Conservatorship?
Legal Guardianship?
How Do You Know When It’s
Needed?
 When a loved one
reaches a point in his or her life where, due to either old age
or disability, he or she cannot effectively care for
personal, medical and financial matters, it may be wise to
consider a legal guardianship or conservatorship. These are
court-ordered legal relationships in which an appointed
person or persons, called a "guardian" or "conservator," is
charged with attending to the personal or financial needs of
another, called the "ward" or the "conservatee." In the
context of elder law, a spouse or child is typically
appointed as legal guardian or conservator and vested with
various powers as determined by the court. Due to McHugh &
Macri's case In re Labis, a guardian may
now perform asset preservation planning.
The appointment
of a legal guardian is something that's not taken lightly by
the court because after a case review, the ward is stripped
of many decision-making powers. However, the legal guardian
will be limited to only those decisions that will meet the
level of the ward's incapacity. Some of these may include,
but not be limited to:
- Choice of where the ward resides
- Acceptance or denial of medical care
- Control of food, clothing and shelter
- Control of financial and contractual
affairs
- Estate and asset preservation
planning
- Restriction of ward’s civil rights and
personal freedom
Conservatorship or Legal Guardianship: Which is the
Right Choice?
 In New Jersey, a conservatorship
is generally
more limited than a legal guardianship and is a voluntary
step taken by the ward. Like a legal guardianship, a conservatorship is a court-ordered relationship between a
caregiver and a person who's unable to make sound decisions
due to old age or mental or physical disability. Unlike a legal
guardianship, however, a conservatorship concerns
only the conservatee's financial matters when they need
assistance. If found necessary, a conservator will be appointed
with
only those powers necessary to make the following financial
decisions:
- Power and duty to make reasonable
payments for the support, maintenance, and education of
the conservatee
- Power and duty to pay all lawful debts
owed by the conservatee
- Power and duty to possess and manage
the conservatee's assets
- Power and duty to collect all debts
owed to the conservatee
- Power to engage in tax, estate, and
asset preservation planning
 Both legal guardianships and
conservatorships require considerable time and effort on the
part of the legal guardian or conservator. While
establishment of these relationships is the main obstacle in
caring for your loved one, other procedural requirements
exist after you've been appointed legal guardian or
conservator. The skilled NJ elder law attorneys at McHugh & Macri can help you not only present the best evidence
for the need of a guardian or conservator, but can help you
continue to maintain compliance with the court's directives
as the conservation/guardianship relationship develops.
If you find that a loved one is in
need of further information regarding legal guardianship or
conservatorships, please let the NJ Elder Law Attorneys at
McHugh & Macri help.
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