How to obtain the Seven 7 Limited Conservatorships Powers in California?

Seven conservatorship powers in California

Limited Conservatorship powers allow the Conservator to make certain legal decisions for a Conservatee in California: If you are applying for a Limited Conservatorship in California, you should know that the following Seven (7) powers must be specifically requested from the court, and unless the order includes them, the seven conservatorship powers in California are not automatic and you must claim them in a petition:

(1) To fix the residence or specific dwelling of the limited conservatee.

(2) Access to the confidential records and papers of the limited conservatee.

(3) To consent or withhold consent to the marriage of, or the entrance into a registered domestic partnership by, the limited conservatee.

(4) The right of the limited conservatee to contract.

(5) The power of the limited conservatee to give or withhold medical consent.

(6) The limited conservatee’s right to control his or her own social and sexual contacts and relationships.

(7) Decisions concerning the education of the limited conservatee.

You should know the difference between conservatorship powers, conservatorship duties, and conservatorship rights.  There are important differences among the above which you should discuss with a conservatorship lawyer in California.

If you are seeking a Limited Conservatorship attorney in Los Angeles, California, or have questions about the Seven Conservatorship powers in Limited Conservatorship, feel free to contact our attorneys at 818.340.4479, for conservatorship assistance.   Email: Info@SirkinLaw.com

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Many clients ask us about the differences between the Developmentally Disabled Adult Conservatorships called a Limited Conservatorship and what is appropriate for a person who is a non-developmentally disabled adult.  You should know that the main difference between the two types of conservatorships are that the Developmentally Disabled Adult Conservatorship requires that before the age of 18, the conservatee has manifested a delay or a disability.  Non-Developmental Conservatorships are Adult Conservatorships.  The most common situations are persons who have turned 18 or about to turn 18, and who need greater help as a adults.

The goals of the Limited Conservatorship v. the General Conservatorship are different.  While both conservatorships are protective, the Limited Conservatorship allows more freedom to the conservatee.  For example, the Limited Conservatee can in most cases be able to participate in certain areas of his or her life.  The Limited Conservatee may be able to work, and help with paying bills.  While in most cases, the right to contract may be restricted to the Limited Conservatee, the ability to help oneself is not taken away.  The goal for the Limited Conservatorship is to preserve as many of the rights of the conservatee as are possible to allow him or her to flourish.  In most cases, the assets of the conservatee can be protected in a Special Needs Trust for Limited Conservatees.

General Conservatorships, on the other hand, can be more restrictive.  Many powers are given to the conservator which do not exist in the Limited Conservatorship.  With an older adult, over 65 years of age, the Conservator may has for dementia medication and secured perimeter housing, which powers do not exist in the limited conservatorship in California.  Unfortunately, in California, for persons younger than 65, the ability of the conservator to give psychotropic medications and secured perimeter placement does not exist, unless the person is under an LPS Conservatorship or Mental Health Conservatorship.  LPS Conservatorship filings are reserved only for the Public Guardian and Psychiatrists while is a mental health facility.

What to do if you need to medicate a person with a disability?  Medication rights are preserved to the person, however, under the Limited Conservatorship, the Conservator can ask for the right to make medical decisions.   Once a person is conservated in a probate conservatorship, a request can be made for an evaluation by the Department of Mental Health in Los Angeles, to determine, if the person is eligible for an LPS or mental health conservatorship.   LPS Conservatorships are sometimes referred to as psychiatric conservatorships. That is the back way to the LPS court, but the road is a difficult one.

To discuss our retention as your attorneys for Limited Conservatorships, Conservatorships for Developmentally Disabled Adults of Non-Developmentally Disabled Conservatorships, contact Mina Sirkin, Conservatorship Attorney in Los Angeles County at 818.340.4479.

A California executor is the person who is given management powers by the Court to care for the assets of the decedent.  The term executor insinuates that there is a will.  The term administrator of a probate estate insinuates that there is no will, or that the decedent died intestate.   Remember that a power of an executor also can translate to a duty of an executor, but not always.

Powers of an executor are defined in the will, but they are expanded by the California Probate Code.  When the will restricts the executor from taking an action, the Court will usually respect the wishes of the decedent, unless the executor comes to court and seeks instructions as to why he should not follow a provision of a will.

Most executors handle such matters very smoothly.  They see help from an experienced probate attorney who can advise them about the powers of an executor in Los Angeles, California.   By consulting with a Sirkin Law Group probate attorney in California, you can be assured that you will receive the advice you deserve in a timely manner.   Receiving advice protects you and the estate when you act as a Los Angeles Executor.

Management and Control of the Estate as Powers

(a) The personal representative has the management and control of the estate and, in managing and controlling the estate, shall use ordinary care and diligence. What constitutes ordinary care and diligence is determined by all the circumstances of the particular estate.

(b) The personal representative:

(1) Shall exercise a power to the extent that ordinary care and diligence require that the power be exercised.

(2) Shall not exercise a power to the extent that ordinary care and diligence require that the power not be exercised.

Consult with us in a complimentary 30 minute session by calling 818,340.4479.   Our friendly office staff will greet you and treat you with respect and integrity.  We value our clients and relationships and are here to help you with your probate in Los Angeles.

California Probate Code 1801 sets the standard for whom a conservator may be appointed.

“(a) A conservator of the person may be appointed for a person who is unable to provide properly for his or her personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter, except as provided for the person as described in subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 1828.5.”

There may be situations where the proposed conservatee has delegated things to someone, such as medical appointment setting, or medication management that at a first glance may make it seem like she or she is unable to act for himself/herself, but that the lack of knowledge is not the same as inability.   For example, a competent person, may be able to learn her medication names and write them down to be able to order them, or to organize and manage them.

(b) A conservator of the estate may be appointed for a person who is substantially unable to manage his or her own financial resources or resist fraud or undue influence, except as provided for that person as described in subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 1828.5. Substantial inability may not be proved solely by isolated incidents of negligence or improvidence.

Substantial inability can be proven in many ways.  Occasional late bills for example would not suffice in showing the inability to manage financial resources.   Inability to resist fraud to undue influence is fact based, so witnesses must testify to that.

(c) A conservator of the person and a conservator of the estate may be appointed for a person described in subdivisions (a) and (b).

Our San Fernando Valley Conservatorship lawyer and attorney can assist you in conservatorship in our Woodland Hills Office.

(d) A limited conservator of the person or of the estate, or both, may be appointed for a developmentally disabled adult. This is for a person whose disability began before the age of 18.  A limited conservatorship may be utilized only as necessary to promote and protect the well-being of the individual, shall be designed to encourage the development of maximum self-reliance and independence of the individual, and shall be ordered only to the extent necessitated by the individual’s proven mental and adaptive limitations. The conservatee of the limited conservator shall not be presumed to be incompetent and shall retain all legal and civil rights except those which by court order have been designated as legal disabilities and have been specifically granted to the limited conservator. The intent of the Legislature, as expressed in Section 4501 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, that developmentally disabled citizens of this state receive services resulting in more independent, productive, and normal lives is the underlying mandate of this division in its application to adults alleged to be developmentally disabled.

(e) The standard of proof for the appointment of a conservator pursuant to this section shall be clear and convincing evidence

It is important to investigate when selecting the right conservatorship lawyer.  Call Mina Sirkin, Conservatorship Lawyer for unusual situations involving the appointment of a conservator in conservatorship court in Los Angeles.  Call for a free conservatorship consultation in Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley 818.340.4479.

SPOUSE AND DOMESTIC PARTNER DEFINITIONS RELATED TO CALIFORNIA PROBATE

California Probate Code 72 provides that Spouse also includes a domestic partner under the Probate Code.

“Spouse” includes domestic partner, as defined in Section 37 of this code, as required by Section 297.5 of the Family Code.

(Added by Stats. 2016, Ch. 50, Sec. 77. (SB 1005) Effective January 1, 2017.)

Estate Litigation and Planning go together.   Any Woodland Hills estate planner at some point will be asked to litigate aspects of trusts and estates.   Sometimes the disputed estate issues revolve around timely distributions from estates.   Other times, the nature of the argument in the estate may be that someone believes he or she was treated unfairly.

Sources of animosities in estate and trust cases:

1.  A beneficiary’s belief that the distribution should have been done sooner.
2. A beneficiary’s vision of what fairness should look like.
3. A sense of entitlement.
4. A sense that mother or father liked me better, or that she/he did not like my sibling.
5. A sense that the person who took more care of the parent, should be paid more.
6. Long term disputes between two beneficiaries stemming from childhood.

If your case fits into any of the above estate issues, planning can proper estate planning can make some, if not, all of the potential disputes more manageable.   Call Mina Sirkin Estate Planning and Litigation Lawyer in Woodland Hills, California at 818-340-4479 or email us.

Trust Litigation Los Angeles  

Litigating a Trust Case? If you would like to get more information regarding Trust litigation in Los Angeles, California, click here.  trustlitigationlosangeles.com

Probate Litigation Los Angeles  

Litigating a Trust Case? If you would like to get more information regarding Trust litigation in Los Angeles, California, click here.  trustlitigationlosangeles.com

CAPACITY DECLARATION FORM FOR CONSERVATORSHIPS IN CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES | SIRKIN LAW GROUP

To establish a Conservatorship in California, the Petitioner is required to file a Capacity Declaration with the Court which is to establish capacity by a physician or psychologist’s declaration.   When the proposed conservatee needs psychotropic medication or a secured perimeter facility authorization, there is also an attachment which needs to be included.

DOWNLOAD THE CAPACITY FORM BELOW:

FORM Capacity Declaration Form California GC 335

1.  Most common errors involving these forms are:

1.    Failure to complete the form:  Name, Address, Telephone, and the box regarding the 2 year experience re dementia is not marked.

2.  The dementia medication attachment is not attached.

3.   The box regarding the attachment (#8) is not marked.

4.   The date next to the signature is omitted.

5.   No original signatures.

We have successfully used the following experts in obtaining the appropriate Capacity Declaration in Los Angeles California Conservatorships:  Dr. David Trader;  Dr. James Spar;  Dr. Susan Bernatz; and Dr. Steven Reed.   If you need a referral to these experts, please contact our office.

Our attorneys have over two decades of experience in Los Angeles Conservatorships.  Our Los Angeles, Glendale, Pasadena and Woodland Hills offices can help families protect the elderly with beneficial conservatorships in Los Angeles.   Call: 818.340.4479.​