The speed of getting a temporary conservatorship in Los Angeles depends on the facts of your case. First, you must know that how fast a conservatorship may be granted depends on the urgency of the facts and circumstances of your case, especially the presentation of it in the Los Angeles Probate Court.
A Two Speed Gear System for Conservatorship Exists:
A Regular Conservatorship also called a permanent conservatorship is the first gear, where there are no emergencies and you can move at the speed of the court, which these days takes about 70 days to set the first hearing. This means that you may have a disabled person, but you are giving informal help or him or her. [UPDATED May 2020] **During COVID-19, the Court’s are not setting permanent conservatorships until September of 2020, however, all emergency temporary conservatorships are being heard daily, and very fast. Read below.
Temporary Conservatorship in Los Angeles
A Fast speed conservatorship is the second gear, called a Temporary Conservatorship where there is an emergency and you must obtain quick authority to act for the disabled person. Examples of this may be that someone is in the hospital, and decisions must be made, where the hospital requires a decision-maker, but no one has a health care power of attorney or an Advance Health Care Directive for the disabled individual. Surgeries or other circumstances may dictate that someone make the decision, other than the disabled individual. On average, it takes about 1-5 days to obtain a fast speed or temporary conservatorship in Los Angeles County. The circumstances govern if the court is inclined to act on your facts which are stated in a Declaration in support of the Conservatorship. [UPDATED May 2020] ***During the time of COVID-19 orders, our conservatorship attorneys are successfully processing Temporary Emergency Conservatorship in Los Angeles and getting Letters of Conservatorship issued where there is risk to the conservatee.
Temporary Conservatorships or fast speed conservatorship can also be set up for finances. For example, if there is no asset management power of attorney and rent has not been paid where the disabled person may get evicted, or if the property of the disabled person is at risk, or if he or she stands to lose any assets because of a person who is trying to take his or her assets, then the court will consider giving you a conservatorship over your loved one to preserve the assets. These also work where there is undue influence or fraud.
Keeping your facts straight is the most important part of getting a speedy conservatorship. Your declaration has to leave no doubt in the mind of the reader that, if the conservatorship is not granted now, there will be a loss either of a life, health, or assets in the very near future.
By: Mina Sirkin, Board Certified Specialist in Probate, Estate Planning and Trust Law and a skilled Conservatorship attorney in Los Angeles, who regularly writes about conservatorships in Los Angeles. Call 818.340.4479 for a free consultation appointment.
