When our loved ones can’t look after themselves anymore, we try to provide for them. One of those ways is through conservatorship.
While the overall message of conservatorship comes with good intentions, abuse is prevalent and the system needs to be reformed.
Conservatorship is when a judge appoints a responsible person or organization, called the conservator, to care for another adult, or the conservatee, who cannot care for themselves or manage their own finances, according to the California Judicial Branch webpage.
Probate conservatorship, the most common type appointed by a judge, is when a person petitions and brings sufficient evidence that the yet-to-be conservatee cannot take care of themselves, according to the same webpage.
Another type of conservatorship is the rarer Lanterman Petris Short conservatorship. This can be granted if the person in question is diagnosed with a mental health disorder and the help of professionals is needed, according to Kindly Care webpage, a platform that provides tools to help care recipients connect online.
Although courts spend time and resources, such as hiring a third party investigator, to ease concerns, it’s simply not enough to ensure the safety of conservatees.
Many conservatorships potentially face: violation of individual rights, appointments being made in an arbitrary manner and embezzlement, according to the same webpage.
These are all reasons why conservatorships should be reformed to stop those in need from being exploited.
According to the book “Killers of the Flower Moon: Oil, Money, Murder and the Birth of the FBI,” by David Grann, oil was found on Native American reservations around Osage County, Oklahoma in the late 1890’s and made the Osage one of the richest groups in the US.
With news of oil being discovered, the federal government appointed guardianship to Osage County, which led to financial exploitations and murders of the Native American people.
This is an example of conservatorship being exploited for personal gain. No one should be appointed a conservatorship unless there is a need for care.
Danny Reed, a San Jose local, was in a conservatorship after being in two different car accidents, leaving him brain-injured and partially paralyzed. His court-appointed conservator charged him $108,771 for the conservator work done.
When Reed tried to challenge the bill, it resulted in the conservator charging him more, totaling the bill to $261,878, according to a June 30, 2012 Mercury News article.
Even if there were good intentions to place someone in a conservatorship, why should anybody choose to be in one if it’s ripe for exploitation from their conservator?
Reforming conservatorship is allowing conservatees to have a lenient way out if they feel they are able to care for themselves.
Looking at the more famous Britney Spears’ conservatorship hearing, she revealed she had no say on when or where to perform. Spears also revealed she was forced to go on her 2018 tour and if she didn’t, she would have to find an attorney, according to a June 24 NPR article.
Despite Spears being a well known and powerful woman in the music industry, she lost her freedom of will in front of the world because her conservatorship allowed for her rights to be taken away.
But, because she was finally granted the right to a lawyer, she’s able to freely fight her conservator and finally fight to win back some of her freedom, according to an AP News July 14 article.
Compared to someone who might not be as well known as Spears, there’s a high chance they would be in the same position of losing their free will, if not worse.
The combination of exploitation and human rights abuse that occurs in conservatorships is unacceptable, especially regarding stopping power-hungry people.
Also, the amount of time and resources needed to construct and obtain a conservatorship is costly. Paperworks, legal fees and payment are long processes before a conservatorship can be granted.
The National Center for State Courts has estimated there are 1.3 million active adult guardianship or conservatorship cases, and courts oversee at least $50 billion of assets under adult conservatorship nationally, according to its Mar. 22, 2018 report.
While there are over 1.3 million conservatorships and over $50 billion of assets marked, there are many not tracked or updated to the courts.
Few states are able to track the total number of individuals subject to guardianship, let alone record demographic information, on the types of guardianship being utilized, or the extent of a guardian’s authority, according to a Nov. 28, 2018 U.S. Senate Committee on Aging report.
The fact is, there’s only a few states which can track the total number of people in guardianships, which means abuse under it may reach deeper.
Easier leniency is the best way to get out of a conservatorship and to keep our loved ones from being harmed.
