Estate planning can take many different forms, but all of them have the singular goal of preserving an estate's assets and distributing those assets as you intended. A Conservatorship is a formal probate process on behalf of a person who cannot provide for his/her needs or cannot manage his/her finances.
Often a Conservatorship is used to prevent an elderly person from completely depleting his/her assets. This is particularly true of people suffering Alzheimer disease, dementia, or other debilitating disease.
Conservatorships have two distinct forms:
- Conservatorships of the Person
Conservatorships of the Person may be appointed for someone unable to care for his/her self such as food, clothing, shelter and general health. - Conservatorships of the Estate
Conservatorships of the Estate may be appointed for someone who is unable to appropriately manage his/her personal finances, resist fraud or other undue influences that jeopardizes personal finances.
Conservatorships may be appointed for an individual person, an estate, or both. There are specific legal limitations of Conservatorships that must be clearly understood before creating one. An experienced estate planning attorney can explain how a Conservatorship works and the protection it affords. It is important to consider other estate planning tools, such as a will, trust, power of attorney, and healthcare directive when considering a Conservatorship.
Estate Planning Lawyer Mike Watkins will take the time to learn about your specific estate planning needs and create the proper documents to achieve those goals. Contact us today to schedule a FREE Consultation to learn how our expertise can assist you.
