Legal Question in Elder Law in California

Conservators acting against wishes of conservatees

1.Can a conservator use a conservatee's funds to file a lawsuit against one of their children, when it's completely against the conservatee's wishes? 2. The trustee is taking the action on the lawsuit, and the conservators are allowing my parents' monies to fund it! (We are trying to disqualify the attorney helping him, who my parents already told in writing to stop working for them.) Can they spend my parents� monies like this, when my parents adamantly disapprove? 3. Are there rules of what a conservator can and cannot do? One of the conservators said he has worked very hard to keep any info about the lawsuit from my parents. The only reason he would have done this is because they vehemently disapprove of it. Can a conservator deliberately conceal and hide things they�re doing with my parents' funds from my parents? Isn't this elder abuse, isolation, and denying them their civil rights? 4. One of the conservators is threatening to cut off all contact from me with my parents because I told my parents about the lawsuit, and that they were using their funds to do it. My parents want the lawsuit dismissed immediately.


Asked on 1/08/04, 10:05 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

Mina Sirkin Sirkin & Sirkin

Re: Conservators acting against wishes of conservatees

Are the conservators professional conservators?

Did they have a court order to initiate the law suit.

No, your parent's objection to the suit will not count, if they are both under a conservatorship.

The court can appoint a pvp or other attorney for the conservatees to report as to the appropriateness of a lawsuit.

What is the subject matter of the suit?

No, it does not appear to be elder abuse.

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Answered on 1/09/04, 12:57 am
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Re: Conservators acting against wishes of conservatees

You will have to seek a court order "clarifying" the situation. It should request removal and replacement of the conservator, and instructions on what to do with the various actions. It will be a fight, one assumes, so prepare to spend time and money. If the conservator has 'wasted' or 'misappropriated' money, the court could order it repaid into the accounts. If interested in discussing such action, contact me.

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Answered on 1/09/04, 2:11 pm
Scott Schomer Schomer Law Group

Re: Conservators acting against wishes of conservatees

Conservators generally do not have the power to engage in litigation unless he or she has court permission or is under court supervision (i.e. the matter filed in the probate court). A conservator is always charged with acting in the best interests of the conservatee, so the conservator can face problems if they take actions which a court later determines are not in their client's best interests. Attorneys' fees incurred by conservators are always subject to court approval and cannot be paid before then. If the conservator is actually using your parent's money to pay legal fees (often attorneys working for conservators wait until the conclusion of litigation to ask for payment), he or she could be surcharged for these fees if the court disapproves of the litigation. Conservators are required to keep their conservatee's informed, but often his is effectively impossible because of capacity problems.

Your note, however, possibly describes a different situation. If your parent's assets are in a trust (as opposed to the conservatorship), the conservator generally does not have control over trust assets, unless the conservator applies to the court and requests that the court take jurisdiction of the trust. Therefore, if you have a trustee taking legal action (as opposed to the conservator), there may be little the conservator can do about it.

It sounds like you have some problems. You should consider consulting a probate litigation attorney as soon as possible to discuss your options.

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Answered on 1/09/04, 7:37 pm


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