Legal Question in Elder Law in Minnesota

Re: conservativeship...

Imposition of an involuntary conservatorship is difficult and dependent on the particular facts, so I can't tell you your liklihood of success. If he resists the petition, he will have the right to hire an attorney to fight it. There will be an evidentiary hearing where the question is whether he understands what he owns and owes and is not susceptable to improper influence and can understand the nature of his business decisions. Conservatorship does not protect from poor judgment, only from incompetence. The one thing that may be helpful, if you can convince a judge that his inancial competence is questionable, is that a conservatorship of the estate (i.e. a financial conservatorship, as opposed to conservatorship of the person) can be taylored to his particular problems: he does not have to lose all right to control his assets. If there are only particular areas in which he is vulnerable, the conservatorship can be limited to that.

Have you asked the County to determine whether he is a vulnerable adult? This may be the most unoffensive way to have an outside expert evaluate his situation.

If he does contest involuntary conservatorship. You can expect that oth you and he will both need expert opinions as to his mental health.

Please e-mail me at [email protected] if you have further questions.