Protecting Seniors: Navigating Adult Conservatorship

Robinson & Henry’s knowledgeable attorneys give their professional insight in “From Our Perspective,” where we take a closer look at successful outcomes achieved by our attorneys. 

In this episode, Probate Senior Associate Megan Jury discusses a case involving a daughter seeking conservatorship for her mother, who needed help due to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Caring for an aging parent comes with many challenges, especially when they can no longer manage their finances. In some cases, adult conservatorship becomes necessary to protect their financial well-being.

Past results afford no guarantee of future results; each matter is different and must be judged on its own merits. Facts are those of an actual Robinson & Henry probate case. 

Our client was the primary caregiver for both of her aging parents. As her mother’s condition worsened, she required 24/7 care in a specialized facility. However, without legal authority over her mother’s finances, the daughter couldn’t access funds to pay for the care her mother desperately needed. That’s when she turned to Robinson & Henry for help petitioning for a conservatorship.

One of the biggest hurdles in this case was that the mother had never established a power of attorney. A power of attorney allows someone to designate a trusted person to handle their finances if they cannot do so.  Since the mother no longer had the mental capacity to grant power of attorney, the only option for our client was to ask the court for conservatorship. This process is more complex and costly.

Many people confuse conservatorship with guardianship, but they serve different purposes.

• Conservatorship gives someone authority over another person’s financial matters, including real property, bank accounts, and investments.

• Guardianship grants authority over personal and medical decisions, such as arranging healthcare, managing medications, and determining living arrangements.

Taking on the role of a conservator is a serious responsibility. The conservator has a legal duty to act in the best interest of the protected person,  managing their funds responsibly, paying their bills, and providing annual reports to the court. Courts carefully monitor conservators for financial abuse and mismanagement.

In our client’s case, the family fully supported the daughter’s appointment as conservator. Even the judge praised the family’s teamwork. With the court’s approval, she could access her mother’s funds and secure a place in a specialized care facility.

If you’re thinking about petitioning for a conservatorship, understand the level of responsibility involved. Learn more about a conservator’s responsibilities in our Colorado Probate Lawyer’s Guide to Conservatorship. If you believe a loved one needs a conservator, it’s important to seek legal guidance. Contact us to explore the best options for your family’s situation.

Read this video’s full transcript:

Question: Megan, thank you so much for joining me. Tell me more about our client and why she needed your help.

Megan: This was an adult daughter who was the primary caretaker for both of her parents. She had moved in with them and was helping and handling their health needs, as well as helping with financials.

Unfortunately, her mother started to progress along with her dementia and Alzheimer's, and really got to the point where she couldn't remain home anymore.

She needed 24/7 care, and needed to move to a facility. She came to us because she needed a conservatorship in order to access her mother's funds to be able to pay for and get her admitted to a facility.

Question: Did they have power of attorney? And why is that so important in cases like that?

Megan: Right, they did not, and that's why they had to resort to a conservatorship. A power of attorney gives you the authority to nominate who you want to help manage your finances in the event you're unable to. So that would have circumvented the need to go for a conservatorship. And it's obviously more cost effective if it can be done while the person has capacity.

Unfortunately, her mother's disease had progressed enough that she no longer had the mental capacity to nominate a power of attorney. With the conservatorship, we're asking the court, can you appoint someone to have the legal authority to manage her finances? 

Question: A common question you hear is what is the difference between a conservatorship and a guardianship? Can you explain the difference?

Megan: On top of what I was just saying, a conservatorship is management over finances. You're helping manage and secure real property, financial accounts, investment accounts, and making sure that the protected person's needs are being met and taken care of. 

A guardianship, on the other hand, is management over the person themselves. It's meeting with their care team, sometimes managing medication, getting them to doctors’ appointments, meeting with the doctors and care team to make sure that their health needs are being met. As well as deciding on what's the best living circumstances for them and what's the safest environment.

Question: What are the responsibilities of a conservator?

Megan: There are important responsibilities. Obviously, you're being appointed as someone who has legal authority to make financial decisions to manage the money. You have a fiduciary obligation to the protected person to manage their funds for them, for their benefit and in their best interests. It’s an important responsibility, obviously, one that the courts take very seriously.

You have annual reporting requirements to the court to show that you're meeting your responsibilities and accounting for their funds and how they're being used to ensure that they're being used appropriately and not taken advantage of. 

Question: Can a conservatorship be challenged or terminated in this process? 

Megan: Certainly, it can. In these circumstances, especially dealing with the elderly population, you're often dealing with diseases that are progressing and they're not going to recover.

But in some circumstances, you have someone who's in a car accident and maybe needs a temporary conservatorship to help them while they're in the hospital or recovering. But then they get back to a point where they can make their own financial decisions, so they can request the court to terminate the conservatorship.

Alternatively, in the event that other family members or interested persons feel that the conservator is not acting in the best interest, or is maybe using the money for themselves in a way that they shouldn't, they can also petition for removal, an appointment of then a successor conservator.

Question: In this case, how were you able to help our client and what was the outcome? 

Megan: This was great. The whole family was on board and on the same page, working together, and wanted to make sure that the mom/wife could be taken care of. The father was not in a position to make financial decisions independently for the wife.

It was decided that the daughter would, and her sister was very supportive as well. The whole family worked together and appeared at the hearing in support of her being the conservator. The judge complimented the family on how well everyone was working together for the best outcome. 

She was appointed as the conservator was able to get her admitted into the type of facility that she needed by gaining access to some of her individual personal accounts.

Question: These types of cases you handle for the elderly, but that's not the only situation. What should someone know if they're considering petitioning for a conservatorship?

Megan: I think it's important to realize the level of responsibility that you're taking on. You're managing their finances for them. You have to really step away and be able to act in their best interests and look at their financial picture and what their needs are, especially moving into the future. You know, how best to use their funds for their long-term care.

An important thing people often ask is, do I have financial responsibility for them if I'm the conservator? And you're not taking on, you know, personal responsibility to have to use your funds to pay their bills. You have to use their funds to pay their bills for them so that's some of what they should keep in mind.