How to file forms with the court
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Take your forms to the court clerk
Go to the same courthouse you listed on your forms. Conservatorship cases are heard in the probate department of the court, so you will file them with the probate clerk.
At the courthouse, you’ll file the forms you filled out by giving the original and the copies to the clerk.
The clerk will give you a case number and court date, and stamp the forms. The court will keep the original and return the copies to you. One is for you, the others are for the adult, their relatives, and the Regional Center.
The clerk will usually keep the Letters and Order so the judge can sign them on your court date. If they give them back to you, you will need to bring these to the court date.
Yes, you can file by mail. Mail the original and copies to the clerk. You need to include the filing fee (or request for fee waiver) and a self-addressed stamped envelope so the clerk can mail your copies back to you. Make sure to include enough postage. If you do not include a self-addressed stamped envelope, you will have to go to the courthouse to pick up your copies.
Some courts allow online filing (called e-filing). You can find out if your court has online filing by visiting your court’s website. -
Pay a filing fee
You’ll need to pay a filing fee when you file your forms. The filing fees start at $435. There's also a fee for the investigation. Your court sets this fee. If the adult for whom you want to have the conservatorship can't afford the fees, you fill out more forms to ask for a fee waiver.
You qualify for a fee waiver if the adult:
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Receives public benefits,
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Has an income less than a set amount, or
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Can’t afford the fee and meet their basic needs.
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Limited conservatorship
What's next?
Once you’ve filed the forms, the next step is to get the family member's consent or have the forms delivered to the child's family members. You need to follow a specific process to do this called serving papers.