Legal Question in Elder Law in California

Re: Conservators acting against wishes of conservatees

Are the conservators professional conservators?

Did they have a court order to initiate the law suit.

No, your parent's objection to the suit will not count, if they are both under a conservatorship.

The court can appoint a pvp or other attorney for the conservatees to report as to the appropriateness of a lawsuit.

What is the subject matter of the suit?

No, it does not appear to be elder abuse.

Re: Conservators acting against wishes of conservatees

You will have to seek a court order "clarifying" the situation. It should request removal and replacement of the conservator, and instructions on what to do with the various actions. It will be a fight, one assumes, so prepare to spend time and money. If the conservator has 'wasted' or 'misappropriated' money, the court could order it repaid into the accounts. If interested in discussing such action, contact me.

Re: Conservators acting against wishes of conservatees

Conservators generally do not have the power to engage in litigation unless he or she has court permission or is under court supervision (i.e. the matter filed in the probate court). A conservator is always charged with acting in the best interests of the conservatee, so the conservator can face problems if they take actions which a court later determines are not in their client's best interests. Attorneys' fees incurred by conservators are always subject to court approval and cannot be paid before then. If the conservator is actually using your parent's money to pay legal fees (often attorneys working for conservators wait until the conclusion of litigation to ask for payment), he or she could be surcharged for these fees if the court disapproves of the litigation. Conservators are required to keep their conservatee's informed, but often his is effectively impossible because of capacity problems.

Your note, however, possibly describes a different situation. If your parent's assets are in a trust (as opposed to the conservatorship), the conservator generally does not have control over trust assets, unless the conservator applies to the court and requests that the court take jurisdiction of the trust. Therefore, if you have a trustee taking legal action (as opposed to the conservator), there may be little the conservator can do about it.

It sounds like you have some problems. You should consider consulting a probate litigation attorney as soon as possible to discuss your options.