Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County to Fill Vital Community Need for Conservatorship Assistance

With a one–time grant from San Mateo County’s Aging and Adult Services, the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County will be training volunteer attorneys to meet the urgent need of low-income persons seeking help with the complicated legal process of applying for conservatorships. A conservatorship is usually needed when a person being cared for is no longer able to make health, financial or other life decisions for him or herself. Caregivers to seniors and parents or guardians of adults with disabilities must complete complex legal documents and appear in court in order to get approval for a conservatorship, but do not have the resources to access legal assistance.

The demand for services has been overwhelming. “We have far more clients than we can serve with our current resources”, says Janet Seldon, Pro Bono Coordinator at the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County. “Traditionally requests for conservatorship assistance have been referred to experienced attorneys in the field but now, thanks to the grant from San Mateo County, Legal Aid is proud to offer this training opportunity, and expand the number of volunteer attorneys who are able to help”.

A conservatorship training was held June 19th at the Palo Alto offices of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and is currently available on DVD. The training was taught by San Mateo attorney Margaret Martin, a sole practitioner with extensive experience in conservatorship law. Attorneys received a written manual, MCLE credit, and access to expert mentors while working on the conservatorship cases. Attorneys who are trained will be asked to take at least one conservatorship case pro bono.

For more information on getting trained, please contact Janet Seldon at jbseldon@legalaidsmc.org or 650-375-0185 x3352.