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A "limited" conservatorship is the type of conservatorship that is specifically for developmentally disabled adults, and requires the special needs person to be a member of the Regional Center. The court will grant the conservator(s) up to 7 powers to enable them to make decisions regarding the disabled person's (conservatee) care.

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The 7 powers:

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1. Decide where the conservatee lives

2. Access the conservatee's confidential records

3. To give or withhold consent to the conservatee's marriage

4. To contract for the conservatee

5. To make medical decisions for the conservatee

6. To control who are the conservatee's friends and intimate relationships

7. To make decisions regarding the conservatee's education and vocational training 

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Depending on which county you live in, the entire process for a noncontested limited conservatorship can take anywhere from 6 - 12 months to complete, so it is important to start planning early. ​​

For those with a special needs family member, careful Estate Planning is required to ensure that the developmentally disabled person if financially taken care of upon your death. Without a Special Needs Trust, the disabled person is at risk of losing their government benefits (such as Medi-Cal, IHSS, and social security disability) if they directly inherit your assets. Usually, they are also unable to manage their own finances, so appointing someone to manage the assets for them is necessary. 

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A comprehensive and well-drafted Family Trust that includes a Special Needs Trust serves to ensure that the disabled person is financially taken care of, appoints someone to manage their assets, prevents them from losing any public benefits, avoids the need for probate court, and minimizes tax consequences for all of your beneficiaries.

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* I do not draft "first party" Special Needs Trusts, which is usually needed when a disabled person has directly inherited assets, or receives a large settlement from a lawsuit.