To get a dementia conservatorship in California, you file a petition in the probate court of the county where your relative lives, submit a physician’s capacity declaration, arrange personal service on your relative and notice to close family, cooperate with a court investigator, and appear at a hearing where a judge decides whether clear and convincing evidence shows a conservatorship is necessary and no less restrictive option will do. From filing to appointment typically runs two to four months.
Start by Ruling Out Less Restrictive Options
California treats conservatorship as a last resort, and the judge must expressly find it is the least restrictive alternative available before granting one. Your petition has to address what else you considered. The statute specifically points to supported decision-making agreements, durable powers of attorney, health care directives, and health care surrogate designations.1California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 1800.3
If your family member signed a durable power of attorney and an advance health care directive while they still had capacity, and the people named are acting appropriately, you may not need a conservatorship at all. Conservatorship becomes the right path when no such documents exist, when the agent named in them is abusing the authority, or when the person’s impairment now reaches decisions those documents don’t cover. Judges take this requirement seriously. A petition that doesn’t explain why alternatives fall short invites delay or denial.
Decide What Authority You Need
Probate conservatorship comes in two forms, and most dementia petitions ask for both:
- Conservator of the person: housing, food, clothing, and medical treatment decisions.
- Conservator of the estate: financial accounts, property, bill-paying, and income collection.
If your relative has a major neurocognitive disorder like Alzheimer’s disease, you can also request two dementia-specific powers under Probate Code 2356.5: authority to place the person in a secured-perimeter residential care facility, and authority to authorize dementia medications. These are not included automatically. The court must separately find, by clear and convincing evidence, that your relative has a major neurocognitive disorder as defined in the DSM, lacks capacity to consent to the placement or medication, and needs or would benefit from the restricted environment or appropriate medication; the placement must also be the least restrictive appropriate option.2California Legislative Information. California Code Probate 2356.5 Request these powers in your initial petition rather than coming back later.
Assemble the Forms
The paperwork is extensive. Plan to prepare the following Judicial Council forms:
- GC-310, Petition for Appointment of Probate Conservator — the core filing that identifies your relative, explains why a conservatorship is needed, and names you as the proposed conservator.3Judicial Council of California. Petition for Appointment of Probate Conservator
- GC-312, Confidential Supplemental Information — details about your relative’s daily abilities and the alternatives you tried.4California Courts. Start a Limited Conservatorship Case
- GC-314, Confidential Conservator Screening Form — background information about you, filed separately because it contains sensitive personal data.4California Courts. Start a Limited Conservatorship Case
- GC-335, Confidential Capacity Assessment and Declaration — the medical evaluation (see below).5California Courts. Confidential Capacity Assessment and Declaration – Probate Conservatorship
- GC-335A — the supplemental attachment the practitioner completes when you are requesting dementia-specific powers.
- GC-348, Duties of Conservator — you must read and sign this acknowledgment before filing.4California Courts. Start a Limited Conservatorship Case
When you file, the clerk issues a citation directed to your relative explaining the legal standards, the right to oppose the petition, the right to an attorney, and the right to a jury trial.6California Legislative Information. California Code Probate Code 1823 The citation gets served alongside the petition.
Get the Medical Evidence Right
A dementia diagnosis alone does not establish incapacity. The court needs clear and convincing evidence that cognitive decline creates a functional inability to manage daily life or finances. Some people in early-stage dementia can still make meaningful decisions with support; others cannot. The judge has to see where your relative falls.
Form GC-335 is where that showing happens. A physician, psychologist, or religious healing practitioner completes it, detailing how dementia impairs the person’s mental functions.5California Courts. Confidential Capacity Assessment and Declaration – Probate Conservatorship This is where many petitions succeed or stumble. A form that says “patient has Alzheimer’s” without explaining how the disease affects the ability to understand consequences, handle money, or make care decisions gives the court nothing to work with. Ask the practitioner to connect the diagnosis to specific functional deficits, and to complete GC-335A if you are requesting the secured-facility or medication powers. The evidence for those must come from a physician or psychologist who has examined your relative.7California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 2356.5
Serve Your Relative and Notify Family
Your relative must be personally served with the petition and citation at least 15 days before the hearing.8California Courts. Serve Conservatorship Papers in Person Someone other than you has to hand-deliver the papers; you cannot serve them yourself.
Relatives also receive notice. The court investigator is required to interview your relative’s spouse or domestic partner and first-degree relatives (children and parents). If there are no first-degree relatives, the investigator interviews second-degree relatives (grandchildren, siblings, grandparents) and contacts neighbors and close friends as practical.9California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 1826 Make sure your server completes a proof of service for every person served and files it with the court well before the hearing. Missed or defective service is one of the most common reasons hearings get continued.
The Investigation and the Hearing
After filing, the court assigns an investigator to independently evaluate the case. The investigator interviews your relative in person, explains the proceeding, finds out whether your relative wants to oppose the petition or prefers a different conservator, interviews you, reviews the medical evidence, and assesses whether the mental deficits genuinely impair self-care or financial management.9California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 1826 The investigator files a written report before the hearing, and it carries real weight. Concerns raised there about your suitability or whether a conservatorship is truly necessary will shape how the judge rules.
Your relative has the right to attend, oppose, and demand a jury trial.6California Legislative Information. California Code Probate Code 1823 If a physician determines attending would be harmful to their health, the court may excuse attendance. On representation: if your relative asks for an attorney but cannot afford one, the court must appoint the public defender or private counsel. Even without a request, the judge can appoint one based on the investigator’s report or other information if representation would help resolve the matter or protect the person’s interests.10California Legislative Information. California Code Probate 1471 In most dementia cases, counsel is appointed.
If the evidence meets the clear-and-convincing standard and the court finds the conservatorship is the least restrictive option, the judge signs an Order Appointing Probate Conservator (GC-340).11Judicial Council of California. Order Appointing Probate Conservator The order is not effective until Letters of Conservatorship (GC-350) issue, which happens after you qualify, including posting any required bond.12Judicial Council of California. Letters of Conservatorship
If You Cannot Wait Months: Temporary Conservatorship
If your relative faces an immediate risk such as wandering into dangerous situations, being financially exploited, or needing urgent medical decisions, California allows you to file for a temporary conservatorship at the same time as (or after) the main petition. The temporary petition must state facts establishing good cause. If someone other than the proposed conservatee files it, the petition must include a declaration of due diligence showing efforts to contact the relatives and learn the person’s preferences about who should serve.13California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 2250 Unless the court orders otherwise, notice of the temporary hearing must be personally delivered at least five days beforehand.
A temporary conservatorship lasts only until the full hearing on the permanent petition, and the temporary conservator’s powers are limited to what the court specifically grants in the order. It is not a blank check. Still, it fills the gap between filing and the final hearing.
What It Costs
Conservatorships are not cheap, and the total catches many families off guard. Major expense categories include:
- Court filing fees, typically in the range of $400 to $500, varying by county.
- Attorney fees, often starting around $3,000 to $5,000 for an uncontested case and running significantly higher if a family member objects or the investigator raises concerns.
- Court investigator fees, which vary by county.
- Bond premiums for the conservator of the estate, typically an annual percentage of the bond amount.
- Probate referee fees, charged at a statutory rate based on the value of the property appraised.
- Ongoing accounting preparation, legal fees for periodic filings, and court fees for future petitions.
When the estate has sufficient assets, these costs are generally paid from it. Some counties offer self-help assistance to reduce attorney fees for families with limited resources, but filing and investigator costs still apply.
What You Take On If Appointed
Appointment is the beginning of the work, not the end. The court keeps supervisory authority, and the compliance obligations are strict.
If you are conservator of the estate, you must post a bond before letters issue. For a bond from a licensed surety company, the amount equals the total value of the conservatee’s personal property, plus probable annual gross income from all estate property, plus annual payments from public benefits like Social Security or state assistance programs.14California Legislative Information. California Code Probate 2320 If given by personal sureties instead, the required amount doubles. The court can adjust the bond up or down for good cause.
Within 90 days of appointment, you must file an Inventory and Appraisal listing all assets as of the appointment date. Non-cash property generally must be appraised by a court-appointed probate referee; you can only self-appraise the types of assets that a personal representative of a decedent’s estate could value without a referee, such as cash and certain financial accounts.15California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 2610 After the first year, you must file a formal accounting detailing all income received and every expenditure. Subsequent accountings are due at least every two years, though the court can require them more often.16California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 2620 Missing a deadline can result in sanctions, removal, or personal liability.
As conservator of the person, you are responsible for arranging appropriate housing, medical care, food, and clothing. If the court granted dementia-specific powers, you have authority to place your relative in a secured memory-care facility and to authorize dementia medications, but only to the extent the court order specifies.12Judicial Council of California. Letters of Conservatorship Major decisions outside your letters, like selling your relative’s home or consenting to high-risk medical procedures, require going back to court for specific authorization.
All conservators act as fiduciaries. Every decision must serve the conservatee’s benefit, not your own. The court investigator conducts periodic reviews after appointment, not just at the initial hearing. Keep thorough records of every decision and every dollar spent.
How It Ends
A dementia conservatorship does not end on its own. It continues until the court terminates it, typically on the conservatee’s death or on a successful petition to end it. A termination petition can be filed by the conservator, the conservatee, a spouse or domestic partner, any relative or friend, or another interested person. The court will end it unless clear and convincing evidence shows the conservatee still meets the criteria and the conservatorship remains the least restrictive alternative.17California Legislative Information. California Probate Code 1863 With progressive dementia, termination based on restored capacity is rare. After the conservatorship ends, the conservator files a final accounting for court approval before being discharged and having the bond released.