Amanda Bynes Conservatorship

A common misconception that the media will cite is that celebs are being considered for a conservatorship for their mental health. They may continue to state that the person is being placed on an LPS conservatorship. This a common error and understandable from the media standpoint as they do not have a great understanding of the law.. They tend to conflate probate conservatorships and LPS conservatorship as one. In this case I will demonstrate how Amanda Bynes conservatorship differs from an LPS. 

Court documents

As you can see the first one is the letters for Amanda Bynes. The case number is written as department-year-number-PR-CP-OXN. This is the standard form for probate cases.. As seen the latter picture it is the same format as San Diego's probate case numbers. 

The second is the timeline of Amanda's conservatorship is set to expire on 2020. This is unlike a LPS which is renewed yearly. An LPS conservatorship needs to be reviewed each year before reestablishment. Yes an LPS can last two years but it needs to be reviewed in court before a judge or a commissioner before it is official. Therefore it it were an LPS the news erred on the side of overstating the time of the LPS conservatorship. Rather they should have stated it as she was facing a conservatorship that could last up to two years if a judge decides her incompetent a year from now.

Finally, Amanda Bynes is living out in the pubic. She spent time in a unlocked residential facility and now lives on her own. Currently living situation is not a surefire complete indicator of an LPS conservatorship but is a strong indicator of whether the person was LPS conserved. If the person is living out alone or in a low level residential facility, good chance they are not conserved. However, if they are on an LPS they would most likely be in a secured perimeter facility or a hospital for a period. One of the purposes of LPS is stabilization and if the person does not need secure treatment then they are often not considered for LPS in the first place. However, this is not always the case because I have known several conservatees who are on an LPS conservatorship but live in the community. That being said, a probate conservatorship can help a person with their life without the severe restrictions that come with LPS.