Under U.S. law, conservatorship is the appointment of a guardian or a protector by a judge to manage the financial affairs and/or daily life of another person due to old age or physical or mental limitations. A person under conservatorship is a "conservatee", a term that can refer to an adult. A person under guardianship is a "ward", a term that can also refer to a minor child. Conservatorship may also apply to corporations and organizations. Conservatorship is established either by court order with regard to individuals or via a statutory or regulatory authority with regard to organizations such as business entities. In other legal terms, a conservatorship may refer to the legal responsibilities over a person who is mentally disordered, including individuals who are psychotic, suicidal, demented, incapacitated, or in some other way unable to make legal, medical or financial decisions on behalf of themselves.

Conservatorship Of Persons

Conservatorship is a legal term referring to the legal responsibilities of a conservator over the affairs of a person who has been deemed gravely disabled by the court and unable to meet their basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter. They are governed by the state's individual laws. Terminology varies, and some states or jurisdictions may refer to a conservator as a guardian of the estate or as a trustee.

Conservatorships are generally put in place for people who are significantly disabled by mental illness, elderly individuals who lack mental capacity due to medical conditions such as dementia, or individuals with developmental disabilities who lack the capacity to manage their own affairs. In typical conservatorship proceedings, an allegedly mentally incapacitated person must be evaluated by a qualified physician or psychiatrist who prepares a report documenting the person's mental capacity that is provided to the court and may be used as evidence.

An example of a conservator's duties includes: locating and marshalling assets, such as property and money, which belong to the conservatee; using the assets to buy food for the conservatee, secure and pay for placement in a facility which would take care of the conservatee or treat a mental illness, pay bills for the conservatee, manage property by paying for property insurance, mortgage payments or rent, property clean-up, or pay for a property management company to rent the property. An example of a conservator or guardian's medical responsibilities would be the court granting medical authority to the conservator or guardian, and the conservator or guardian authorising a physician to place a feeding tube to provide nourishment into the protected person's stomach if they are in medical need of it.