, making a plan to make sure the conservatee’s needs are met, paying the conservatee’s bills, and other duties.  A conservator must remember to keep his or her own assets separate from the conservatee’s assets.

For more information on conservatorships, please visit Lonich Patton Erlich Policastri.  Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results.  While this post may include legal issues, it is not legal advice.  Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.