When a family is in crisis with a loved one who has lost the ability to care for themselves, the legal vocabulary that gets thrown around is rarely precise. Hospital social workers mention "conservatorship." Police officers tell families to "get a conservator." A relative says her cousin in Sacramento did one. Everyone is talking about a similar concept, but California actually maintains two parallel conservatorship systems that operate under different statutes, different courts, different burdens of proof, and different rules about who can even file. Choosing the wrong one wastes months and sometimes makes the situation worse.
This article explains the practical difference between a probate conservatorship under the California Probate Code and an LPS conservatorship under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, and how to figure out which one fits your family's situation.
Why This Question Comes Up in Crisis
Families do not start researching conservatorship law on a calm Tuesday afternoon. The phone call that drives the search is usually a hospital social worker asking who is going to take responsibility for discharge planning, or a police officer at the door because a loved one has been wandering, or a 5150 hold notification from a psychiatric emergency room. In that moment, what the family hears is "you need a conservatorship," and what they do not hear is "and there are two completely different kinds, and which one applies depends on whether the underlying problem is mental illness or something else."
By the time a family realizes the distinction matters, weeks have often passed. We have seen families spend $7,000 filing a probate conservatorship petition only to learn at the hearing that the court considers the case an LPS matter that must be initiated by the county. We have also seen families wait six months for an LPS petition that never comes because the county does not consider the underlying condition a qualifying mental disorder, when a probate conservatorship could have been filed and granted in 90 days. Getting the analysis right at the start is critical.
What Probate Conservatorship Does
A probate conservatorship is the general purpose adult conservatorship under California Probate Code section 1801 and following. It is the appropriate tool when the conservatee has lost the ability to manage their personal care, their finances, or both, due to a condition that is not primarily a serious mental disorder. The most common underlying conditions are:
- Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia in elderly parents
- Stroke or traumatic brain injury that has impaired cognitive function
- Developmental disabilities such as autism, intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, or epilepsy (handled through the specialized limited conservatorship subcategory)
- Late stage Parkinson's, Huntington's, ALS, and other progressive neurological conditions
- Severe medical conditions that have left the patient permanently incapacitated
A probate conservatorship can be of the person (personal care decisions), of the estate (financial management), or both. It can be filed by any interested party, typically a spouse, adult child, parent, sibling, friend, or in some cases a nominee suggested by the proposed conservatee. It is filed in the probate department of the local Superior Court. Once granted, it continues indefinitely until terminated by the court, although the conservator must file periodic accountings and the conservatee retains the right to petition for termination at any time.
The proposed conservatee in a probate case has the right to be present at the hearing, the right to object, the right to demand a jury trial (rarely exercised), and the right to court appointed counsel on request. The standard the petitioner must meet is that the proposed conservatee is substantially unable to provide for personal needs or manage financial resources due to a qualifying condition.
What LPS Conservatorship Does
An LPS conservatorship is fundamentally different. Codified at California Welfare and Institutions Code section 5000 and following, it is reserved for adults who are gravely disabled as a result of a serious mental health disorder, including (since 2024 under Senate Bill 43) severe substance use disorder. The standard, grave disability, has a specific legal definition: the inability to provide for one's own food, clothing, or shelter, and (under recent amendments) to attend to personal safety or necessary medical care, as a direct result of a qualifying disorder.
The conditions that typically support an LPS conservatorship are:
- Schizophrenia, particularly in patients who refuse medication
- Schizoaffective disorder
- Bipolar disorder with psychotic features in active manic or depressive episodes
- Severe major depressive disorder with psychotic features
- Severe substance use disorder where the patient cannot meet basic needs
The conservator can be authorized to place the conservatee in a locked psychiatric facility, consent to involuntary administration of psychotropic medication (after a separate Riese hearing), and make decisions about treatment and discharge planning that the conservatee would otherwise reject. This is a meaningful expansion of authority compared to a probate conservatorship.
The Initiation Difference: Anyone vs. County Only
This is the single most important practical distinction, and the one families most often miss. A probate conservatorship can be initiated by any interested person. The family writes the petition, hires a lawyer, files in court, and serves the proposed conservatee. The county is not involved in the filing decision.
An LPS conservatorship can only be initiated by a designated county mental health professional. In Los Angeles County, this is typically the Office of the Public Conservator, working through the treating facility's psychiatrist. Family members cannot file an LPS petition directly. They can advocate for a referral, they can provide documentation of grave disability, they can retain private counsel to monitor the process, and they can ask to be appointed as the conservator instead of the public conservator, but the petition itself originates inside the public mental health system.
This creates a practical bottleneck. The county has limited resources and a high volume of potential cases. The treating psychiatrist must agree that the patient meets the grave disability standard before recommending the referral. Family members who want an LPS conservatorship must persuade the treating team that the patient meets the criteria, then wait for the county to act. Many families discover only after weeks of frustration that the county has decided not to pursue conservatorship, leaving them to consider whether a probate conservatorship is a workable alternative.
Treatment Authority: Standard vs. Involuntary
For families whose loved one is refusing psychiatric medication or refusing to remain in treatment, this distinction matters enormously. A probate conservator can consent to routine medical care for the conservatee, but cannot order involuntary administration of psychotropic medication, and cannot place the conservatee in a locked psychiatric facility without the conservatee's consent.
An LPS conservator with the appropriate court order can do both. The court can grant the LPS conservator authority to place the conservatee in a locked facility (a Mental Health Rehabilitation Center, Institution for Mental Disease, or state hospital) when that level of care is clinically necessary. The court can also, after a separate Riese capacity hearing, authorize the conservator to consent to antipsychotic medication over the conservatee's objection. These are powerful authorities, reserved for situations where the underlying mental disorder is severe and treatment refusal is part of the symptom picture.
For families managing dementia, stroke, or developmental disability, this difference rarely matters. For families managing chronic, treatment resistant schizophrenia or severe bipolar disorder, it can be the difference between stability and a revolving door of 5150 holds.
Duration: Permanent Until Terminated vs. 1 Year Renewable
A probate conservatorship continues until it is terminated by the court. The conservator files annual or biennial accountings, the court investigator periodically reviews the case, and the conservatorship remains in place as long as the underlying condition continues. For elderly conservatees with progressive dementia, this is often the right design. The conservatorship may continue for 10 or 15 years until the conservatee passes.
An LPS conservatorship terminates automatically after exactly 1 year, unless the county files a fresh renewal petition and proves at a new hearing that grave disability still exists. This design reflects the public policy that mental health conservatorships should be reviewed regularly, because mental health conditions can stabilize, and the law does not want indefinite involuntary commitment. The renewal process is a real hearing, with the Public Defender vigorously representing the conservatee, and renewals are often contested. Families with a loved one in long term LPS conservatorship typically experience an annual cycle of preparation, hearing, and renewal.
When the Wrong Type Gets Filed (And What Happens)
Probate courts in Los Angeles County see this regularly. A family member of a person with chronic schizophrenia files a probate conservatorship petition because no one told them about the LPS track, or because the county declined to pursue LPS. The case proceeds, the proposed conservatee is served, court appointed counsel is assigned, and the hearing is set. At the hearing, the judge may grant the petition, may continue it for more evidence, or may deny it on the ground that the case is properly an LPS matter that the family cannot pursue.
The opposite mistake is also common. A family pushes hard for an LPS referral for a parent with dementia, then waits months for the county to evaluate, and ultimately learns that the parent's condition is not a qualifying mental disorder under the LPS standard. By the time the family pivots to a probate conservatorship, the parent has been hospitalized twice, transferred to a skilled nursing facility, and racked up bills that no one has authority to address.
Working with a conservatorship attorney early, before either path is committed, allows the family to evaluate which standard the conservatee actually meets and to pursue the right legal tool from the start. We routinely take consultations from families who are uncertain which path applies and help sort the question in 30 minutes.
Decision Framework
Use this rough framework to determine which conservatorship is likely the right fit. The framework is a starting point only and does not substitute for legal advice about a specific case.
- What is the primary underlying condition? If it is dementia, stroke, brain injury, developmental disability, or another non psychiatric condition, the answer is probate (or limited, for developmental disability). If it is schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar with psychosis, or severe substance use disorder with grave disability, the answer is likely LPS.
- Is the conservatee currently in a psychiatric facility? If yes, and they are on a 5250 or longer hold, the LPS pathway is already in motion and you should engage with the treating team about the referral. If no, and you cannot get them into one, LPS is unlikely to advance, and probate may be the only available tool.
- Does involuntary treatment authority matter? If the conservatee is refusing medication and refusing to remain in treatment, and stabilization requires both, LPS is the appropriate track. If the conservatee accepts care voluntarily or has cognitive impairment that prevents refusal, probate is sufficient.
- Is the county willing to file? If the public conservator's office or the treating facility has indicated they will not refer the case, LPS is functionally unavailable, and you must consider probate as a fallback (with the caveat that probate cannot authorize involuntary psychiatric treatment).
- How urgent is the situation? A probate conservatorship can be filed today by your attorney. An LPS conservatorship depends on the county's timeline. If immediate safety is at stake, an emergency (temporary) probate conservatorship may be the bridge that gets you legal authority while the LPS question gets sorted out.
If you are considering an LPS conservatorship for a loved one with serious mental illness, learn more about LPS conservatorship in California. If you need a broader overview of all the conservatorship types, our conservatorships practice page covers the full landscape.
For families in active crisis, the most useful thing you can do today is sit down with a conservatorship attorney for a free consultation. The legal analysis is more nuanced than any single article can capture, the local court practices vary across California counties, and the right strategy often involves filing one type of conservatorship as a bridge while pursuing another. Getting that strategy clear early saves months and tens of thousands of dollars.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every family's circumstances are unique, and the LPS versus probate analysis depends on facts that an attorney must evaluate directly. Contact MVP Law Group for a consultation if your family is navigating a conservatorship question in Los Angeles County or anywhere in California.