California Guardianship And Conservatorship Legal Questions

You do not write whether you want to be paid for caregiving or whether you want to replace the county as guardian/conservator.  These are two separate questions and must be addressed by separate legal documents. The cost of applying for guardianship varies with county filing fees and attorney.  Contact guardianship attorneys in your area.  ... Read Answer

Yes --but only for those items which are in the trust.  If everything is in the trust or governed by a DPOA, you should only need conservatorship if there is no successor trustee or DPOA agent -- or if one of them is robbing your mother.  You might want to consult a local elder law attorney using the Find a Lawyer function on the website of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (www.naela.org)... Read Answer

If you were the custodian parent, you likely have priority to be appointed conservator. The court would have no way to know that background. The first question is: does your son need a conservatorship? Some kids on the autism spectrum need only a conservator of the estate, so they're not exploited. Others need full conservatorship. If your son can function at a middle school level, he may or may not need a conservatorship. If he's non-verbal, non-social, he probably needs a conservatorship. In particular, if he's not able to communicate well with doctors, you will need a conservatorship in order to have the right to direct his medical care. You need to immediately file a response to your husband's filing. You can either cross-file a petition for conservatorship, asking that you be appointed conservator. Or you can file a response that states you do not believe your son needs a conservator. Time is of the essence here, and you will really need an attorney for this.... Read Answer

The public guardian can only handle your mother's finances if they obtained conservatorship of her estate. When they filed for the conservatorship, they would, by law, have sent a notice to your last known address, notifying you that they were filing and informing you of the date of the hearing. That was your opportunity to object. There should be an accounting every year. That will be another opportunity for you to review what they have been doing and file any appropriate objections. The conservatorship trumps your power of attorney.... Read Answer

I'm sorry, but "life partner" is a status that has no legal weight. That's why you received no notice of the conservatorship petition -- you're not a spouse, registered domestic partner, or other legally-recognized relationship. You say you "sent him" to Mather VA hospital. If you were visiting frequently, the nursing staff should have known of your involvement, and should have been able to relay that to the public guardian. Why will you lose the house, car, etc.? If you will lose that because you won't have your partner's income, there is nothing a lawyer can do to help with that. If he's in a nursing home or veterans' hospital, all his income is required to go to that facility. If you were a spouse or registered domestic partner, that would be steps that could be taken to help you keep some of his income while he's alive. Ultimately, once he passes you will be on your own anyway, so you should probably begin figuring out ways you can increase your own income, whether from working or from public benefits you might be eligible for. If you're concerned about your partner's care, and feel that he really doesn't need to be in a nursing facility, and that you could perfectly well care for him at home, you could file your own petition to be substituted as guardian. Your powers of attorney should have weight in that petition, as showing what his desires were when he was fully competent. Since he's currently in a care facility, you would have to provide convincing evidence that you have the physical and financial ability to care for him at home.... Read Answer

Neither the trustee nor other family members are liable for costs of care. Medicad should be available for nursing home costs when private funds run out. But trustee would be wise to move mom into a nursing facility while there are still private funds to pay for several months. It can be hard to get into a facility otherwise.... Read Answer

Your headline is "I don't have money to pay for a lawyer and I need to contest a will." The short answer to that is that a will is contested after a person dies. An attorney may or may not take a case like that on a contingency basis, depending on how strong they believe your case is. I'm rather troubled that your concern about your mother's care comes only at the end of your post.... Read Answer

I'm so sorry your daughter is in this situation. Your daughter may or may not be abused. She is definitely deeply troubled. There's nothing you can legally do. Once a person becomes an adult, they have to take steps to protect themselves, at least to the extent of asking for help. ... Read Answer

Forgery is definitely a crime. In most cases, we begin by doing the following (1) report this to Adult Protective Services and (2) object to her being the conservator. Hopefully, these actions will cause her to deed the house back to him. If not, it's time to file a criminal complaint. If you are qualified (no criminal history, no recent bankruptcies, etc.) nominate yourself as conservator instead of your sister. If you have any history that might make you not qualified, recommend a professional fiduciary, or if there's no money to pay one, the public guardian. You will need an attorney for all of this. It's unlikely you can succeed on your own.... Read Answer

My first question would be why you want to do this. She has three children close to where she is now. By implication, I'm gathering that she is still in her own home. That sounds like an ideal location. Why do you want to remove her from her home and move her away from the majority of her children, and presumably grandchildren?... Read Answer

If your brother filed for conservatorship, you should have received notice. You can check the court in the county where your father lives to see whether a case was filed. f your father has a living trust, and your brother was named as trustee, he simply needed to go to the bank with a doctor's note to be put on as successor trustee. If your father is truly capable of handling his affairs, most trusts provide that he can get another doctor's note saying he CAN handle his affairs and take that to the bank.... Read Answer

To be able to get a power of attorney, your son must be able to understand what he is signing. If his brain damage is too severe for that, you will need a conservatorship of the person to be his healthcare advocate. How is the facility being paid? More than likely the facility got your son onto Medi-Cal. If so, they're entitled to all his income, except $25 a month spending money.... Read Answer

I agree that it sounds like you may need a conservatorship, at least of your father's estate. This would give you court-ordered legal authority over your father's finances, and make it clear that your son does not have that authority. Contact an elder law attorney in your local area to help you with this filing.... Read Answer

You need EITHER two witnesses OR a notary. If the person is already in a skilled nursing facility when they're signing the document, the ombudsman from the facility also needs to sign. If there is a valid healthcare power of attorney, you can make all decisions when your husband cannot make them himself. Your husband always has the right to make his own decisions if he's able to. ... Read Answer