In a conservatorship case, a petitioner seeks court appointment of a “conservator” with authority to care for the “person” and/or “estate” of a proposed “conservatee.” Such cases may be uncontested or contested.
We have substantial experience in contested conservatorship matters. Conservatorships can be contentious and traumatic proceedings, where an elder person and those close to him or her may disagree strongly about the proper way of caring for that person and their finances. Such proceedings can often amount to what have been called “pre-death estate contests“, where someone close to the elder person tries to determine control of their property and the disposition of their estate.
Litigation over conservatorships can involve disputes over various issues, including:
- a proposed conservatee’s capacity to manage his or her own affairs;
- financial or other abuse of the proposed conservatee;
- selection of the proper conservator;
- changes to the trust or will of the conservatee;
- accounting by a conservator;
- breach of a fiduciary duty;
- misappropriation of conservatorship property; and
- mismanagement of conservatorship property