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 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 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 simple, uncontested case to be filed without a lawyer, but California's self-help guide tells petitioners to talk to a lawyer 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, whether or not they can afford one.

For how conservator of the person differs from conservator of the estate, 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; coordinates with the court investigator; represents the family at the hearing; and later prepares the required inventory and accountings, petitioning the court to approve their fee before it is paid from the estate.

For the proposed conservatee, a court-appointed or private attorney's job differs: represent that person's expressed wishes, including objecting to the petition, not what the family or court thinks best. Texas requires an attorney ad litem in every guardianship proceeding for this purpose¹⁰. 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 in every state; its "I Need Legal Help" tool at lsc.gov locates the nearest one, and many take guardianship or conservatorship 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 referral services, and CANHR's statewide service specializes in elder law, including conservatorship, screening callers before referring them⁵,⁶. Most state bars run a similar program.
4. NAELA. The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys' directory lets you search member attorneys by ZIP code; membership is limited to attorneys focused on older adults and people with disabilities⁴.
5. The ABA Commission on Law and Aging. It publishes a free, state-by-state list of legal service providers for older adults, covering guardianship and conservatorship matters²⁰.
6. 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 points¹.

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 required investigation, can ask the court for a fee waiver based on the proposed conservatee's income, 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, and the court decides what amount is reasonable⁹.
• 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 split¹³.
• California also waives the filing fee and investigation costs automatically, without proof of income, for a proposed conservatee already receiving Medi-Cal, SSI, CalWORKs, CalFresh, or other listed public benefits¹⁸.

Ask any attorney you are considering for a written fee agreement, and whether the case will 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.

Is the right to a lawyer changing in more states?

Guardianship law is under active revision in several states, affecting who automatically gets a lawyer. Kansas replaced its statute with the Kansas Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship and Other Protective Arrangements Act, effective January 1, 2026; like California, it lets a judge appoint counsel for the person subject to the petition rather than requiring it in every case, paid from that person's property once the court approves the fee¹⁵.

Idaho goes further. Governor Little signed Senate Bill 1240 on March 20, 2026, adopting the same uniform act and requiring that everyone subject to a guardianship petition receive an attorney once the law takes effect on January 1, 2027¹⁷. Both states join Washington and Maine, which had already enacted versions of the uniform act, part of a broader wave tightening the standard for when guardianship is appropriate¹⁴. If you are researching the process itself, see How do you get a conservatorship.

What if the proposed conservatee is a veteran?

A veteran may need a lawyer for a state conservatorship and also come under the separate VA Fiduciary Program, which does not require a lawyer. If the VA decides a beneficiary cannot manage their VA income, it appoints a fiduciary, usually a family member serving without a fee, to manage only the VA benefit payments¹⁹. The two processes are separate; tell the VA regional office about a state case so they do not conflict.

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, 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, 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 directive was signed before incapacity, and where the original is kept

See also Living will and advance health care directive, Power of attorney ends at death and POA vs conservatorship 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 evaluations and notice periods take time.
• Paying a large retainer before confirming eligibility for 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.
• Not keeping the case number, court name, and attorney contact information where 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 just those below the poverty line.