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Incapacity Planning
Incapacity planning is a broad area of law that covers how you are cared for if you become physically or mentally unable to care for yourself. The type of care could range from simple tasks like buying groceries, paying bills, and handling financial matters to more important decisions such as selling real estate, gifting assets to your children, or making critical medical decisions.
Depending on the needs of the individual or family, incapacity planning could include a number of planning techniques such as Property Powers of Attorney, Health Care Powers of Attorney, Advance Health Care Directives, or Guardianships/Conservatorships.
What is a Guardianship or Conservatorship?
In California, guardianship, also known as Conservatorship, is a court-supervised proceeding that names an individual or entity to manage the affairs of an incapacitated person. A Conservatorship may also include the duty to care for the incapacitated person.
Our law firm helps clients create a plan to handle their affairs in the event they become disabled, thereby avoiding the necessity of a public court proceeding.
Helping your loved one navigate through the process of aging is never easy. There are so many areas where they may need help. Depending on the type of estate planning your loved one in place, you may or may not be able to help with both medical and financial management. Often if they have a trust and the support documents, you can step in without the necessity of going to court.
When your loved one has a will or no estate planning at all, you may have to go through a court process called a Conservatorship in order to help an aging loved one. A conservatorship is a legal proceeding to appoint someone (conservator) to care for the personal needs of an incapacitated person (conservatee) and his or her assets. The conservator becomes responsible for making decisions for the conservatee when the conservatee cannot make decisions for herself.
