Both answer the same question - who manages your money if you cannot? - and they are not really alternatives. A durable power of attorney is the answer you choose in advance, privately, for the cost of a signature. A conservatorship is the answer a court imposes afterward, when no document exists. One is planning; the other is what happens without it.
The conservatorship path runs on the court's calendar
A contested conservatorship can consume months of hearings and professional fees before anyone can act - while the bills keep arriving. The POA version of the same authority: signed in an afternoon, effective when needed.
Side by side
- Who chooses the decision-maker: POA - you do. Conservatorship - a judge does, after the court must find the need by clear and convincing evidence, after a petition, notice, and a hearing.
- Privacy: POA - a private document. Conservatorship - a public court file, with inventories and annual accountings on the record.
- Cost: POA - document preparation. Conservatorship - filing fees, attorney fees on every side, often a bond premium, for as long as it lasts.
- Oversight: POA - the agent answers to you and the law (a power of attorney executed by an adult who does not have capacity is invalid (A.R.S. § 14-5506)). Conservatorship - the court supervises everything, indefinitely.
When conservatorship is genuinely the right tool
Sometimes there is no other way: no valid POA exists and capacity is already gone, an existing agent is misusing their authority and must be displaced, or family conflict needs a neutral, supervised decision-maker. The process exists to protect people, and in those situations it does. The point is narrower: nobody should end up there by default when a signature made in time would have prevented it.
The timing rule, one more time
A power of attorney can only be signed while you have capacity. After that window closes, conservatorship is the only door left. That single fact decides this comparison for everyone still able to choose.
Sources
- A.R.S. § 14-5401 (protective proceedings; conservators) (checked 2026-08-09)
- A.R.S. § 14-5501 (durable power of attorney; creation; validity) (checked 2026-08-09)
Educational information only, not legal advice. Families already facing a conservatorship petition should consult a licensed Arizona attorney.