How do I find a lawyer for conservatorship?

A short note before you start

This guide is general information for the United States, not legal, tax, financial or medical advice. Rules for appointing or paying an attorney are set by each state; confirm current rules with your state court's self-help site or a local attorney.

Do you need a lawyer for a conservatorship?

Two different people in a conservatorship case may need a lawyer, and they need different kinds of help.

• The petitioner, usually a family member asking the court to appoint a conservator, often hires an attorney to prepare the petition, arrange the required evaluation, and represent them at the hearing. Some courts allow a family member to file without a lawyer for a simple, uncontested case, but California's self-help guide tells petitioners to talk to a lawyer for advice about a conservatorship of the estate or a general conservatorship⁷.
• The proposed conservatee, the adult the case is about, is the person courts are most protective of. Because a conservatorship takes away legal rights, many states require this person to have their own lawyer, separate from the family's attorney, whether or not they can afford one.

For how conservator of the person differs from conservator of the estate and what the process involves, see Meaning of conservatorship.

What a conservatorship lawyer actually does

For the family filing the petition, a lawyer typically confirms a conservatorship is the right tool, since courts must order the least restrictive arrangement that still protects the person¹⁴; drafts and files the petition, notices relatives, and requests any required evaluation; coordinates with the court investigator assigned to interview the proposed conservatee; represents the family at the hearing and obtains certified letters of appointment; and later prepares the required inventory and accountings, petitioning the court to approve their own fee before it is paid from the estate.

For the proposed conservatee, a court-appointed or private attorney's job is different: represent that person's expressed wishes, including objecting to the petition, not what the family or court thinks is best. Texas requires an attorney ad litem in every guardianship proceeding to represent the proposed ward's expressed wishes¹⁰. New York requires appointed counsel when the person contests the petition, objects to a facility move or treatment, or a temporary guardian is requested¹².

How to find a lawyer for conservatorship

Work through these roughly in order, since the free options come first:

1. Legal aid, if income qualifies. The Legal Services Corporation funds nonprofit legal aid organizations across every state; its "I Need Legal Help" tool at lsc.gov locates the nearest one by address or ZIP code, and many take guardianship or conservatorship defense cases for people who meet income limits².
2. Your local Area Agency on Aging. The Eldercare Locator, funded by the federal Administration for Community Living, connects callers to free or low-cost legal help for people 60 and older at eldercare.acl.gov or 1-800-677-1116³.
3. A certified lawyer referral service. The State Bar of California maintains a directory of certified lawyer referral services meeting standards set by the California Supreme Court, and CANHR's statewide service specializes in elder law, including conservatorship, screening callers in a confidential intake call before referring them⁵,⁶. Most state bars run a similar program.
4. The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). NAELA's directory lets you search member attorneys by ZIP code; membership is limited to attorneys focused on older adults and people with disabilities, which typically includes conservatorship work⁴.
5. The court itself. In states that appoint counsel for the proposed conservatee, ask the probate court clerk how local appointment works.

The CFPB lists the same three starting points: income-qualified legal aid, NAELA, and your local bar association¹.

What it costs to hire a conservatorship lawyer

There is no federal fee schedule; costs vary by state and whether the case is contested:

• California's civil fee schedule sets the cost to file a petition to appoint a probate conservator (form GC-310) at $435, separate from any attorney's fee⁷.
• A household that cannot afford that filing fee, or the cost of the required investigation, can ask the court for a fee waiver based on the proposed conservatee's income, not the petitioner's, except when the petitioner is the conservatee's spouse⁷.
• An attorney's fee for ongoing work is not automatically paid from the estate. California Probate Code Section 2640 requires the conservator to petition the court and itemize the services and hourly rate charged, and the court decides what amount is reasonable before it can be charged to the estate⁹.
• Where a court appoints an attorney for the proposed conservatee, Florida law directs that the fee be paid from the ward's own property, or by the state if indigent¹¹. Massachusetts follows a similar split, paid from the estate if the person has resources, otherwise by the Commonwealth¹³.

Because fee practices differ by court, ask any attorney you are considering for a written fee agreement up front, and whether the case is likely to be billed hourly or as a flat fee.

How this varies by state

Whether a proposed conservatee automatically gets a lawyer, or must ask for one, depends on the state.

Search "[your state] courts self-help guardianship conservatorship attorney" to confirm the rule where the case will be filed; some courts appoint counsel more readily than the statute strictly requires.

Checklist: hiring the right conservatorship lawyer

• Confirm whether you are hiring a lawyer for the petitioner or for the proposed conservatee. These are different roles and cannot be the same attorney.

• Ask if an existing power of attorney or a representative payee could avoid the need for conservatorship entirely.

• Check eligibility for legal aid through a Legal Services Corporation grantee or Area Agency on Aging before paying privately.

• Get a written fee agreement stating hourly rate or flat fee, the retainer amount, and what is and is not included.

• Ask how the attorney bills for the ongoing accounting most conservatorships require every year, not just the initial filing.

• Ask whether the attorney or firm has handled cases in the specific county and court where you will file.

• If the proposed conservatee already has a preferred attorney, confirm their right to keep that choice over a court appointment.

• Keep every invoice, court order approving fees, and the attorney's contact information in one place.

What to record in a family guide

If a conservatorship is already open, or a lawyer has been retained in case one becomes necessary, this is the kind of information a family guide keeps in one place:

• The attorney's name, firm, phone and email, and whether they represent the conservator or the conservatee
• The case number, court name and county
• Where the signed fee agreement and any court orders approving fees are kept
• The date the next accounting or fee petition is due
• Whether a durable power of attorney or advance health care directive was signed before incapacity, and where the original is kept

See also Living will and advance health care directive and Power of attorney ends at death for documents that can sometimes prevent a conservatorship from becoming necessary.

Common mistakes

• Assuming one lawyer can represent both the family and the proposed conservatee, when interests can conflict and most states require separate counsel once contested.
• Waiting until the hearing date is close to look for a lawyer, when investigators, evaluations and notice periods take time.
• Paying a large retainer before confirming eligibility for free legal aid or a court-appointed attorney.
• Not asking who pays the ongoing legal fees for annual accountings, which can continue for years.
• Assuming a general estate-planning lawyer has conservatorship litigation experience without asking.
• Not keeping the case number, court name, and attorney contact information where the rest of the family can find them.

When to get professional help

Talk to a lawyer before filing any conservatorship petition, since the process and forms differ by county even within one state. Get a second consultation if the proposed conservatee or another family member objects to the petition or to who should serve as conservator. If cost is the barrier, contact legal aid or a certified lawyer referral service first; many programs serve moderate-income families, not only those below the poverty line.