Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Conservatorship Alternatives topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Advocates recommend trusts, representative payees and tailored supports instead of routine conservatorship
Summary
Speakers recommended families consider special-needs trusts, ABLE accounts, representative payees, HIPAA releases and targeted powers of attorney before seeking conservatorship, noting conservatorship can be costly and burdensome.
During Q&A, presenters and attendees discussed whether families should seek conservatorship at the same time as guardianship. Erica Wood and Lucy Beatnell advised assessing financial needs first and using narrower legal tools where possible.
Lucy and Erica highlighted alternatives: special-needs trusts to protect inheritance, ABLE accounts and representative payees for benefits management, and limited powers of attorney for discrete tasks. Lucy said conservatorship "requires you to account for every single penny" and can be expensive and burdensome, while representative payees or trusts are often cheaper and less intrusive.
Presenters advised families to evaluate whether a conservator is necessary if existing legal tools (powers of attorney, trusts, representative payees) address the person's financial needs. They cautioned that overbroad petitions seeking both guardianship and conservatorship create unnecessary loss of rights.
