Conservator

What is a conservator?

A conservator is appointed to manage the financial and/or personal affairs of a person who a court has deemed incapable of doing so themselves. The conservator is entrusted with acting in the conservatee’s best interest and properly managing their affairs, and is subject to court supervision in doing so. A conservatorship may be established if a person is incapacitated, disabled, or not old enough to manage their own affairs. A conservator is not necessarily the same as a guardian, though different jurisdictions use different terminology. 

Types of conservatorships

• Financial: A conservator of the estate is appointed to manage the conservatee’s finances and assets. This may include paying bills, setting spending limits, overseeing investments, and generally making financial decisions on the conservatee’s behalf. 
• Physical: This type of conservator is appointed to make decisions regarding the conservatee’s personal care and well-being. This might include determining where the conservatee lives, their medical care and treatment, etc. 
• Limited: In a limited conservatorship, the conservatee maintains control over some specific aspects of their life, which vary from case to case. A common example is a limited conservatorship over a mentally disabled adult, which appoints someone to care for certain specific needs while providing the conservatee the greatest possible level of autonomy.
  
• General: A general conservator has complete authority over the conservatee’s financial, physical, and health decisions. 

Conservatorships can vary in length. A short-term conservatorship may last up to 90 days and is usually established to address an emergency situation, such as someone becoming suddenly incapacitated. A temporary conservatorship is generally longer than a short-term conservatorship, and grants authority for a limited amount of time or under limited conditions. A permanent conservatorship lasts indefinitely, unless the circumstances under which it was established change. Only a court can revoke a permanent conservatorship.