On a legal website, I recently read a question asked by a child who wanted to know what is going to happen to her mother’s estate when she died. The child mentioned that the county, through a public guardian, had a conservatorship over the mother. The child also stated that the county had created a revocable trust on behalf of the mother with a pour-over will. When I read this, I shook my head and thought how sad this is. The family members not only paid for this estate, but they now have absolutely no control over how it will be managed.
This is a situation where an individual has not made a proper estate plan and now cannot take care of themselves. If family members don’t step up to file legal proceedings, the local government through a public guardian can initiate conservatorship proceedings to take legal control of an individual and his or her estate. Conservatorship proceedings can be very time-consuming and expensive, as the conservator has to make reports to the local Superior Court at least once every two years, and the conservator is entitled to collect legal fees and costs from the estate.
Individuals and families can avoid this kind of conservatorship over a loved one by at least preparing a will, a durable power of attorney, and an advance health care directive (aka medical power of attorney). The powers in these documents should at least give your agent the ability to create and amend revocable trusts should the need arise. Unfortunately for the family in this story, they ended up paying a lot more than what it would have cost to have a will prepared. They paid the county for the public guardian’s services, and they paid someone to create a living trust and will that contained the county’s wishes! You can pay now or pay later!
