Many Americans are faced with conservatorships each year. Conservatorship abuse sometimes happens in conservatorships. But when it happens, many are faced with numerous problems and have a hard time getting out of conservatorships.

What is a Conservatorship and Why do People Have Them?

Conservatorships are when someone is appointed to make decisions for a person who is unable to. Conservatorships can be put in place for someone who is at old age, who has a disability (mental or physical), or are just not able to take care of themselves.  A conservator is the person who has the responsibility of taking care of the conservatee and makes their decisions.  The decisions conservators can make range from medical care, financial care, personal affairs, family visits, and more. Many states try to put less restrictive controlling conservatorships in place so that the person in the conservatorship has rights to make some decisions on their own. But conservators can sometimes prevent someone from making decisions like marrying, making a will, voting, or consenting to medical treatment. Conservatorships can also invade privacy and not allow people to make the simplest decisions. 

 How Long Do Conservatorships Last?

Based on the 43% of Americans who are put under conservatorships, conservatorships can last for life. It is very hard to get out of a conservatorship because many conservators will abuse their power and try to prevent the conservatee from getting a lawyer. Some conservatorships last if the conservatee is in a neverending medical emergency. They can't end until the person in the conservatorship asks the court to end the conservatorship due to feeling like they can make their own decisions. Once again, conservatorships can be challenging to get out of because the conservator may not give you access to a lawyer. 

What is Conservatorship Abuse?

Believe it or not conservatorship abuse is a thing that happens and much of it goes unnoticed. Conservatees can end up in a toxic or abusive situation. Even though conservatorships are supposed to help them. The warning signs of conservatorship abuse can range from unpaid bills, changes in gift behavior (meaning a conservator will say that they got a good gift but in reality they got a bad one or one that is not worth a lot), medical abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and more. Britney Spears was in an abusive conservatorship. Some examples of her abuse was her  conservator would not let her remove IUDs and got a cut of her money. She was overworked and was forced to do tours and daily shows in Las Vegas during that time. Often she was very uncomfortable with the dances she had to do on tour too. Another example of abuse was from Chandra Bozelko, an author. She had no knowledge that she was going to be placed in a conservatorship and instead her parents made a doctor write a report on her mental incapacity. This all happened after she went to prison and she was also denied the right to appeal the criminal charges against her. 

April Parks also was put in a conservatorship that was abusive.  Financial abuse happened to her and her conservatorship isolated her from her family and drained her bank accounts. Amanda Bynes was also another example of someone in a conservatorship who felt they needed to get out of it to get their civil rights.  She was put under a conservatorship due to mental health issues and substance abuse. She was placed in a physiatric ward for lighting a fire in her neighbors driveway. Another person in an abusive conservatorship was Mariah Carey. She was in one for thirteen years.  The last example of someone who was in a conservatorship was Brian Wilson from Beach Boys. His conservator was his psychologist. He was put under a conservatorship because of a nervous breakdown and drug abuse. Brian was controlled for 24 hours a day and isolated from bad influences. His conservator also took advantage of him and used him as a multimillionaire cash cow. He was also brainwashed and taken advantage of. 

Evidence That Has Backed Up Conservatorship Abuse

Much evidence has backed up conservatorship abuse and much of that abuse has gotten unnoticed. A study concluded that in a twenty year period there were hundreds of allegations of abuse by a federal watchdog. In 2018 another study concluded that there were thirty one cases of financial abuse in conservatorships. The mindset of conservatorships is that you can't be trusted with your own choices at all and it takes so much away from your humanity. 

Why Conservatorships are Considered Not Good Right Now

Many people believe that conservatorships take away from so many people's privacy. People also believe conservatorships can be too strict and can take the simplest of all decisions and make them complicated. They can take away from making the decisions of what individuals want to do. Simple stuff on what to eat for dinner that day, if they want to go on a walk or a car ride, and more daily activities like that. Many activists, experts, and more are concerned about what really goes on in conservatorships. Conservatorships make it easy for the conservator to abuse their power.

What Will Happen To Conservatorships?

Since the #freebritney movement Britney Spears’ case has led to conservatorship reform before and after she was freed from her conservatorship. A U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing on toxic conservatorships. It was a ruling on conservatorship reform.  The ruling will not go into effect by 2023 to 2024. Some state legislation might not also be introduced until next year also. Until then much needs to be done with conservatorships. Many people don't pay close attention to it because many don't know what can happen in conservatorships. That's why conservatorship abuse needs to be talked about more and why conservatorships need to change for the better.