What is a conservatorship in California?
A conservatorship is what California law turns to when an adult can no longer manage their own care or finances and no safer arrangement is in place. A judge appoints someone — the conservator — to step in and make decisions for the person who needs protection, called the conservatee. It is a court proceeding, it is taken seriously because it removes rights from the conservatee, and it comes in more than one form. Here is what it is, how it works, and when it is — and is not — the right answer.
The conservator and the conservatee.
Every conservatorship has two roles. The conservatee is the adult the court has found can no longer safely manage their own affairs — because of dementia, a stroke, a serious injury, or another condition. The conservator is the person or organization the judge appoints to act on their behalf. Unlike a power of attorney, where the authority comes from a document the person signed while capable, a conservator's authority comes from a judge's order — which is why it can be put in place even after someone has lost the capacity to sign anything.
Because a conservatorship shifts decisions away from the conservatee, it is not granted lightly. The court has to be persuaded that the person truly cannot manage and that there is no less drastic way to keep them safe.
Of the person, of the estate, or both.
California splits the job in two. A conservator of the person is responsible for the conservatee's daily life — where they live, their food and clothing, their medical care, and their personal safety. A conservator of the estate handles money and property: paying bills, collecting income such as a pension or Social Security, and managing accounts and assets.
These are separate appointments. Some conservatees need only one — a person whose finances are simple but whose care decisions have become unsafe, or the reverse. The court can name one individual to both roles or different people to each, and a family can petition for one and add the other later. The arrangement follows what the conservatee can and cannot do, not a fixed template.
The different kinds of conservatorship.
The word covers more than one proceeding. A general probate conservatorship is the most common — the kind used for an older adult with advancing dementia, or anyone whose capacity has been lost to injury or illness. A limited conservatorship is for an adult with a developmental disability; its powers are deliberately kept narrow so the person keeps as much independence as possible.
An LPS conservatorship is a different matter entirely. It is governed by its own law — the Welfare and Institutions Code, not the Probate Code — and exists for people who are gravely disabled by a serious mental illness. It is the only type that can involve placement in a locked psychiatric facility, and it carries extra procedural protections to match. A general probate conservator has no such power: a probate conservatorship cannot be used to confine someone in a locked mental institution against their will. Most families dealing with aging and dementia are in probate-conservatorship territory, not LPS.
Why it is a last resort.
California law treats a conservatorship as the option of last resort, and the statute says so directly: before granting one, the court must find that it is the least restrictive alternative needed to protect the person. If a durable power of attorney — signed while the person still had capacity — a living trust, or community-based support would be enough, the court can decline to impose a conservatorship at all.
That is the practical reason estate planning matters so much. Documents signed in good health are what allow a trusted agent or trustee to step in without a courtroom. A conservatorship usually becomes the path forward only when no valid documents exist and capacity has already slipped away — too late to sign them. And once a conservator is appointed, an earlier power of attorney is generally suspended, because the court-ordered authority takes over.
A conservator answers to the court.
A conservator is a fiduciary — legally bound to act in the conservatee's interest, not their own — and, unlike most other roles, does so under the supervision of the court. That supervision is real: the conservator of the estate files periodic accountings the judge reviews, and a court investigator visits the conservatee to check that things are as they should be. The oversight exists precisely because a conservatorship places one person's life and money in another's hands.
Setting a conservatorship up is itself a legal proceeding — a petition, notice to family, a court investigation, and a hearing — and the petition is prepared with an attorney. What happens after appointment, the ongoing work of actually serving as conservator, is a separate and continuing responsibility, and it is the part of this picture where a professional fiduciary most often comes in.
When a professional serves as conservator.
Most conservators are family members, and often that is exactly right. But not always — sometimes there is no relative who is suitable, available, or willing to take on a demanding court-supervised role; sometimes the family is in conflict and naming any one member would only deepen it; and sometimes the estate or care needs are complex enough that a steady, experienced hand is the safer choice. In those situations the court can appoint a licensed professional fiduciary as conservator.
A professional carries the same fiduciary duties and the same court supervision as any conservator, with the added discipline of independent record-keeping, no personal stake in the conservatee's estate, and familiarity with the accountings and reporting the court requires. For many families, that neutrality and accountability are the whole point.
Where to go next.
Depending on what you are working through, here is where to read further:
To understand the conservator role this practice can serve in — as conservator of the person, of the estate, or both, when the court appoints a professional — see conservatorship services in California.
If you are weighing a power of attorney against a conservatorship — that is, planning ahead while someone still has capacity versus going to court after they have lost it — see power of attorney vs. conservatorship in California.
If you are sorting out conservatorship versus guardianship — which one applies to an adult and which to a minor in California — see conservatorship vs. guardianship in California.
The court petition that establishes a conservatorship is prepared with an attorney, not by this practice; what we do is serve as conservator when the court makes the appointment. If a conservatorship is already in motion and the family needs a neutral professional to serve, that is a conversation worth having.
Common questions.
What is a conservatorship, in plain terms?
A conservatorship is a court proceeding in which a judge appoints a responsible person or organization — the conservator — to make decisions for an adult who can no longer make them safely. The adult being protected is called the conservatee. In California it is governed by the Probate Code, and it covers personal care, finances, or both, depending on what the court orders. Because it shifts decision-making away from the conservatee, a judge grants it only after deciding the person genuinely cannot manage and that nothing less restrictive will do.
What is the difference between a conservator of the person and a conservator of the estate?
A conservator of the person looks after the conservatee's daily life — where they live, their meals and clothing, their medical care, and their safety. A conservator of the estate handles money and property: paying bills, collecting income, and managing assets and accounts. The two are separate appointments. One person can hold both, or the court can appoint different people, and a family can petition for one without the other. Which is needed depends entirely on what the conservatee can and cannot manage.
Is a conservatorship the same as a guardianship?
Not in California. Here, a conservatorship is for an adult who has lost the ability to care for themselves or their finances, while a guardianship is for a minor — a child under eighteen whose parents cannot provide proper care. California has reserved the word "guardianship" for minors since 1981. Some other states use "guardianship" for incapacitated adults too, which is where the confusion comes from, but in California the adult proceeding is always called a conservatorship.
What are the different types of conservatorship in California?
There are a few. A general probate conservatorship is the common one — for an adult who cannot manage because of dementia, a stroke, a serious injury, or similar conditions. A limited conservatorship is for an adult with a developmental disability, and its powers are deliberately kept narrow so the person can live as independently as possible. An LPS conservatorship is a separate and more specialized matter, governed by a different law (the Welfare and Institutions Code, not the Probate Code), for someone who is gravely disabled by serious mental illness; it is the only type that can involve placement in a locked psychiatric facility. A general probate conservator cannot do that.
Is a conservatorship a last resort?
Yes — by design. California law requires the court to find that a conservatorship is the least restrictive arrangement needed to protect the person. If a durable power of attorney signed while the person still had capacity, a living trust, or community-based support would be enough, the court can decline to impose a conservatorship at all. The whole point of planning ahead with a power of attorney and an advance health care directive is to make a conservatorship unnecessary. It becomes the path forward mainly when no valid documents exist and capacity has already been lost.
Can a professional serve as conservator?
Yes. When there is no family member who is suitable, willing, or able to take on the responsibility — or where family conflict would make any relative a poor choice — the court can appoint a licensed professional fiduciary as conservator. A professional carries the conservator's fiduciary duties and operates under the same court supervision as anyone else: filing the required accountings, working with the court investigator, and keeping the conservatee's interests first. The neutrality and accountability are usually the reason a professional is chosen.
Consultations are by appointment and held in strict confidence.
Or call 760-33-TRUST (760-338-7878) directly.
Discretion and confidentiality are fundamental to our practice. Information submitted through this form is kept private and used solely for purposes of communication regarding potential fiduciary services.