What to Expect at your Conservatorship Administration Appointment

You may make an appointment to receive advice about completing your duties as Conservator.  When you act as a Conservator, the law imposes certain standards of conduct, and specific reporting requirements.  When you accept the responsibility to act, you also accept the duty to act appropriately.  If you are unsure about what you need to do, if you are concerned that you may not have the time, or the expertise to satisfy the legal requirements, we are here to help. 

It is not uncommon that other family members wish to attend the appointment with you.  We strongly discourage this at the first appointment.  If they do come, we will excuse them from the appointment and ask that they remain in the waiting area.  Why?  As attorneys we must be careful to identify who we represent.  We do not want any misunderstanding that we are representing any of the other family members.  We may ultimately be retained by you and we do not want our representation of you to be tainted by any other person.  Also, although the incapacity of a family member causes many families to come together, finances do sometimes have the effect of causing family discord.  You must be able to rely on us to provide you with evenhanded advice, and you must be able to be frank with us at the appointment about the personalities involved, and any anticipated disputes. 

Please bring the following documents with you to our appointment:

• Court Order (if we did not represent you in the Conservatorship), and any Powers of Attorney that the Court Order left in effect; 
• real estate deeds, appraisals or real estate tax bills;
• life insurance policies;
• most recent income tax return;
• statements for bank accounts owned solely or jointly by the incapacitated showing their value as of your date of qualification (if you already have the statement);
• the downloadable forms attached to the Conservatorship Administration tab titled "Conservatorship Administration Worksheet" and "Conservatorship Administration Checklist".

You will meet with one of our attorneys, and usually you will also meet with Lindsay Lafferty, our fiduciary administration legal assistant.  When we meet, we will discuss the steps necessary for proper administration. At the conclusion of our consultation appointment, we will ask whether you want to retain us to assist further.  You can expect the appointment to last between one to one and a half hours.