California Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Health Directive Attorneys
Without the right documents, a judge decides who raises your children, who manages Mom's finances, and what happens in the hospital. None of that has to happen.
We help Bay Area families answer these questions on paper, in advance, so a court never has to answer them for you.
THREE QUESTIONS EVERY PLAN SHOULD ANSWER
Who Decides, If You Can't?
GUARDIANSHIP
Who raises your children?
Name a guardian for minor children before a court has to choose.
CONSERVATORSHIP
Who manages a parent's finances?
When an aging parent can't manage money, and the alternatives that avoid court.
HEALTH DIRECTIVES
Who makes your medical decisions?
Put your wishes in writing so your family isn't guessing in a hospital hallway.
Guardianship of Minors: Deciding Who Raises Your Children
If something happens to you and your children are under 18, someone must be legally responsible for them. The only question is who chooses that person: you, or a courtroom.
Nomination in your estate plan
Your will can nominate a guardian for your minor children. California courts give strong weight to a parent's written nomination — it is the single most effective way to make your wishes count. We help you think it through: the primary choice, the backup, and whether the person raising your children should also be the person managing their money (often, it shouldn't be — a trust can separate the two roles).
Court appointment without a nomination
If no guardian is named, the court chooses based on the child's best interest — with relatives potentially competing, and your actual wishes carrying no legal weight because they were never written down.
Most parents put this decision off because it's hard to think about. That's precisely why it belongs on paper: so the hardest decision is already made, by you.
GUARDIANSHIP OF MINORS
Deciding Who Raises Your Children
If something happens to you and your children are under 18, someone must be legally responsible for them. The only question is who chooses that person: you, or a courtroom.
WITH A NOMINATION
You choose
Your will can nominate a guardian, and California courts give strong weight to a parent's written nomination. We help you think through:
- Your primary choice and a backup
- Whether the person raising your children should also manage their money
- A trust that can separate those two roles
WITHOUT A NOMINATION
The court chooses
The court decides based on the child's best interest, with relatives potentially competing and your actual wishes carrying no legal weight because they were never written down.
Most parents put this off because it's hard to think about. That's exactly why it belongs on paper: so the hardest decision is already made, by you.
CONSERVATORSHIP FOR AGING PARENTS
When a Parent Can No Longer Manage
Dementia, a stroke, growing vulnerability to scams. California's answer is a conservatorship: a court proceeding that appoints someone to manage a person's finances, personal care, or both.
How the process works in Bay Area probate courts
- Petition filed with the probate court
- Notice to the proposed conservatee and relatives
- Capacity declaration from the doctor
- Court investigator interview
- Hearing, where the judge grants Letters of Conservatorship
In urgent situations, a temporary conservatorship can be requested while the full case proceeds. We also handle contested conservatorships.
Conservatorship should usually be the last resort.
It's public, it's ongoing, and it takes decisions away from your parent in open court. California courts treat it that way too: it must be the least restrictive option necessary.
THE BETTER PATH
Alternatives to Conservatorship in California
When signed while a person still has legal capacity, these documents typically make a court-supervised conservatorship unnecessary.
FOR FINANCES
Durable Power of Attorney
Names someone to manage money and accounts if your parent can't.
FOR MEDICAL DECISIONS
Advance Health Care Directive
Names a health care agent and records wishes on treatment.
FOR ASSETS
Revocable Living Trust
A successor trustee can manage trust assets upon incapacity.
The catch: the window closes.
These documents must be signed while your parent still has capacity. If your family is watching a decline begin, talk to us now. If the window has already closed, we'll tell you plainly and handle the conservatorship with care.
KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
Types of Conservatorship in California
Whatever the type, we'll help you understand which path fits, and whether a less restrictive option can still work instead.
MOST COMMON
General
Adults who can't manage personal care or finances
Often due to age or illness.
MOST COMMON
Limited
Adults with developmental disabilities
Grants only the specific powers needed.
LPS
Adults gravely disabled by serious mental illness
A separate, county-initiated process.
ADVANCE HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVES & POLST
Where Your Voice Lives When You Can't Speak
We draft directives specific enough to guide real decisions, not vague forms that leave your family debating what you "would have wanted."
Advance Health Care Directive
Names your health care agent and records your wishes on treatment, life support, and end-of-life care.
For every adult
HIPAA Authorization
Ensures the people you trust can access your medical information. Without it, privacy law can lock out even your spouse's questions.
For every adult
POLST
Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment: signed with your doctor, it turns your wishes into standing medical orders emergency personnel must follow.
For serious illness or frailty
NOT ADD-ONS
How These Documents Fit Your Full Estate Plan
Guardianship nominations, powers of attorney, and health directives protect you while you're alive, and they only work when they're coordinated with the rest. The guardian raising your children needs the trust that pays for their upbringing. Your agent's authority has to mesh with your successor trustee's.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Guardianship & Conservatorship Questions
What is the difference between guardianship and conservatorship in California?
In California, a guardianship is a court arrangement giving an adult responsibility for a minor child's care or property. A conservatorship applies to adults: a court appoints a conservator to manage the personal care or finances of an adult who can no longer manage them alone. Other states use "guardianship" for both; California law separates the two terms.
Does a health care directive need a lawyer?
No — California law does not require an attorney to complete an advance health care directive, and a statutory form is available. An attorney adds value by tailoring the directive to the person's actual wishes, coordinating the directive with powers of attorney and trusts, and ensuring valid execution — so the documents work together when a family needs them.
That's the honest answer. If all you need is the form, use the form. Most of our clients come to us because they want the whole plan to fit together — and to know it will hold.
Who should I name as guardian for my children?
Choosing a guardian starts with values and stability, not geography or wealth: parenting style, relationship with the children, age and health, and willingness to serve. California parents can nominate a primary guardian and alternates in a will, and can pair the nomination with a trust so a separate trustee manages the children's inheritance.
We can't make this choice for you — but we can give you the framework that makes it easier, and the documents that make it stick.
Put the Hardest Decisions on Paper, Then Stop Worrying About Them
One conversation with a partner at our Burlingame office can settle questions your family should never have to answer in a courtroom.
