Q: Seeking conservatorship of dad, who's unable to communicate. He suffered a major stroke in March 2018. Veteran of USMC.
Had been in a Skilled Nursing Facility since the injury. But currently in Kindred Hospital Ontario. Waitng to be transferred back to Inland Valley Care in Pomona. Hopong to get him transferred to Lancaster, to be closer to home. He's receiving Military pension, VA Disability and Social Security Benefits. Currently owns a sinfle family home, with a Mortgage, which I'm living in. Please advise.
Thank you
A:
Conservatorships come in two types: the person and the estate.
Conservatorship of the person allows you to make medical and personal decisions. Conservatorship of the estate allows you to handle his finances. Both take a few months to get (add an extra couple months due to the Corona virus and closed courthouses).
You can probably find a free clinic to do the Person because it is easier. Google it for where he lives; here in San Diego the Legal Aid Society runs the clinic but other places offer help too.
The Estate is a harder job and the clinics don't do them. The usually require a bond and most bonding companies won't give you a bond unless you have an attorney.
If you can get by without the estate then do so; you can get Social Security to name you as the payee of his checks. If Dad has enough capacity to give you power of attorney then that is just as good as a conservatorship; if he cannot communicate well there are notaries who know how to work with that.
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