Probate Conservatorship vs. Guardianship in California

By Eric Ridley, attorney, Ridley Law. Updated October 2026.

This page is information only. I name guardians for children in the plans I write, and I don’t file guardianship petitions either. If you came here hoping to avoid a conservatorship, start with avoiding conservatorship in California.

Two court cases that answer different questions

A guardianship asks who should take care of a child when the parents can’t. A conservatorship asks whether an adult has lost the ability to look after themselves or their money, and whether a court should take decisions away from them.

Both are probate court cases, and both are called “probate” here to separate them from a different kind of conservatorship. A Lanterman-Petris-Short conservatorship is for a person who is gravely disabled or impaired by chronic alcoholism, and it comes from the Welfare and Institutions Code, which borrows the Probate Code procedure with listed exceptions (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 5350). This page covers the probate versions, which start at Prob. Code, § 1500 for guardianships of minors and § 1800 for conservatorships of adults.

The chart picks the proceeding. It starts with the person’s age and then asks whether an existing plan already does the job, because a court won’t grant a conservatorship until it has looked at the alternatives.

What the court must find before it acts

For a guardianship, the court may appoint a guardian “if it appears necessary or convenient” (Prob. Code, § 1514(a)). In choosing a guardian of the person, the court follows the Family Code’s custody provisions (§ 1514(b)(1)). For a guardian of the estate, it looks at the child’s best interest and at the proposed guardian’s ability to manage and preserve the estate, and it considers the preference of a child old enough to form one (§ 1514(e)).

For a conservatorship, the court has to find that the person can’t provide for their own needs for physical health, food, clothing or shelter, or is substantially unable to manage their own money or resist fraud or undue influence. On the money side, isolated incidents of negligence or improvidence don’t prove it (§ 1801(b)). The proof has to be clear and convincing (§ 1801(e)), and the court has to make an express finding that a conservatorship is the least restrictive alternative (§ 1800.3(b)). Before it does, it must weigh the person’s abilities with their current supports, including powers of attorney, advance health care directives, health care surrogates and supported decision-making agreements (§ 1800.3(c)).

A grandparent raising a grandchild whose parents can’t act is asking the court to find the appointment necessary or convenient. A son who finds his father confused after a fall is asking the court to take an adult’s rights, and the court has to ask first whether a signed power of attorney already meets the need. What a conservatorship is in California walks through that case from start to finish.

How a probate guardianship of a child works

A relative or other person can file for the child, and so can a child who is 12 or older. The petition names the proposed guardian, the child’s parents, anyone with legal custody, relatives within the second degree, and anyone a parent nominated (Prob. Code, § 1510). Notice goes to the child if 12 or older, to the parents, to the custodian and to any nominee at least 15 days before the hearing, and the court can’t shorten that time (§ 1511(a), (b)). A court investigator reviews a relative’s petition and the county agency reviews a nonrelative’s (§ 1513). If the situation is urgent, a temporary guardian can be appointed while the petition is pending, on five court days’ notice unless the court finds good cause for less (§ 2250).

The court appoints a guardian of the person, a guardian of the estate, or both. The Judicial Council’s self-help guide says a guardian of the estate is needed when a child has a lot of money, income or property, such as an inheritance from a parent, and isn’t needed because a child receives Social Security or CalWORKs benefits. A parent can’t be appointed guardian of the person except in narrow cases the statute lists (§ 1514(b)(2)). The guide also says a guardianship is different from adoption, because a parent can later ask the judge to end it.

The guardianship ends when the child turns 18, unless the child asks for or agrees to an extension to 21 under § 1510.1, which exists for a narrow immigration purpose. A guardianship of the person also ends on the child’s death, adoption or emancipation, and a guardianship of the estate ends on the child’s death (§ 1600). The guardianship of the estate ends at 18 too, so a parent who wants control past that age has to arrange it now. The same parent who nominates a guardian can name a trustee to manage a child’s inheritance and set the age at which the child receives it. See naming a guardian for your children and why the guardian belongs in your will.

How a probate conservatorship of an adult works

A conservatorship petition can come from the person, a spouse or partner, a relative, an agency or public officer, or any other interested person or friend (§ 1820(a)). The petitioner files supplemental information that has to cover the person’s inability to meet their needs, where they live, what alternatives the family tried and why those failed, what services they received, and their inability to manage money (§ 1821(a)). The citation and petition are served on the proposed conservatee at least 15 days before the hearing, and relatives get the same 15 days’ notice (§§ 1822(a), 1824).

A court investigator interviews the proposed conservatee, the petitioner and the proposed conservator, along with the spouse, the first-degree relatives and, where practical, neighbors and close friends. The investigator tells the person that they can oppose the petition, attend the hearing, have a jury and have a lawyer, and then reports to the court at least five days before the hearing (§ 1826). The court appoints a lawyer if the person has none and doesn’t plan to hire one (§ 1471(a)).

The court chooses the conservator on the person’s best interest, and when candidates are equally qualified it prefers the person’s own stated choice, then a spouse or partner, an adult child, a parent and a sibling (§ 1812). A person with enough capacity can name the conservator they want, and the court has to appoint that nominee unless it isn’t in the person’s best interest (§ 1810). The statute calls for the investigator to visit at six months and then every year, and the court can act on what it finds, up to ending the conservatorship (§ 1850(a)). Courts aren’t required to perform some of those investigator duties until the Legislature funds them (§§ 1826(h), 1850(e)), so ask the court what it does now. A temporary conservatorship can run while the petition is pending, on five court days’ notice unless the court says otherwise (§ 2250).

Limited conservatorship and the 18th birthday

A limited conservatorship is the version for an adult with a developmental disability, defined as a disability that began before 18, is expected to continue indefinitely and is a substantial handicap, including intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and autism (Prob. Code, §§ 1801(d), 1420). The statute says it may be used only as necessary to promote the person’s well-being, should encourage the maximum independence the person can manage, and is ordered only to the extent the person’s proven limits require. The person keeps every legal and civil right except those the court specifically hands to the conservator (§ 1801(d)).

At the hearing the court inquires into the person’s intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, asks what the person can do, and dismisses the petition if the person can manage their own care and property as a reasonably prudent person. If the person can’t do some tasks, the court appoints a limited conservator and defines the powers so the person does what they can (§ 1828.5(b), (c), (e)). In a limited case, notice goes to the regional center at least 30 days before the hearing (§ 1822(e)), and the court appoints a lawyer at once if the proposed limited conservatee has none, at that person’s expense if able to pay (§ 1471(b)). The court treats a petition as a limited one when it learns of a developmental disability, unless the petitioner is seeking the special powers § 2356.5 gives a conservator for a major neurocognitive disorder, such as placement in a secured-perimeter facility (§ 1800.3(d)).

A guardianship ends at 18 (§ 1600), and at that point the child can make most decisions alone, as the Judicial Council’s guide puts it. A petition for a conservatorship can be filed while the person is still a minor so that the appointment takes effect when the person turns 18, and an existing guardian can be appointed conservator at that point (§ 1820(b)). The same guide says the court can’t grant a conservatorship unless the less restrictive options are not appropriate, and that supported decision-making and a power of attorney are among them. Money you leave to a young adult is a separate problem, and special needs trusts in California and leaving money to a child on benefits cover it.

What the court weighs first, and where planning fits

Each document in a plan answers a question the court would otherwise have to decide. A durable power of attorney keeps someone able to pay the bills and manage the accounts. An advance health care directive names the person who speaks for the patient with the doctors. A funded living trust lets a successor trustee manage the trust’s assets without a court. The statute tells the court to look at powers of attorney and advance health care directives before it grants a conservatorship (§ 1800.3(c)), and it requires the petitioner to explain why those alternatives failed (§ 1821(a)(1)(C)). See the durable power of attorney in California and the advance health care directive.

A durable power of attorney can also nominate the conservator the court should consider, and the court has to give effect to the most recent writing that meets § 1810 (Prob. Code, § 4126). For children, a parent can nominate a guardian of the person or estate, but only if the other parent nominates or consents to the same person, or the other parent is dead, lacks capacity, or doesn’t need to consent to an adoption (§ 1500). A nomination for the estate binds the court unless the nominee is unsuitable (§ 1514(c)). A nomination for the person doesn’t, so the court still picks. Both parents should name the same guardian in documents that match.

None of this works after the fact. By the time a parent is confused or a child needs a guardian, the paperwork either exists or it doesn’t. Incapacity planning in California covers the order to do it in, and when a parent starts slipping is the guide for the family that is already noticing signs. If the family already needs a court case, the Judicial Council’s self-help pages on guardianships and on conservatorships, at selfhelp.courts.ca.gov, are free and current.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a conservatorship and a guardianship?

A guardianship is a probate court appointment for a child under 18 whose parents can’t act. A conservatorship is a probate court appointment for an adult who can’t provide for their own needs or manage their money. A guardianship needs a finding that it is necessary or convenient. A conservatorship needs clear and convincing evidence and a finding that nothing less restrictive will work.

Can a parent be the guardian of their own child?

In most cases, no. The statute says a minor’s parent may not be appointed guardian of the person, except in narrow situations it lists (Prob. Code, § 1514(b)(2)). A parent already has custody rights, and a guardianship exists for someone who isn’t the parent to step in. A parent can nominate a guardian, but only if the other parent agrees, is dead, lacks capacity, or doesn’t need to consent to an adoption (§ 1500).

Does a guardianship end when the child turns 18?

Yes. A guardianship of the person or estate ends when the ward reaches majority (Prob. Code, § 1600). The statute lets a ward ask for or agree to an extension of a guardianship of the person until age 21, under a narrow provision that exists for special immigrant juvenile status (§ 1510.1). A guardianship of the person also ends on the ward’s death, adoption or emancipation, and a guardianship of the estate ends on the ward’s death.

What is a limited conservatorship?

It is a conservatorship for an adult with a developmental disability, meaning one that began before 18 and is expected to continue indefinitely (Prob. Code, §§ 1801(d), 1420). The court orders it only as far as the person’s proven limits require. The person keeps every legal and civil right that the court doesn’t specifically give to the conservator, and the court defines the conservator’s powers to fit what the person can do.

What does the court have to find to appoint a conservator?

The court needs clear and convincing evidence that the person can’t provide for their own food, clothing, shelter or health, or is substantially unable to manage their money or resist fraud or undue influence (Prob. Code, § 1801). It also has to make an express finding that a conservatorship is the least restrictive alternative the person needs (§ 1800.3(b)).

Can a power of attorney keep my family out of a conservatorship?

Often it does. The court has to weigh the person’s abilities with their current supports, including powers of attorney and advance health care directives, before it grants a conservatorship (Prob. Code, § 1800.3(c)). A court won’t appoint a conservator for a need an agent is already meeting. A power of attorney can’t promise it, because a court can still find a need the document doesn’t cover.

Who handles a conservatorship case if my family already needs one?

I do not handle conservatorship proceedings. My practice is the planning that avoids them: durable powers of attorney, advance health care directives, and living trusts. If your family already needs a conservatorship, I can refer you to counsel who handles those cases. The Judicial Council also publishes free self-help guides on conservatorships and guardianships at selfhelp.courts.ca.gov.