Self-Help Conservatorship Clinic Orientation PROBATE CONSERVATORSHIPS 1-25-15

How We Can Help You Help Yourself Give you general information and referrals Explain the process Help with petition preparation Process your documents after you are appointed

Bet Tzedek is a non-profit organization that provides free legal services. We help people who want to represent themselves. The Self-Help Clinic is managed by Bet Tzedek staff and volunteers from the community assist visitors at our various locations. We are not employees of the court. We are an EQUAL ACCESS clinic which means everyone can use our services.

What are alternatives to a conservatorship? Advance Healthcare Directive Informal Arrangements Joint Accounts or Living Trusts Durable Power of Attorney

  In California, a conservatorship is a court case where a judge appoints a responsible person or organization (called the “conservator”) to care for another adult (called the “conservatee”) who cannot care for himself or herself or manage his or her own finances.

Conservator of the Person

Duties of Conservaor of the Person Provide care and protection of conservatee Decide where conservatee will live-within certain limits Seek measures to allow conservatee to stay in his or her personal residence and notify the court if you change the residence Get permission to move the conservatee out of state Provide healthcare, meals, clothing, & personal care Provide housekeeping, transportation, recreation If given exclusive authority, make medical decisions and make sure treatment is appropriate If given authority, place conservatee with dementia in a secured facility & administer medications to treat dementia If not exclusive authority, may not consent or refuse medical treatment if conservatee disagrees Duties of Conservaor of the Person Provide care and protection Decide where conservatee will live Get permission to move the conservatee out of state Provide healthcare, meals, clothing, & personal care Provide housekeeping, transportation, recreation If given exclusive authority, make medical decisions and make sure treatment is appropriate If given authority, place conservatee with dementia in a secured facility & administer medications to treat dementia Notify the court of change of residence Report to the court on status

Conservator of the Estate

Duties of Conservator of the Estate Manage finances Locate and take control of assets Prepare a budget Collect income Pay bills and taxes Responsibly invest Protect assets Report to the court with an inventory and appraisal

If you need to manage assets over $15,000, the court may require you to post a bond. A bond is like an insurance policy that protects the disabled person’s assets. If the conservator steals or misappropriates the disabled person’s money, the bonding company will restore the amount to the disabled person, and seek legal action against the conservator to recover the stolen money.

The clinic does not handle bond cases The clinic does not handle bond cases. However, we can assist you if you need to manage a small estate because the court will determine a bond is not needed. A small estate is when the disabled person: Has less than $15,000 in assets, not including the house he or she lives in; Has a monthly income of less than $2000 per month, not including public benefits; and Anything left would be used for the care of the disabled person

General Conservatorships For adults who cannot take care of themselves and/or their finances Often elderly people, but can also be younger people who have been seriously impaired (Example: injury from car accident) Need higher level of care

Limited Conservatorships For adults with developmental disabilities, i.e. those who have a severe or chronic disability due to a mental or physical impairment that started before the age of 18 and could last indefinitely Focus of the conservator is to help the limited conservatee develop maximum self-reliance and independence

The Seven Powers a Limited Conservator May Request from the Court Probate Code Section 2351.5: To fix the residence or specific dwelling of the limited conservatee To have access to the confidential records and papers To consent or withhold consent to the marriage or the entrance into a registered domestic partnership by the limited conservatee To control the right of the limited conservatee to contract To give or withhold consent to medical treatment To control social and sexual contacts and relationships To make decisions concerning the limited conservatee’s education The Seven Powers a Limited Conservator May Request from the Court

The Role of the Regional Center in Limited Conservatorships Nonprofit corporations that have contracts with the California Department of Developmental Services to provide services for each person with a developmental disability at each stage of his or her life, regardless of age or the degree of the disability. Developmental disability is a substantial disability that originates before the age of 18 and is expected to continue indefinitely Includes intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and autism (does not include disability conditions that are solely physical in nature Services can include assessment and diagnosis, counseling, advocacy, training, education, lifelong individualized planning, referrals The courts require a Regional Center report in determining the appointment of a limited conservator (Probate Code Section 1827.5(a)) The Role of the Regional Center in Limited Conservatorships The Role of the Regional Center in Limited Conservatorships

When does a probate conservatorship end? Conservatee becomes able to handle his or her own affairs Conservatee does not have any more assets (for conservatorship of the estate) Conservatee dies Court removes conservator Conservator dies Conservator resigns

Getting Started Provide complete and accurate answers in the Conservator Questionnaire and/or Co-Conservator Questionnaire Have the doctor complete a Capacity Declaration for the person who needs the conservatorship (the conservatee) You will be scheduled for an appointment with the clinic to prepare and sign your petition documents for filing. Once the documents are filed, you will be assigned a hearing date. Have someone over the age of 18 help you give a copy of the petition and citation to the conservatee (this is called “personal service”)

Getting Prepared for The Hearing The Self-Help Clinic will mail copies of your petition to all relatives in the 1st and 2nd degree, and the Regional Center if you are trying to help someone who is developmentally disabled. The court will assign the conservatee an attorney, called the PVP attorney. The attorney will meet with the disabled person before the hearing. The PVP will prepare a report to the court before the hearing. The court will appoint a probate investigator. The probate investigator will do research on the background of any persons who want to be a conservator or co-conservator. The investigator will prepare a report to the court before the hearing. If the case is for a developmentally disabled person, the Regional Center will prepare a report about the person’s needs for the court. Getting Prepared for The Hearing

The Hearing and After the Hearing 10. Go to the hearing, and if appointed, complete post hearing documents. 11. Turn in the completed post hearing documents to the self-help clinic. 12. After all documents have been approved by the court, the self-help clinic will send you directions on how to get your certified Letters of Conservatorship.

Conservatee’s Rights

Conservatee Keeps These Rights Even If You Are Appointed: To be represented by a lawyer To ask the judge to replace a conservator To ask the judge to end the conservatorship To make or change a will To directly receive and control a salary To control an allowance (personal spending money the court has authorized the conservator to pay directly to the conservatee

Conservatee Keeps These Rights Unless the Court has Limited Them or Taken Them Away To receive personal mail To vote To receive visits by family and friends To marry or enter into a registered domestic partnership To make his or her own medical decisions To enter into transactions for necessaries of life To engage in activities allowed by the court If a limited conservatee, to engage in any activity not expressly reserved for the limited conservator