Los Angeles Conservatorship Attorney

• Focused practice in estate planning, special needs planning, trust administration, probate, and conservatorships
• Transparent flat-fee pricing on many services, discussed with you up front
• Virtual and in-person consultations available throughout California
• A family-centered approach built around your goals, never a generic template
• Serving Los Angeles County, Ventura County, and the surrounding Southern California communities

Planning With Heart. Protecting What Matters.

Schedule a Free Consultation

A Conservatorships Lawyer in Los Angeles, CA, Helping Families Protect a Loved One Who Can't Fully Protect Themselves

Whether your adult child with a disability is approaching 18 or a parent's aging has reached the point where they can no longer safely manage their own affairs, the question of whether a conservatorship is the right step is rarely simple. Los Angeles conservatorship attorney Lindsey Chaney brings to this question not only legal knowledge but also a personal understanding of the realities you face as a caregiver.

At Chaney Counsel, we focus on “planning with heart.” For families caring for a loved one who is unable to make their own legal, financial, or medical decisions, that means exploring ways to protect your loved one that are appropriate, sufficient, and compassionate. Lindsey Chaney’s firsthand experience navigating disability-related systems and long-term planning considerations within her own family informs how we approach conservatorships: from a position that emphasizes meaningful protection, not unwarranted control. We understand how hard this situation can be for the whole family, and our goal is to put solutions in place that provide peace of mind.

Getting started begins with a free consultation. You will have the opportunity to talk through what your specific situation may involve with our conservatorships lawyer in Los Angeles, CA, without pressure or obligation. Our firm will help you understand what options might be available to meet your family’s needs and what you can expect in terms of cost before you decide how to move forward.

Ready to Protect What Matters Most? Let’s Start the Conversation.

Every family’s situation is different. Talk with our team about your goals, and we will walk you through the options, the process, and what it costs before you commit to anything.

Schedule a Free Consultation

Conservatorship: A Serious Step When Less Restrictive Options Are Insufficient

A conservatorship gives one person court-authorized responsibility for decisions that another adult is deemed to no longer safely make alone. The person who gains this responsibility is known as the conservator. The adult who is determined to be unable to make decisions on their own is known as the conservatee.

Our firm assists clients with California probate conservatorships, including general and limited conservatorships. Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) conservatorships for certain serious mental health conditions follow a separate legal process.

Conservatorship is a meaningful legal tool, but it also places significant restrictions on someone's independence. That’s exactly why California law has moved toward requiring courts to look at less restrictive options before granting one.

California Courts Now Have to Consider Lighter Alternatives Before Issuing a Conservatorship

In Los Angeles and other areas of Southern California, courts don’t take conservatorship petitions lightly. Generally, families filing a petition for conservatorship must apprise the court of any less restrictive alternatives they've already explored, including supported decision-making agreements, powers of attorney, and advance health care directives.

The court also has to weigh what the proposed conservatee can actually do with the right supports in place, not just what they can't do without them, before deciding whether a conservatorship is warranted at all, and if so, how much authority it actually requires.

While these requirements may increase the logistical complexity of putting a necessary conservatorship in place, the current California law now gives families a genuine breadth of options to explore before conservatorship becomes the answer. Some of these tools, like a power of attorney or an advance health care directive, have existed for a long time. What changed is that courts are now required to ask about them, and a newer tool, supported decision-making, was added to the list.

Depending on your loved one's specific situation, a full conservatorship may not be the only path, or even the right one. Understanding the landscape of options, not just the one you may have already heard about, is worth doing before assuming conservatorship is the answer.

Conservatorship of the Person, Conservatorship of the Estate, or Both

California recognizes two distinct kinds of authority, and a conservatorship can involve one or both.

• Conservatorship of the person: Covers personal and health care decisions, addressing matters like medical care, living arrangements, and daily welfare
• Conservatorship of the estate: Covers financial matters like managing income, property, and other assets on the conservatee's behalf

Some families need both types of authority. Others find that one is genuinely sufficient, particularly if their loved one can still manage certain areas of their own life.

Limited Conservatorships Are Built Specifically for Adults with Developmental Disabilities

If your loved one has a developmental disability, California law generally directs the court toward a limited conservatorship rather than a full one. A limited conservatorship grants authority only in the specific areas where support is genuinely needed, while leaving your loved one's decision-making authority intact everywhere else.

This distinction reflects a real shift in California law. Under AB 1663, enacted in 2022, courts are now required to consider a person's abilities and capacities alongside available supports, not just evaluate what they can't do without them, before deciding whether a conservatorship is appropriate at all, and if so, how limited it should be.

That same law is also where supported decision-making, one of the alternatives mentioned earlier, is specifically tied to limited conservatorships. A supported decision-making agreement lets your loved one name trusted people, friends, family, or professionals, to help them understand situations and choices, without transferring legal decision-making authority away from them the way a conservatorship does.

For some families, especially those already working through special needs planning with a knowledgeable attorney as their guide, a supported decision-making agreement may be a meaningful solution. Either on its own or alongside a limited conservatorship covering only the areas where more formal authority is genuinely needed, supported decision-making may accomplish what's actually needed without the broader restriction a full conservatorship would represent.

Turning 18 Changes What's Legally Possible for Your Child

Right now, as a parent, you likely have automatic legal authority to make decisions for your child. That authority ends the moment they turn 18, regardless of their actual ability to manage their own affairs, and it doesn't roll over into anything else automatically.

Whatever comes next, whether a limited conservatorship, a supported decision-making agreement, a power of attorney, or some combination, has to be established as its own legal step.

These adult decision-making arrangements generally become relevant once your child turns 18 and has legal authority over their own decisions. However, families can begin evaluating options and preparing for a possible conservatorship before that birthday. Because the court process can take months, planning ahead can help reduce the risk of an unnecessary gap in authority after your child becomes an adult.

Conservatorship for an Aging or Incapacitated Parent

Not all conservatorship petitions arise from a child’s developmental disabilities. Sometimes, families face questions about conservatorships and less restrictive options when considering how to protect an aging parent or other loved one.

A common situation is when a parent whose memory or judgment has declined, often gradually, reaches the point where they can no longer safely manage their finances or personal care. What happens at this point may depend on that person’s prior estate planning efforts.

If your parent already has valid planning documents naming someone to act on their behalf, such as a power of attorney, a conservatorship may not be necessary at all. However, if they don't, or if those documents no longer reflect the reality of their care needs, it may be time to consider a conservatorship or, when appropriate, a less restrictive form of protection. Our conservatorships lawyer in Los Angeles, CA, can help you understand what level of court involvement is actually required and begin the process of putting that safeguard in place.

The Stages of the Conservatorship Process in California

Establishing a conservatorship in California involves several stages, generally including:

• Filing a petition with the court explaining why a conservatorship is needed
• Undergoing a court investigator's assessment, including a meeting with the proposed conservatee
• Attending a hearing where the judge considers the petition, any objections, and the alternatives explored
• Receiving Letters of Conservatorship if the court grants the petition
• Continuing under ongoing court supervision, including required status check-ins

Court involvement doesn't end once a conservatorship is granted, and it's worth understanding upfront what that ongoing relationship with the court actually looks like for the conservator.

A Conservator in California Takes on Real Responsibility and Ongoing Court Oversight

Serving as conservator isn't the same as simply having authority to help. A conservator of the estate generally has to file periodic accountings with the court, showing how the conservatee's money and property were managed. A conservator of the person is expected to act in the conservatee's genuine interest, not their own convenience. Both roles remain subject to court review for as long as the conservatorship continues.

California law provides for periodic court-investigator reviews of conservatorships, including review after appointment and additional reviews thereafter, subject to statutory requirements and court procedures, so the conservatee's situation doesn't go unreviewed for years at a time.

This oversight exists to protect the conservatee, but it also means the conservator takes on a real, ongoing legal responsibility, not just a one-time court appearance. A conservatorships lawyer in Los Angeles, CA, can walk you through exactly what that responsibility looks like before you commit to it.

Choosing the Right Conservator With the Guidance of Our Conservatorships Lawyer in Los Angeles, CA

The person seeking to serve as conservator is usually a family member, though the court gives preference to certain relationships and will consider whether the proposed conservator can actually handle the responsibility well. It's worth thinking honestly about availability, temperament, and whether family dynamics might make a neutral party a better fit for some families, even when a family member is willing to serve.

At Chaney Counsel, we do more than draft the paperwork. Our Los Angeles conservatorship attorney can help your family think through this choice with less pressure than making the decision alone.

Naming an alternate is also worth considering, particularly for a conservatorship that may last many years, so that there is consistently someone willing and able to serve even as time passes and life changes.

Modification or Termination: A Conservatorship Doesn't Have to Be Permanent

For both the conservatee and the conservator, circumstances change. A conservatee's abilities may improve. A family's situation may shift. A named conservator may no longer be able to serve. California law allows a conservatorship to be modified or ended when circumstances genuinely warrant it.

Conservatees have a right to request a hearing on the question. Courts provide conservatees with written information about these rights on a regular basis, so exercising this right doesn't depend on remembering something explained only once, years earlier.

A Los Angeles conservatorship attorney can help either the conservatee or the family petition the court for modification or termination when circumstances have genuinely changed enough to warrant a second look.

Public Guardianship: An Option to Consider When No Family Member Is Able or Willing to Serve

Not every family has someone available or appropriate to serve as conservator. When no suitable family member or other private person is available, a county public guardian or another qualified fiduciary may be considered in appropriate circumstances. This possibility is generally considered only after family options have been explored, not as a first resort, but it's worth knowing it may exist under the appropriate situations so the absence of a willing family member doesn't feel like a dead end.

Our conservatorships lawyer can help you understand whether this path applies to your situation and what it would actually mean for your loved one's day-to-day care.

Why Choose Chaney Counsel as Your Family’s Los Angeles Conservatorship Attorney?

Considering a conservatorship for someone you love is rarely simple. At Chaney Counsel, we approach this process with that reality in mind.

We Understand Caregiving From the Inside, Not Just the Case File

Our approach to this work is shaped by real experience with caregiving and disability planning, not just legal study.

You're Guided by Someone Who Listens Before Advising

We take the time to understand your loved one's actual situation before recommending a path forward, rather than defaulting to the most familiar option.

Every Family's Individual Situation Shapes the Plan We Build for Them

Whether this involves an adult child with a disability or an aging parent, no two families need exactly the same solution.

Protecting Your Loved One Is the Standard We Measure Everything Against

Every recommendation we make is weighed against what actually serves your loved one's well-being and independence.

Contact Chaney Counsel Today for a Free Consultation With a Los Angeles Conservatorship Attorney

You don't have to figure out on your own whether a conservatorship, an alternative, or some combination is right for your family. Call 818-600-7031 or fill out our online contact form today to schedule a free consultation with a Los Angeles conservatorship attorney at Chaney Counsel, and let's talk through your loved one's specific situation.