Understanding Guardianship and Conservatorship

My child has severe autism and has become an adult. Because of the severity of his condition, he receives benefits from Regional Center of the East Bay and resides in a group home, which RCEB oversees and primarily funds.  With his transition to adulthood, it has become necessary for me to file for Limited Conservatorship, to ensure that medical and other decisions are made on his behalf. I realize that I'm just posting information and not asking a question, but this post will be invaluable to parents of the severely disabled.

This is what I learned about this process:

In California, you are the Guardian of your child until age 18. After that, no matter the level of disability, you cannot make legal decisions for your adult child unless you become their Conservator. In California law, you must file to become a Limited Conservator, as "Conservator" pertains to elderly people with conditions such as dementia. I asked Regional Center and others to recommend attorneys who could help me with the process, called several, and they charge $5,000 for the process. There are also court fees of $485 plus investigation fees.... so it's very expensive. I decided to try to download the legal forms and file them myself, and it's a good thing I did!

Turns out, you don't have to pay a dime! In California, the courts have self-help programs. This is the link for Alameda County's self-help program. Don't download and fill out the forms; just call the listed phone number and make an appointment. You'll be interviewed by a staff attorney who will correctly fill out the forms for you at no charge. (Even if you're an attorney, you won't know how to fill out the forms correctly; it requires specialized knowledge of the process). If your child qualifies for Social Security disability/Medi-Cal, that financial consideration will qualify for a court fee waiver, irrespective of your income.  This reduces the cost from over $6,000 to zero. 

The process is somewhat burdensome, because a conservatorship takes away someone's rights. It is a serious undertaking, and the court will investigate and thoroughly assess the extent of disability and to what extent your child can and cannot make their own decisions. It is not one size fits all; there are different types of decisions which the court can authorize you to make. You can also apply with another person to serve as co-conservator, and the co-conservator can be your child's sibling, which ensures continuity of care as you get older.  

Once the forms are filled out, you'll still have to print them out in triplicate, organize them a specific way, file them with the court, serve papers as required and go to court. But you'll save $6,000. Feel free to reply if you have any questions, and I'll answer if I can.