Planning for Incapacity and Avoiding Conservatorship
The Possibility of Incapacity: Incapacity means the inability to make sound decisions regarding one's financial affairs and personal care. The inability to fully manage one's affairs independently may be a challenge that has been faced since birth, or it may be caused later in life due to injury, debilitating illness, or conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. People are living longer, and as the life expectancy increases, so does the possibility that assistance will be needed in one's care and financial management.
Avoiding Conservatorship: Avoiding conservatorship is normally considered highly desirable as conservatorship can be expensive, time-consuming, and cumbersome. The people identified for roles within an estate plan, acting within their fiduciary responsibilities, may make the role of a conservator unnecessary. The trustee has the authority to manage trust property, the agent acting under a Durable Power of Attorney may have authority to manage non-trust assets, and the agent in an advance health care directive will be able to make care related decisions.
Advance Health Care Directives
This document may be called a "living will" in some other states and in older California documents, but advance health care directive is now the legally recognized format in California for documenting your health care instructions.
The document allows you to state your wishes about health care and life-sustaining treatment, for example your wishes regarding artificial nutrition and hydration, CPR, care facilities and independent living, etc.
Within the document you may also identify a trusted person as an agent to make health care decisions on your behalf should you be unable to make the decisions for yourself. In addition you may state your wishes regarding organ donation upon your death, your final memorial arrangements, your choice of personal physician, and also identify a conservator should one ever be needed.
