I'm feeling like executorship is the only way I can get him off the street.
I thought into conservatorship which I think might be similar. I decided against it for several reasons.
First, I let go to the end your fears that he may be developing schizophrenia. My son who is 28, with bipolar diagnosis, had birth parents who were mentally ill. I have worried about that too.
My son can be aggressive and damage property, but not violent. He has learned to moderate some his behavior.
That said, when he was worse, I was afraid of the liability issue. That I would be held responsible for his behaviors. True or not, I feared this.
Also I thought that it was going in the wrong direction to take away responsibilities. I believe that the only real teacher in life is direct experience. Suffering. However I did not want my son to suffer, I wanted him to learn. He is.
It is very hard for me. Because he has been with me or close to me for the past 13 months. Just tonight my SO told me this: if it is not you who teaches him, who will? What will happen when we are dead?
I am on the extreme end of the continuum on this site. I believe some people here believe I am too involved and take too much responsibility. But I would not take on executorship or conservatorship.
I worked in prisons and in community mental health. Society has built in stops/protections for the mentally ill who pose a danger to themselves or others. There are group homes and there are residential treatment centers aplenty. If your son is not motivated to change sufficiently to self-admit or to stay after he is involuntarily committed, do you think your taking control and responsibility, will do it? I am not so sure. I think he could well go on the lam.
There is at least one mother here whose son is paranoid schizophrenic. She lived with his murderous threats for more than a decade. Until she had to sign a restraining order, and he lives in his car. Her name is Feeling Sad.
Is your son on SSI? Does he have a payee? Could a payee by exerting some indirect control over his money, influence his behavior even a little?
Other people will post and have different things to say. Some with direct experience with this issue, I hope. I suggest you do a search, which is in the upper right hand. I feel certain you will find information that way.
If you do live there I lived in Santa Cruz 30 years ago and did my graduate work at the University. That said, I would take out the city name if indeed you do live there. Better guard your anonymity.
Take care.
