About Conservatorships

When is a Conservator Appropriate?

A conservatorship is a judicially created estate. It is commenced when a party applies to the Court for permission to handle someone else's financial affairs due to frailty or ill health of the individual. In essence, a conservatorship is a court approved Power of Attorney. The person granting the conservatorship must consent to the appointment. No conservatorship can be sustained without the express written consent of the individual involved.

Unlike a guardianship, which is usually necessitated because a person does not have the proper estate planning documents in place, a conservatorship simply formalizes the Power of Attorney. In some instances, there may be a dispute amongst family members as to who should be the power of attorney. In those cases, there may be dueling Powers of Attorney prepared as each child takes the person to their own lawyer. A conservatorship can affirmatively decide the question of who will be in charge, because it is the voluntary act of the individual.

In order to establish the conservatorship, a Complaint must be filed with the Court in the county where the person resides. The complaint must be accompanied by an independent doctor's affidavit stating that in the opinion of the physician, the person is mental able to govern his or her affairs, but based on a specific diagnosis, he or she is physically unable to attend the varied tasks at hand. The Court may appoint an independent attorney to represent the person so his or her concerns regarding the conservatorship can be addressed by the Court.

Once a conservatorship is granted, the conservator may be appointed to serve with or without bond, depending the nature of the relationship of the conservator to the individual, the assets involved. A conservator answers to not only the individual, but also the Court with respect to actions taken on behalf the individual. Furthermore, the Court can condition the sale of real estate, for example, on notice to the Court, any interested parties and the individual. New Jersey law also dictates accounting requirements and fees to be charged for the services provided by the conservator to the individual and to the Court.

A conservatorship, once initiated, may only be terminated by a further application to the Court to revoke the same or by the death of the party.

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