7-008.06D Conservatorship

When the APS worker has determined that the vulnerable adult is unable to manage his/her estate, property, and/or other business affairs, the APS worker must contact an attorney to file a petition for establishing a conservatorship.  

Caution must be exercised in planning this type of action since a conservatorship legally restricts a vulnerable adult from managing his/her estate, property, and/or other business affairs.

If a vulnerable adult has no conservator and an emergency exists, a temporary conservator may be petitioned for.

When a temporary conservator is appointed, an expedited hearing must be held, if requested by the person alleged to be incapacitated, or by any interested party, if the request is filed more than 10 business days prior to the date set for the hearing on the petition for appointment of the guardian.  If an expedited hearing is to be held, the hearing must be held within 10 business days after the request is received.  At the hearing on the temporary appointment, the petitioner has the burden of showing by a preponderance of the evidence that temporary conservatorship continues to be necessary to address the emergency situation.  At the expedited hearing, the court may render a judgement authorizing the temporary conservatorship to continue beyond the original 10-day period and may continue the temporary conservatorship for a single 90-day period.  For good cause shown, the court may extend the temporary conservatorship for successive 90-day periods.

A conservatorship may be established for a vulnerable adult by a court if it determines the vulnerable adult has property which will be wasted or dissipated unless proper management is provided and the vulnerable adult is unable to effectively manage his/her own estate, property, and/or other business affairs because of:

1. Mental illness or deficiency;

2. Physical illness or disability;

3. Chronic use of drugs;

4. Chronic intoxication;

5. Confinement;

6. Lack of discretion in managing benefits received from public funds; or

7. Detention by a foreign power.

When the worker determines that the vulnerable adult may need legal services other than protective legal proceedings, the worker must refer the vulnerable adult to an appropriate source of legal assistance and must coordinate and arrange those services.