What is a conservatorship, or adult guardianship?
Conservatorship and adult guardianship are essentially the same thing — different states use one name or the other. To keep things simple, we’ll just use the term conservatorship. If someone can’t make important decisions for herself, a judge appoints someone — called the “conservator” — to make those decisions for her. Decisions made by the conservator have the legal backing of the court. The conservator might be appointed to decide about her finances, medical and personal care, or both. Someone appointed to make decisions about her medical care and other aspects of her personal life — for example, where she should live — is called a “conservator (or guardian) of the person.” Someone appointed to decide about finances is usually called a “conservator (or guardian) of the estate.” If she needs both, a court may appoint the same person to do both jobs.
