what type of lawyer should i contact to file for power of attorney/conservatorship of an elderly family member?

With a power of attorney, your relative would grant another person the authority to handle her or his finances on your relative's behalf.  Your relative would need to have the mental capacity to make this decision and would have to be doing it voluntarily.  Your relative also would retain the ability to handle her or his finances.  A power of attorney can be drafted by an attorney, and must be witnessed and/or notarized.  Estate planning attorneys do this work.  There also are generic forms online.   A conservator would be appointed by the court after a hearing and determination that your relative is no longer able to make sound financial decisions.  Your relative would be entitled to an attorney and would participate in the process.  If a conservator is appointed, your relative would no longer have the legal authority to make her or his own financial decisions.  If your relative agrees that a conservator is necessary, the process is a bit easier but the court is still involved.  Probate attorneys do this work.   If the state is involved, I would guess that your relative has diminished mental capacity and needs a conservator and maybe a guardian.  A guardian is appointed by the court to make every day decisions, such as where to live, when the court finds that a person cannot make responsible decisions for themselves.  State health and human services employees can serve as conservators and guardians in most states.  Again, guardianship requires a hearing and probate attorneys do this work.   Wills are quite different from the above issues.  Your relative would meet with an estate planning attorney to enact a Will, or could use an online form in some cases.  Again, your relative would need to have the mental capacity to understand the Will and would have to sign voluntarily, with witnesses and a notary.  Conservators and agents under a power of attorney would act for your relative while he or she is alive.  A Will is administered once he or she dies.  No one else can enact a Will for your relative, even if a conservator or guardian is appointed.