Information About the Office
The office of Madera County Public Guardian is authorized
by California Statute. In Madera County the Public Guardian also
serves as Public Administrator, but the functions of the Public
Administrator are seperate and apart from the conservatorship
function.
The primary mission of the public Guardian is to protect individuals
and estates from abuse within the authorization of California
law.
About the Public
Guardian
The Public Guardian provides a vital service to persons unable
to properly care for themselves or who are unable to manage their
finances. The service is provided through a legal process known
as conservatorship.
Initially, the primary responsibility was for the finances
of persons civily committed to psychiatric facilities. As society
evolved and laws changed to meet new social challeges, the role
of the Public Guardian broadened to include more responsibility
for the care of the individual. The landmark LPS Act of 1969
and subsequent changes to the Probate Code meant that the Public
Guardian became the substitute decision maker for vulnerable
populations of the county with grave mental disabilites.
About Conservatorship
Conservatorship is a serious matter. It requires a court
hearing with all interested parties present. If the conservatorship
is established, the individual or conservatee loses many
civil rights most of us take for granted. He or she may
lose the right to decide where they'll live or what medical
treatment to accept or refuse. They may lose the right to
control their assets or manage their income. The conservator,
by assuming the responsibility for these matters, becomes
legally accountable to the court.
What Does a Public Guardian or Public Conservator Do?
The public Guardian or Public Conservator (PG/PC) conducts
the official County investigation into conservatorship matters.
The PG/PC also acts as the legally appointed guardian or
conservator or persons found by the Superior Courts to be
unable to properly care for themselves or their finances
or who are unable to resist undue influence or fraud. Such
persons usually suffer from severe mental illness or are
older, frail and vulnerable adults.
What Are the Primary Duties of a Guardian/Conservator?
The court can appoint a conservator of the person only or
both person and estate. The following is a brief summary of a
conservator's duties.
Conservatorship of the Person:
The conservator arranges for the client's care and protection,
determines where he or she will live and makes appropriate arrangements
for health care, housekeeping, transportation, and personal needs.
Conservatorship of the Estate:
The conservator manages the client's finances, locates and
takes control of the assets, collects income due, pays bills,
invests the client's money, and protects the assets.
Legal Basis: According to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, a conservator may be appointed for a person who is "gravely
disabled" meaning that, as a result of a mental disorder,
the person is unable to provide for food, clothing or shelter.
Certain criminal defendants incompetent to stand trial may also
meet the criteria.
Purpose: To provide for individualized treatment, supervision,
and placement of the conservatee and to manage their financial
resources.
How Is It Started? Only designated mental health treatment
facilities, agencies or the courts can make a referral to the
Public Guardian for LPS. Only the Public Guardian can petition
the court for the initial appointment as conservator.
How Long Does It Take? LPS matters are set for hearing
and decided in less than 30 days.
Who Is Appointed Conservator? The Public Guardian,
a relative or interested party may be appointed. However, Public
Guardian investigates all such referrals and submits recommendations
to the court.
Duration: LPS automatically terminates after one year
but may be renewed annualy at a court hearing.
Persons/Ages Served: Persons of all ages, including
children and older adults, may qualify for LPS if they meet the
legal criteria described above.
Medical Treatment: The court usually authorizes mental
health treatment only, including psychotropic drugs, even when
against the will of the individual.
Living Arrangements/Placement: The conservator usually
is authorized to place the conservatee anywhere in California,
including locked mental health facilities, if consistent with
the treatment plan.
Legal Basis: According to the Probate Code, a conservator
may be appointed "for a person who is unable to provide
properly for his or her personal needs for physical health,
food, clothing or shelter" or for persons "substantially
unable" to manage their financial resources "or
resist fraud or undue influence."
Purpose: To protect and arrange care for the conservatee,
to protect their rights and manage their financial resources.
How Long Does It Take? Probate matters can take a month
or much longer to decide.
Who Is Appointed Conservator? The Public Guardian is
appointed on petitions it files. Probate conservatorship petitions
may be filed by private individuals or by agencies on their own
behalf.
Duration: Probate is indefinite but conservatee or
conservator may petition the court for termination at any time.
Persons/Ages Served: Probate conservatorship is restricted
to adults, age 18 and older who meet the legal basis described
above. (Guardianship is available for minors.)
Medical Treatment: The court often grants to the conservator
the exclusive authority to make most medical decisions, such
as surgeries, but not involuntary mental health treatment decisions.
Living Arrangements/Placement: The conservator is usually
authorized to place the conservatee anywhere in California consistent
with treatment needs, except in a mental health treatment facility.
The Madera County Public
Administrator handles the administraton of estates of persons
who die in our community when no other person or family
is willing or appropriate to administer their estates. The
services include searching for family, making burial arrangements,
identifying assets, paying creditors of the estate, paying
the expenses of administration and distribution of the balance
of the estate to the decedent's heirs or beneficiaries.
If a decedent has a will, the Public Administrator may also
be appointed for the named Executor where the designated
Executor is unwilling or unable to serve.
Referrals to the Public Administrator may be made by governmental
agencies, creditors of the estate, the Probate Court, nominations
by family members, or others who are unable to act in this capacity.
What Does a Public Administrator Do?
The Public Administrator (PA) investigates and may administer
the estates of persons who die with no will or without an
appropriate person willing or able to act as administrator.
What Are the Primary Duties of the Public Administrator?
The Public Administrator has the same duties and functions
as private administrators. They are to:
- Protect the decendent's property from waste, loss or theft.
- Make appropriate burial arrangements.
- Conduct thorough investigations to discover all assets.
- Ensure that the estate is administered according to the decedent's
wishes.
- Pay decedent's bills and taxes.
- Locate persons entitled to inherit from the estate and
ensure that these individuals receive their inheritance.
While no amount of planning can anticipate all the consequences
of a serious disability, planning ahead can reduce the disruption
in peoples lives and that of their loved ones. In some situations,
a durable power of attorney, an advance directive or a living
trust may be sufficient. In other situations, the legal intervention
and protection provided by conservatorship may be necessary.
Conservatorship offers the highest degree of safety and security
to the individual because of the court's oversight.
In all matters as important as disabilty and its effect on
medical decisions and finances, planning ahead is critical. Consumers
should become informed their options, consult with qualified
professionals and regularly review their plans, updating them
as necessary.
Abuse of elders and dependent adults is a crime. Abuse can
take many forms, including physical and financial abuse or neglect.
Suspected abuse should be reported to the local police and Adult
Protective Services, the county agency responsible for investigating
reports of abuse. Even when abuse cannot be substantiated as
a crime, intervention may be necessary. The Public Guardian,
using the civil process of conservatorship, may be able to prevent
further abuse by taking steps, for example, to secure medical
treatment or freeze assets.
Public Guardian
(559) 675-7766
Fax (559) 675-7911
Mental Health Services
(559) 673-3508
(M/H Services - 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week)
Adult Protective Services
(559) 675-2300
24-hour hotline: (559) 675-7839
(Elder and adult abuse; self neglect)
