More About Conservatorships in California

A CONSERVATORSHIP MEANS SUPERVISION IN CALIFORNIA

In California, a California Conservatorship order is obtained when you need to manage a person’s life, assets and finances, and is Los Angeles court ‘s version of a supervised power of attorney with some additional protections in place in Los Angeles County.  Conservatorship definition:  “When you think of a conservatorship in California, think of it as life supervision.”

Two Quick Questions to know if you should call a conservatorship attorney:

Do you have a family member or a friend who is losing competency or has lost capacity and who needs help or protection?   Has your friend or family member been subject to fraud, or are people trying to take advantage of him or her?If the answer is yes to any of the above conservatorship qualifying questions, a knowledgeable conservatorship attorney at our law office in Los Angeles can help you determine if a conservatorship is in the best suited for your love one, or conservatorship services with assist you to protect your loved one’s person and estate.

Focusing on What type of Conservatorship is Needed

With a Limited Conservatorship, many of the rights of the person are kept.  However, when a general conservatorship, sometimes called a permanent conservatorship is put in place, in order for the court to protect the disabled person, the court can take away the powers of the proposed conservatee, to essentially protect him from himself.  These can mean that the conservatee (the conserved person) can lose the ability to write checks, pay bills, and make other financial decisions.   In that same proceeding, the Conservator (supervisor) is given the rights to pay bills, write checks, make investments, and other Conservator duties and powers.

What documents do I need to manage the financial affairs of my aging parent, and how does a conservatorship work?

If your parent did not put a plan in place to manage his or her estate, or sign a valid durable power of attorney when he or she was well, then you go the route of a conservatorship.

In a California Conservatorship, we obtain a court order and letters from the court for our client that names the client as the conservator or decision maker.  When your conservatorship lawyer tells you that you are appointed as the conservator, you will be given court papers and documents called Letters of Conservatorship.  This is a court form and document which gives the conservator the right and duty to act for someone else.  With Letters of Conservatorship, you as a conservator of the estate, can pay bills and collect the income and assets of the disabled loved one.

Possession of a Car by a Disabled or Incompetent Person and Driving issues in Conservatorships in Los Angeles

If you are concerned about your parent or relative driving a car, the court can put in place that the conservatee shall not be in direct possession of his or her automobile, and a doctor can certify that the conservatee is not fit to drive.   When you use the conservatorship attorney at Sirkin Law Group, our attorneys can help you determine what is in the best interest of your family member and put conservatorship protections in place, if your parent or loved one poses a risk to himself or herself in driving.

Do I have choices or any alternatives to a conservatorship in California?

Options and alternatives to conservatorships are the first course of an effective and free conservatorship evaluation during our consultation.  Our lawyers go through the conservatorship alternatives and help you find the most suitable way of helping your parent in Los Angeles.   As part of our due diligence in conservatorships, we evaluate the least costly possible avenues and the least restrictive means first to comply with the standard of care in conservatorships.

There are may choices to explore and our investigating attorney evaluates the cost-expense ratios, pros and cons of conservatorship, as well as suitable other ways to manage the estate and personal affairs of the person, before we petition for conservatorship in California.    If we do determine that the conservatorship is the best way to protect your family member, then we have decide if a conservators of person or conservatorship of the estate, or both are needed.

Call our Attorney when you need a Conservatorship advisor for Los Angeles County California Law

Get a Complimentary Conservatorship Evaluation in Ca at our Free Consultation when you call  818.340.4479.

When you call our conservatorship lawyer, you will get a free consultation for conservatorships.  Call 818.340.4479 to arrange the best time for you.

Do you need advice from an expert and experienced conservatorship attorney who is knowledgeable about Los Angeles Conservatorship?  A California conservatorship advisor who handles a conservatorship on behalf of the conservator or a family member sees some of the most emotional financial elder abuse and conservatorship lawsuits in the Los Angeles Superior court called the Probate Court.

Los Angeles Conservatorship Office address:  11400 W. Olympic Blvd. #300, Los Angeles CA 90064

Our law office serves conservatorship in California areas near Los Angeles, Hollywood, Pacific Palisades, Hollywood Hills, Santa Monica and Venice Ca.

Conservatorship Attorney Woodland Hills – Woodland Hills Conservatorship Lawyer

WOODLAND HILLS AREA CONSERVATORSHIP ATTORNEY

WOODLAND HILLS ATTORNEY ADVICE REGARDING THE TOP 10 QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU KNOW WHEN A CONSERVATORSHIP IS NEEDED FOR A LOVED ONE.  WoodlandHillsConservatorship.com

Clients in Woodland Hills often ask our attorney whether they need conservatorship for an elderly or disabled parent, or a disabled child.    Below is a checklist we have developed to help you make the decision:

1.   Can he or she properly administer medication to himself or herself?

2.   Can he or she understand the consequence of making a medical decision?

​3.   Can he or she provide food or shelter for himself?

4.   Is he or she easily influenced by others to give away his or her money?

​5.   Are there signs that he or she cannot be safe when left alone at home?

​6.   Is he or she bathing himself or herself?

7.   Does he or she wear clean clothes or wash his or her clothes?

8.   Are there bills that are unpaid?

9.   Is he or she forgetful of recent events?

10.  Are there people who are trying to take financial advantage of him or her?

WHAT TO DO FIRST WHEN MOST OF THE ANSWERS TO THE ABOVE CONSERVATORSHIP QUESTIONS ARE YES?

1.   Call our office at 818.340.4479 and ask for a call assessment regarding your case.

2.   Ask us to give you a Capacity Declaration to be completed by a physician.   If your loved one will not submit to a doctor’s examination, please call us.

3.   Gather a list of medications and assets of your loved one

4.   Set an in-person appointment to go over the Conservatorship Procedures in Los Angeles County.

Call Mina Sirkin, Woodland Hills Conservatorship Attorney at 818.340.4479 for all of your San Fernando Valley Conservatorship needs .  WoodlandHillsConservatorship.com . Our Woodland Hills office serves the Woodland Hills, Calabasas, West Hills, Tarzana, Agoura, Chatsworth, Northridge, Canoga Park, Winnetka, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Burbank, North Hollywood, and Westlake Village areas. Conservatorship Attorney Woodland Hills.

When to get Conservatorship advice about a Los Angeles Conservatorship?

Most people do not know when to ask for help or get advice about conservatorship cases, especially about Los Angeles conservatorship cases.  The range of problems that can arise from not asking for legal advice in a conservatorship range from not getting the result you want, to creating liability that could have been prevented with a simple consultation.

Types of Conservatorship Situations that Require a Consultation or advice.:

a.  Someone has filed a conservatorship, and you do not agree with that.

b.  Someone who claims to be a friend requests the court to become a conservator.

c.  You received a notice of hearing about a conservatorship petition.

d.  The court has set a date by which an objection must be filed.

e.  No inventory was filed in probate court.

f.   The conservator is not a family member.

g.   You received a copy of an accounting, and something does not look right or feel right, Gut feelings are usually rights. You should explore why you feel this way.

Getting experienced counsel in conservatorship is much like selecting a doctor.  You want to select someone who has done this many many many times.   Younger attorneys simply do not have enough experience to handle the complexities of conservatorships.    Call Mina Sirkin, Conservatorship expert attorney about the best conservatorship advice in Los Angeles County.  Call 818.340.4479

 

Considerations when you become a conservator

Reasons for becoming a conservator vary in each case but are more complex in Los Angeles and require further considerations.   Sometimes, our clients want to protect an elder from financial abuse.  Other times, an elder can no longer physically care for himself and family members realize that there is no power of attorney in place.

No matter why you want to become a conservator in Los Angeles, you must know that conservatorships have many court deadlines and requirements.   Some of the important things you need to know are:  You can’t pay yourself without a court order.  You must file an inventory with the court.  You have to follow a very stringent requirement of accounting to the court a year after you receive your letters of conservatorship.   Many people refer to Letters of Conservatorship as Letter of Conservatorship, which is a form which indicates the actual authority of the Conservator.

Getting Help and How to Become a Conservator in Los Angeles

Getting help when you want to become a conservator is essential in the success of your case.  Conservatorship cases are very procedural.   Miss the procedure, and the court will deny the petition after giving you a chance to cure the procedural issues.

Getting paid requires a petition for compensation in conservatorships.  Fees sometimes become contested, and the courts often question the fee request by the conservator.

If you want guidance about conservatorships in Los Angeles County, call Mina Sirkin, conservatorship attorney for effective advice.  Call 818.340.4479.

Predatory Marriage? It can happen to you!

WHAT IS A PREDATORY MARRIAGE, AND HOW YOU CAN VOID IT?

The Star.com, a Canadian publisher reported on predatory marriage problems and how a Canadian judge voided the marriage leading the way to protect the fragile and elderly:

“Six years after the Muskoka man’s Blue Mountain marriage, an Ontario Superior Court justice has declared it void — a decision lawyers say will give fragile or elderly people increased protections from predatory marriage.

Before his “catastrophic” head injury from an ATV accident, Kim Kevin Hunt was a Muskoka landscaper and horse aficionado with boundless energy for hiking and fishing.

In October 2011, three days after leaving hospital with what doctors described as a wasted, shrunken brain, the 50-year-old was “spirited away” by a former girlfriend for a secret wedding, giving her legal rights to his future wealth, such as his growing landscape business and home value, as well as access to his expected $1-million personal injury settlement. Kathleen Anne Worrod (also known as Katheleena) could not be reached for comment.

Hunt never lived with Worrod after the marriage. Police found him near Blue Mountain in Collingwood, at a motel where the wedding had taken place only hours earlier. Hunt was immediately reunited with his two sons, living with them at his house in Novar, 10 minutes north of Huntsville.

Now, six years later, Ontario Superior Court Justice Edward J. Koke has declared the marriage void — a decision lawyers say will give fragile or elderly people increased protections from predatory marriage.

“This case is an example of predatory marriage where a vulnerable person is taken advantage of by an opportunist,” says Andrea McEwan, of Toronto’s Whaley Estate Litigation Partners, who was hired by Hunt’s family.

“Older people are often targeted, which makes this type of marriage an increasing problem in our society because of our aging population.”

In his written decision filed last month, Justice Koke rejected “in its entirety” testimony from Hunt’s former girlfriend, Worrod, and her relatives. Worrod had testified that Hunt was a healthy and willing groom, although her uncle had to be dispatched to bring him to the wedding.

Before the accident, Hunt had an on-again-off-again relationship with Worrod.

As laid out in the judgment, they met online in mid-2009 and Hunt later acted as a surety for her impaired-driving charges, although police reports noted that she violated the conditions on her court order by continuing to drink. Hunt and Worrod bought the Novar house together in April of 2010 but their relationship quickly deteriorated. Within eight months, in December 2010, they signed a “property settlement agreement” and Hunt paid Worrod for her share of the house, becoming the sole owner.

Worrod put her belongings in storage but stayed in the house, with Hunt as her surety, until June 4, 2011 — when she was arrested for breach of bail conditions related to drinking. Police reports said she had been living in a guest room, and after the arrest, she lived with her daughters in Barrie, according to her bail conditions.

The judge accepted that Hunt had bought her out of the house and officially ended the relationship before his June 18, 2011, accident.

“In my view,” Koke wrote, “the evidence overwhelmingly supports a finding that Mr. Hunt had not only made up his mind not to marry Ms. Worrod prior to the accident but also that he did not have the requisite mental capacity to marry Ms. Worrod following the accident.” (The italics are Koke’s.)

Hunt’s accident was brutal. He was turning a corner on an ATV, hit a ditch and flew through the air, smashing his head into a tree, his son Justin said. Hunt was airlifted to a Sudbury hospital and placed on life support.

Immediately after the accident, Hunt’s sons, Justin and Brad, rushed to the hospital (a three-hour drive) while Worrod and her daughter drove to Hunt’s house “when she knew Brad and Justin would not be present,” the judgment said. When Hunt’s sons returned, Worrod “refused to allow them entry and declared that the house belonged to her.”

“It took police involvement to remove her,” Koke noted.

After the crash, Hunt spent 18 days in a coma. He slowly emerged and four months later was released into the care of his sons, with the expectation of a $1-million personal injury settlement. His mobility and balance were so bad that Brad slept in his father’s bed to stop him from falling.

At the time of the wedding, three days after leaving the hospital, Hunt’s vulnerability was undisputed. Seven medical experts, plus hospital staff reports, all described him as intellectually devastated, with serious physical issues, according to the decision.

One psychiatrist said “much or most of Mr. Hunt’s brain had lost tissue and shrank.” The doctor also said Hunt was “increasingly malleable and easily influenced using cuing and emotional stimulation, including sexual relations.”

On Oct. 24, 2011, the day of the wedding, Hunt’s panicked sons couldn’t find their father but tracked him to the motel through charges to his credit card, the judgment said. The boys called police, who found him, but Hunt was already married. The ceremony had taken place just hours before, at the motel.

At the time of the wedding, a clinical psychologist testified, Hunt was “extremely vulnerable, especially to reinjuring the brain and putting himself in unsafe positions.”

The agreement of the medical experts made it clear that Hunt did not have the “capacity” to marry.

In his decision, Koke issued an order prohibiting contact between Worrod and Hunt. He cited constant telephone calls from Worrod to Hunt, including a 2015 call that Justin recorded. The judgment described the call, saying Worrod “repeatedly attempted to convince Mr. Hunt that his sons were simply motivated by self-interest, and were trying to take away his business and his house.” If they were her kids, she said, she would have “hog tied them and kicked their ass all the way down the f—ing street by now.”

The decision to void the marriage is notable because Ontario’s Marriage Act allows almost anyone who is not “under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs or any other reason” to marry. The rules are loose, leaving little to stop vulnerable people, often the elderly with dementia, from being pressured to marry.

McEwan, the Hunt family lawyer, says the decision to void the marriage shows that courts are recognizing the rights of a vulnerable person. Her law firm, founded by lawyer Kimberly Whaley, has long pushed for updates to estate and capacity-to-marry laws.

In his decision, Koke relied on a recent British Columbia judgment (another predatory marriage case) that concluded an individual must be able to control their personal care — and property — to have the “capacity” to marry. Previous case law only required an individual have control over their personal care.

“I think it certainly moves the law forward,” McEwan says. “It gives hope to lawyers and families alike that these marriages can be found to be void … which I think is excellent.”

Hunt’s case is unusual because most predatory brides and grooms target elderly people who are lonely or fragile because marriage immediately revokes an existing legal will. After death, the new bride or groom gets the first $200,000 and must split the rest with surviving children — although some burn through the money.

Ontario protections are lagging behind provinces like Alberta and British Columbia, which updated estate laws so that marriage doesn’t immediately revoke a will. Quebec doesn’t revoke wills nor do most American states.

It’s a caution for families, particularly when an estimated $1 trillion in inheritance is expected to be passed through generations over the next 20 years.

Graham Webb, a lawyer with the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, says today’s aging society is sitting on huge wealth, mostly from real estate, so there’s “a lot of incentive for people to prey on cognitively impaired older adults.”

Hunt is now 56 and living with his son, Justin, 31, in the same home in the town of Novar. Brad, 27, lives nearby with his wife and baby daughter.

The brothers run Hunt’s company, Camel Lake Bobcat and Landscaping, while the insurance money pays for Hunt’s care, from physiotherapists to personal support workers.

The Hunt brothers managed to keep their father’s five horses, including two thoroughbreds, former racehorses from Toronto. One of Hunt’s favourite therapies is horseback riding, says Justin.

While Hunt testified in court, he doesn’t fully understand the outcome of the case. But his sons do.

“It’s a relief,” says Justin. ‘Nothing was worse than worrying about something for over six years, every day and night. It’s been nice not to have to worry about Dad losing his house, or not having a decent life.” ”

CAN A PREDATORY MARRIAGE END IN CALIFORNIA IN A CONSERVATORSHIP?

If you are worried about a predatory marriage of a loved one who is elderly or disabled in Los Angeles California, call Mina Sirkin, probate and conservatorship attorney who can assist you in protecting your elder loved ones. California law allows for invalidation of a predatory marriage of an elderly or disabled person in a conservatorship and family law proceeding.   There are steps you can take to protect your assets in the event of a predatory marital situation.  Call Mina Sirkin 818-340-4479 or email us.

Conservatorships for Disabled with Alcohol or Drug Use, or Developmental Disabilities

Conservatorships for Disabled with Alcohol or Drug Use, or Developmental Disabilities in California

Sirkin Law provides professional conservatorship services for families with incapacitated members or those suffering from alcoholism or drug use.

When a parent did not set up a trust or designate a conservator or a disabled child, the child’s medical care and financial decisions are left for others to decide.   This is often not consistent with the wishes of the parent who was the primary caregiver for the disabled child.

The selection or nomination of the  conservator of a disabled child can be made in a will, or in a separate document.  Picking a conservator requires the parent to think of many things, such as:

  1. Who will make the decision regarding where the disabled child will live.   Residence issues can get complicated when a disabled person is a consumer of the Regional Center, as different Regional Centers offer varying services.
  2. Who will make decisions for the health care and medical needs of the proposed conservatee is the conservator of the person.
  3. Who will make financial decisions for the proposed conservatee is the conservator of the estate.
  4. The conservator of the person does not have to be the same person as the conservator of the estate for the special needs person.
  5. In most cases, the SSI, Regional Center respite and IHSS benefits do not require a conservatorship of the estate, unless there is a dispute regarding the suitability of the representative payee.
  6. Social Security has forms for designation of the representative payee of SSI, which falls outside of conservatorships.
  7. A parent can set up forms to leave authority to another person make financial and medical decisions for not only himself or herself, but for a disabled child with developmental or other disability.
  8. Mina Sirkin is a conservatorship attorney with over 25 years of experience filing conservatorships petitions and nominations in the Los Angeles court.
  9. As a PVP attorney, Mina Sirkin is often appointed by the court to represent the proposed conservatee in his or her interest.
  10. When it comes to advice to the conservator, we counsel conservators about the duties of the conservator in California. Conservatorship estate management requires books and records to be set up from the start of the case to prepare the conservator for court required accountings.   The appointed conservator must account at the first year anniversary of the conservatorship, and every two years thereafter, unless the court requires a more frequent schedule.  This close review is the conservatorship process by which the court determines whether or not the conservator should continue to act.
  11. As one of the duties of the conservator, he or she must find, locate and marshal the asset of the conservatee. This is solely for the benefit of the conservatee and the conservator must not obtain any personal benefit from those assets. Where there are questions about assets, the conservator must file a petition for instructions to obtain the court’s approval of his or her actions.
  12. Conservatorships for alcoholic and drug disabled individuals can often result in clean up and rehabilitation of those with specific disabilities.
  13. Care management is a large part of the conservatorship disputes. When a conservator is both a conservator and a caregiver, the court should set an amount for caregiving as opposed to conservatorship tasks, so that there are no overlaps in what the conservator does, and the caregiving fees. Caregiving fees when ordered can be paid before the conservatorship fees are ordered, and are often the source of conflict in families.
  14. Conservatorship services and caregiver services are in fact two different things and there should be distinction between the types of services in the conservatorship order.

When initiating a conservatorship in Los Angeles, if you are someone other than the parent of the proposed conservatee, you must obtain a nomination from the parent, as the parent has priority in appointments in conservatorships.

Consult with Los Angeles attorney Mina Sirkin regarding the importance of conservatorship care management orders for protection of both the conservator and the conservatee, and to avoid unnecessary conservatorship litigation.   We have access to hundreds of professionals who serve the conservatorship area and will readily share that information with our clients.  Call 818.340.4479 or Email.

Call our conservatorship paralegal to set an appointment for you to discuss your conservatorship solutions with our specialist lawyer.    We serve all of Sourthern California, but specifically: Los Angeles, West Los Angeles, Glendale, San Fernando Valley and Conejo Valleys, as well as Orange and Ventura County.

Conservatorship Attorney Woodland Hills and Surrounding Areas

“Woodland Hills Conservatorship Attorney – Woodland Hills Ca”

Clients in Woodland Hills often ask our attorney whether they need conservatorship for an elderly or disabled parent, or a disabled child.    Below is a checklist we have developed to help you make the decision:

1.   Can he or she properly administer medication to himself or herself?

2.   Can he or she understand the consequence of making a medical decision?

​3.   Can he or she provide food or shelter for himself?

4.   Is he or she easily influenced by others to give away his or her money?

​5.   Are there signs that he or she cannot be safe when left alone at home?

​6.   Is he or she bathing himself or herself?

7.   Does he or she wear clean clothes or wash his or her clothes?

8.   Are there bills that are unpaid?

9.   Is he or she forgetful of recent events?

10.  Are there people who are trying to take financial advantage of him or her?

WHAT TO DO NEXT WHEN MOST OF THE ANSWERS TO THE ABOVE QUESTIONS ARE YES?

1.   Call our office at 818.340.4479 and ask for a call assessment regarding your case.

2.   Ask us to give you a Capacity Declaration to be completed by a physician.   If your loved one will not submit to a doctor’s examination, please call us.

3.   Gather a list of medications and assets of your loved one

4.   Set an in-person appointment to go over the Conservatorship Procedures in Los Angeles County.

Call Mina Sirkin, Woodland Hills Conservatorship Attorney at 818.340.4479.  WoodlandHillsConservatorship.com . Our Woodland Hills office serves the Woodland Hills, Calabasas, West Hills, Tarzana, Agoura, Chatsworth, Northridge, Canoga Park, Winnetka, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Burbank, Encino Hills, Encino Hollywood Hills, Hollywood, North Hollywood, and Westlake Village areas.  Conservatorship Attorney Woodland Hills.  See our Lawyers and Attorneys in Woodland Hills California for friendly conservatorship services.