Conservatorship or Guardianship
In general terms, Conservatorship is used to denote in the United States of America a situation in which an entity or organization is subjected to the legal control of an external entity or organization known as a conservator. In the case of an individual, this is established by a legal court. Most jurisdictions use the term "guardianship" to refer to the same legal principle (in California, conservatorships are for adults and guardianships are for children).
When a person is deemed incompetent in a court of law, their funds and property are then turned over to another person. This process is called conservatorship—or in some states guardianship. Conservatorship/Guardianship is often granted to relatives of an elder with dementia; however, any person can ask the court for guardianship over another person.
There has been much national debate about the procedural protections for the conservatee/protected person.
In many states, the attorney or guardian ad litem for the protected person or the court visitor, may be picked by the petitioning attorney, rather than by a random process, and may not be truly independent. State law can, but does not always, provide requirements for the actions of the court visitor, attorney and guardian ad litem that are designed to protect the rights of the conservatee/protected person.
To be a conservator in California, all one needs is to pay the state registration fee of $385 and have a clean felony record. Many people argue that this is probably the chief culprit in most elder abuse cases.
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