What a Conservatorship Is & How to Get One

Quote: “A conservatorship is intended to safeguard the conservatee, the legal term for the person who is giving up control. In the case of an older person, the situation may be that you have an adult who has no ability to care for themselves, or provide for their needs for housing, food and clothing, or to resist fraud,” said Los Angeles-based top family law attorney Christopher Melcher, who handles high-net-worth divorce.

“We are, by definition, taking away the rights of one adult and putting them in the hands of another. There is an inherent risk of abuse when we do that, so the court needs to be convinced that the conservatee is unable to care for themselves, and that we need this drastic remedy,” Melcher said.