Conservatorship in California: The Process, Step by Step

Try these first

Courts and elder-law advocates push families toward less-restrictive alternatives before conservatorship, because conservatorship is public, expensive, and removes real legal rights:

• A durable power of attorney for finances
• An advance health care directive
• A living trust with a named successor trustee
• Supported decision-making, a newer California option that keeps the person’s own legal authority while formally naming people who help them understand and communicate decisions

The catch: these all require the parent to have had the mental capacity to sign them before decline set in. Once someone can no longer sign valid legal documents, conservatorship may be the only option left — which is why it’s worth setting these up early, long before they’re needed.

Person, estate, or both

A conservator of the person makes decisions about daily life — where they live, medical care, safety. A conservator of the estate manages money and property. One person can hold both roles, or the court can split them between two people — useful if siblings trust each other’s judgment in one area but not the other.

The process, step by step

1. A relative or other interested party files a petition (Judicial Council form GC-310) in the superior court of the county where the parent lives.
2. A treating physician or licensed psychologist completes a capacity declaration — the core medical evidence.
3. A court investigator personally interviews the parent, the petitioner, and close relatives, and explains the parent’s right to object or request a jury trial.
4. A judge reviews everything at a hearing and decides whether to grant the conservatorship.

An uncontested case realistically takes 60–90 days from filing to hearing. If family members disagree about whether it’s needed or who should serve, the case becomes contested and can add several months and significant cost. An emergency (temporary) conservatorship is available in days if there’s an immediate risk to health, safety, or finances.

Cost and ongoing obligations

A straightforward, uncontested case commonly runs several thousand dollars in attorney and court costs; a contested one can run well beyond that. Once appointed, a conservator of the estate has ongoing court obligations — an initial inventory and then periodic accountings of every transaction — and the court checks in on the arrangement at regular intervals. This isn’t a one-time filing; it’s an ongoing, court-supervised responsibility.