What is an Arizona Adult Conservatorship?
By Daphne Reaume on September 15th, 2014 in
What is a conservatorship? How do you become a conservator? What does it mean to become a conservator? I’m Ken Berk. I’m an attorney at the Scottsdale, Arizona Law Firm of Berk Law Group, P.C., where we handle probate, trust, estate, and other types of matters in Arizona.
A conservatorship is a proceeding whereby one person gets control over the finances, the assets, the money, of an incapacitated adult, or I’ll refer to it as a ward. A conservatorship is proper in Arizona where the incapacitated adult cannot properly manage their assets due to an incapacity from a physical or mental disorder, mental illness or disorder, or other condition.
If the incapacitated adult can’t manage his or her own affairs, and they’re likely to waste allow their property to go for improper purposes, and they have actual assets to protect, and other requirements are met, then a conservator may be appointed by the court to protect the incapacitated adult’s assets and avoid wasting of the assets.
In order to have someone appointed as a conservator, you need to file a petition with the Superior Court. Once the petition is filed, eventually, then a court appointed attorney will be appointed to look out for the ward or incapacitated adult’s assets and their position.
A physician will be appointed to examine the alleged incapacitated adult to determine whether they actually have a severe enough disorder to warrant the appointment of a conservator. Then, eventually, a hearing will be held for the court to determine whether the elements for a conservatorship have been met.
There’s other requirements in order to have a conservator appointed. Once a conservator is appointed, there’s requirements to provide a budget and an accounting to make sure that the incapacitated adult’s or ward’s assets are being properly used and aren’t being squandered for improper purposes.
That’s just a basic overview of an adult conservatorship in Arizona. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Thank you.
