While a guardianship legally appoints an individual to make decisions regarding another person’s medical needs and wellbeing in the event that person is somehow incapacitated, a conservatorship legally appoints an individual to make decisions regarding another person’s financial matters should that person be unable to do so. Court proceedings associated with choosing a legal guardian or conservator (if one has not officially been selected by an incapacitated individual) are known as protective proceedings, and the individual who falls under the guardianship or conservatorship (due to some significant incapacity) is known as the ward or the protected person, respectively.

Setting up contingencies for having a guardianship and conservatorship in place is an essential part of estate planning and elder law, as it precludes the courts and complete strangers from having to make such decisions on a person’s behalf if that person is unable to do so due to being severely injured, falling into a coma, developing an incapacitating illness and/or otherwise becoming incapacitated due to age. Like other aspects of estate planning, the development of a guardianship and/or a conservatorship can be specifically tailored to an individual’s wishes and, consequently, can be as detailed or flexible as that sees fit.