Is it Necessary to be Appointed as Conservator
My question involves guardianship in the State of: California
My mom & I lived together since 1999, in 2009, I took her to a hospital(outpatient type surgery) and they brain damaged her & left her on a vent. I had been her DPOA since 2007 and everything home etc, was put into my name along with hers. Anyway I have taken CARE of everything, all financial, personal, medical decisions etc....basically I have been dragged thru H****. I love my mom, shes my BFF, so it was something I was prepared to do, always considering everything she has ever done for me. I won the Malpractice Case Feb 2012, and the amount was put into a SPECIAL NEEDS TRUST(another pain in my ***) but it truly is the best way to make sure all of her needs are met when Medi-cal & Medicare or secure horizons will not pay. She lives in a SUBACUTE facility for people who cannot breathe on their own. Anyway all this Lawyer, trust etc has been done & over with for about 6 weeks and I got an email from the original attorney who set up the Special Needs Trust...and she said I should become the Conservator...even though my malpractice attorney(the one who has basically held my hand thru all for the lat 2.5 years) said it was not necessary, considering I have been making ALL the decisions since May 20, 2009(the day of the "incident". Do I really want to pay almost 3,000(out of my mom's trust) to do this, and have to send paperwork, and require court permission for major decisions etc.....it all sounds very intrusive. I mean I have to ask for all money from the trust anyway....I have to keep all receipts and detailed financial paperwork(which I was doing, way before I even got the SNT) I spend everyday being my mom's advocate and fighting for everything, it has become a full time job, good thing I am retired, on top of keeping our home up and taking care of her animals..do I truly need to be the conservator? How is that going to be any different then what I am doing now, except way more paper work and another entity I have to send paperwork and account for every little detail of my life. Any info would be greatly appreciated.:wallbang:
Re: Is it Necessary to be Appointed as Conservator
If your mother is not mentally competent, then either you have the necessary powers of attorney in place such that you can manage her finances outside of any authority granted to you as trustee - in which case they should suffice without a conservatorship - or you do not, in which case you will need to gain that legal authority through a court.
Re: Is it Necessary to be Appointed as Conservator
I am the DPOA~I have a legal document that is about 22 pages long, stating all financial, medical etc is in my hands and basically since may 2009, I have made ALL decisions concerning ANYTHING that involves my mom including all financial concerns, I am also the trustee of the SPECIAL NEEDS TRUST, yes I do have to give the trust itself a list of everything I will need each month but I have my name on all legal documents. and yes my mother has severe brain trauma.