The California Supreme Court affirmed a judgment. The court held that counsel for a proposed conservatee may waive the proposed conservatee’s attendance at a hearing on a petition to establish a conservatorship under the Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act, in which case the probate court may proceed in the proposed conservatee’s absence without necessarily violating his or her due process rights or the LPS Act.
The Public Conservator of San Diego County filed an ex parte petition to establish a conservatorship of the person of 60-year old John L. pursuant to the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act. The petition alleged that John L. was gravely disabled as the result of a mental disorder or chronic alcoholism. The attached investigation report stated that John L. had made it clear he did not want a conservator and did not believe he needed any assistance.
