By Mark L. Russakow, Founding Partner, Trust Law Partners, LLP
When a conservatorship fight breaks out over someone you love, watching a court decide who controls their care and their money is frightening, and it often feels like the person at the center is being talked about instead of heard. You want an advocate who treats that person's dignity as the point of the case, not an afterthought.
Trust Law Partners represents families, heirs, and proposed conservatees across Santa Barbara County in contested conservatorship matters. That work runs from challenging a petition that should never have been filed, to removing a conservator who has mishandled a loved one's estate, to defending a conservatorship you put in place when a relative tries to seize control.
Our attorneys litigate these cases in the Santa Barbara Superior Court and know how the local probate department runs.
Call (833) 878-7852 for a free case review.
Table of contents
- Do You Handle Contested Conservatorships in Santa Barbara County?
- How Do You Remove or Replace a Conservator in California?
- Why Choose Trust Law Partners
- Meet the Attorneys
- Recognition and Results
- Conservatorship Litigation Questions from Santa Barbara Families
- Protecting the People Who Cannot Fight This Alone
Do You Handle Contested Conservatorships in Santa Barbara County?
Yes. Trust Law Partners handles contested conservatorship litigation throughout Santa Barbara County, including Santa Barbara, Goleta, Carpinteria, Montecito, and the Santa Maria area. We stand on the protective side of these disputes, representing family members and proposed conservatees who are trying to stop an unnecessary conservatorship, replace a harmful conservator, or safeguard a vulnerable adult's rights and finances.
South County conservatorship matters are heard at the Anacapa Division of the Santa Barbara Superior Court at 1100 Anacapa Street, and North County cases are heard at the Cook Division in Santa Maria. We appear in both, and we bring the firm's statewide trust and estate litigation experience to the local courtroom.
Can You Contest or Stop a Conservatorship Petition?
You can oppose a conservatorship petition in California, and the law puts a high bar in front of the person seeking control. A court cannot impose a conservatorship unless it makes an express finding that the conservatorship is the least restrictive alternative needed to protect the person, after weighing options like a power of attorney, a supported decision-making arrangement, or a health care directive. The petitioner also has to prove the need by clear and convincing evidence, which is a demanding standard.
That gives a proposed conservatee real footing. The person facing a petition has the right to an attorney, and California law lets them choose their own counsel rather than accept whoever is assigned, under Probate Code section 1471. When a petition looks driven by a family power struggle rather than a genuine need, we build the case for a less restrictive path and put the conservatee's own wishes back at the center of the hearing.
How Do You Remove or Replace a Conservator in California?
A conservator can be removed for cause when they mishandle the role, and the family does not have to wait for anyone's permission to act. Under Probate Code section 2650, an interested person may petition to remove a conservator by stating facts that show cause, including mismanaging the estate, neglecting the conservatee, self-dealing, or failing to account for the money.
If the court finds cause, it can revoke the conservator's authority and, in a conservatorship of the estate, order an accounting and the return of assets.
Removal often travels with a demand for the money. Where a conservator has taken or wasted funds, we pursue recovery of those assets alongside the removal, and these cases frequently overlap with financial elder abuse claims. The goal is to restore what the conservatee lost, not simply to change who holds the title.
Talk through your options with a Santa Barbara conservatorship attorney. Call (833) 878-7852.
What If You Need to Defend, or End, an Existing Conservatorship?
Sometimes the fight is about keeping a sound arrangement in place, or closing one that has outlived its purpose. If you stepped in to serve as conservator for a parent and another relative is now trying to push you out or unwind the conservatorship, we defend the arrangement, with the conservatee's protection as the guiding principle. This is family-side defense of a legitimate conservatorship, centered on the person it exists to protect.
When a conservatorship is no longer needed, California allows it to end. Under Probate Code section 1861, the conservatee, a spouse or domestic partner, a relative, a friend, or another interested person can petition to terminate the conservatorship by showing it is no longer required, and the conservatee keeps the right to counsel throughout.
We handle both sides of that coin, defending a conservatorship that is working and ending one that has run its course.
What Does the Conservatorship Litigation Process Look Like in Santa Barbara?
Most contested conservatorship cases move through the Santa Barbara Superior Court's probate department along a fairly set path. After a petition is filed, a court investigator ordinarily interviews the proposed conservatee and reports to the judge, and the court reviews the file before the hearing. Santa Barbara posts trust probate notes as tentative rulings ahead of the hearing date, and those notes flag the issues the court wants addressed before it will act.
South County hearings are held at the Anacapa Division at 1100 Anacapa Street in Santa Barbara, and North County hearings are held at the Cook Division in Santa Maria. A contested matter can involve discovery, medical and financial records, and in some cases a trial, including a jury trial when the conservatee demands one on a petition to terminate because the conservatorship is no longer justified. We prepare every case as though it will be tried, which tends to shape how the other side approaches settlement.
What Does a Conservatorship Litigation Attorney Cost?
Your first conversation with our firm is a free case review, so you can weigh your options before spending anything. Where a case involves recovering assets that a conservator or another party has taken or mismanaged, including situations arising from a person's mental incapacity, we can often handle it on a contingency fee basis, an arrangement very few probate litigation firms offer, which means you pay nothing up front and nothing unless we recover for your family. For matters that do not involve a monetary recovery, we explain the fee arrangement plainly at the start, so you know what to expect before you commit.
Why Choose Trust Law Partners
- Your loved one's wellbeing drives the strategy. We litigate to protect the conservatee's rights, finances, and independence, working from the least-restrictive-alternative standard the law already favors.
- We concentrate on trust, estate, and probate litigation, so contested conservatorships are core work for our team rather than an occasional sideline.
- You get local courtroom knowledge. We appear in the Santa Barbara Superior Court probate department and understand its procedures, its investigators, and its expectations.
- You can begin without paying up front in cases that involve a recovery, a contingency option most probate litigation firms do not provide.
Meet the Attorneys
Mark L. Russakow, Founding Partner. Mark L. Russakow founded Trust Law Partners and has built his career around California trust, estate, and probate litigation, with recognized work in elder law, a field that overlaps closely with conservatorship disputes. He earned his undergraduate degree from UC Irvine and his law degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. He is admitted to practice before all California state courts, the United States District Court for the Central District of California, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Jeffrey R. Loew, Managing Partner and Chief Legal Officer. Jeffrey R. Loew is a trial attorney. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association and as its Education Chair.
Lisa Tan, Senior Partner. Lisa Tan focuses on trust and probate litigation. She has described the most rewarding part of the work as helping clients recover their rightful share of an inheritance and find closure after long, painful family disputes.
Greg Aslanian, Senior Partner. Greg Aslanian represents clients from all walks of life, whether the aim is to reclaim a stolen inheritance or to protect a loved one's final wishes from opportunists trying to disrupt them.
Jeffrey M. Hall, Senior Partner. Jeffrey M. Hall is a senior partner on the firm's trust and estate litigation team.
Recognition and Results
Our team brings more than 230 years of combined experience in California trust, estate, and probate litigation. Clients across California have shared their experiences with our attorneys through published reviews.
Every conservatorship matter turns on its own facts, and prior results do not predict or ensure a similar outcome in your case.
Conservatorship Litigation Questions from Santa Barbara Families
How quickly can you step in if a conservatorship hearing is already scheduled?
We can often move quickly when a hearing date is set, and acting early matters. Filing an objection, requesting the court investigator's report, or asserting the proposed conservatee's choice of counsel are steps that carry more weight before the court has ruled. Call as soon as you know a petition has been filed, and we will tell you candidly what can still be done in the time you have.
Can I bring a case if my loved one lives in Santa Barbara but I live elsewhere?
Yes. Family members regularly retain us from out of the area to protect a parent or relative who lives in Santa Barbara County. The case is heard where the conservatee resides, which for South County is the Anacapa Division in Santa Barbara, so what matters is your standing to be involved and the facts, not your own zip code. We keep out-of-town families informed at each stage.
What if the conservator is a family member?
A conservator being a relative does not shield them from removal. California law allows a conservator to be removed for cause regardless of the family relationship, and disputes among adult children over a parent's care and finances are among the most common conservatorship fights we see. The court's focus stays on the conservatee's welfare, and so does ours.
Do these cases have to go to trial, or can they settle?
Many contested conservatorship matters resolve without a full trial, through negotiation or a court-supervised resolution once the facts come into focus. Others do require a hearing or trial, and the conservatee can demand a jury on a petition to terminate. Because we prepare each case as if it will be tried, we are ready either way, and that readiness often improves the terms of a settlement.
What should I bring to a consultation about a conservatorship dispute?
Bring whatever you have that shows the conservatee's situation and the money involved, such as the conservatorship petition, any court notices, financial statements, account records, and correspondence with the conservator or other family members. Notes on your concerns and a timeline of events help too. If you do not have everything, come anyway, and we will identify what to gather next.
Protecting the People Who Cannot Fight This Alone
When a loved one's independence and savings are on the line, the right advocate can change how the entire case unfolds. Trust Law Partners stands with Santa Barbara families to challenge improper conservatorships, remove conservators who abuse the role, and keep the focus on the person at the center of it all. Call (833) 878-7852 for a free case review, and let's talk through what you are facing.
