What is Conservatorship / Guardianship?
When an elderly person becomes incapacitated by a serious illness, such as Alzheimer’s disease, the person’s care provider may need to go to court to get appointed to make financial, legal and health care decisions. This appointee is called a conservator or guardian, and the legal proceedings are called conservatorship or guardianship hearings. The courts recognize two types of conservatorship / guardianship: • Conservatorship/guardianship of the person. This allows a conservator / guardian to select medical treatments, choose the proper place for the senior to live, decide whether the senior can vote or marry, and make other choices about the person’s physical and emotional well being. • Conservatorship/guardianship of the property. This puts a conservator/guardian in charge of money, bank accounts, investments, homes and other real estate – all assets owned by the incapacitated senior. Part of the job is making sure seniors receive all the financial benefits to which they are entitle
