BILL NUMBER: AB 998	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Fong

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2013

   An act to amend Section 15657.3 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, relating to elderly and dependent adults.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 998, as introduced, Fong. Elderly and dependent adults: civil
actions.
   Existing law provides that the department of the superior court
having jurisdiction over probate conservatorships shall also have
concurrent jurisdiction over civil actions and proceedings involving
a claim for relief arising out of the abduction or abuse of an
elderly or dependent adult. Existing law provides that after the
death of the elder or dependent adult, the right to commence or
maintain an action passes to the personal representative, and if
there is no personal representative, to an intestate heir whose
interest may be affected by the action, to the decedent's successor
in interest, as defined, or an interested person, as defined, subject
to specified conditions.
   This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to these
provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 15657.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
   15657.3.  (a) The department of the superior court having
jurisdiction over probate conservatorships shall also have concurrent
jurisdiction over civil actions and proceedings involving a claim
for relief arising out of the abduction, as defined in Section
15610.06, or the abuse of an elderly or dependent adult, if a
conservator has been appointed for the plaintiff prior to the
initiation of the action for abuse.
   (b) The department of the superior court having jurisdiction over
probate conservatorships shall not grant relief under this article if
the court determines that the matter should be determined in a civil
action, but shall instead transfer the matter to the general civil
calendar of the superior court. The court need not abate a proceeding
for relief pursuant to this article if the court determines that the
civil action was filed for the purpose of delay.
   (c) The death of the elder or dependent adult does not cause the
court to lose jurisdiction of a claim for relief for abuse of that
elder or dependent adult.
   (d) (1) Subject to paragraph (2) and subdivision (e), after the
death of the elder or dependent adult, the right to commence or
maintain an action shall pass to the personal representative of the
decedent. If there is no personal representative, the right to
commence or maintain an action shall pass to any of the following, if
the requirements of Section 377.32 of the Code of Civil Procedure
are met:
   (A) An intestate heir whose interest is affected by the action.
   (B) The decedent's successor in interest, as defined in Section
377.11 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
   (C) An interested person, as defined in Section 48 of the Probate
Code, as limited in this subparagraph. As used in this subparagraph,
"an interested person" does not include a creditor or a person who
has a claim against the estate and who is not an heir or beneficiary
of the decedent's estate.
   (2) If the personal representative refuses to commence or maintain
an action or if the personal representative's family or an
affiliate, as those terms are defined in subdivision (c) of Section
1064 of the Probate Code, is alleged to have committed abuse of the
elder or dependent adult, the persons described in subparagraphs (A),
(B), and (C) of paragraph (1) shall have standing to commence or
maintain an action for elder abuse. This paragraph does not require
the court to resolve the merits of an elder abuse action for purposes
of finding that a plaintiff who meets the qualifications of
subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (1) has standing to
commence or maintain such an action.
   (e) If two or more  persons   individuals
 who are either described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) or a personal representative claim
to have standing to commence or maintain an action for elder abuse,
upon petition or motion, the court in which the action or proceeding
is pending, may make any order concerning the parties that is
appropriate to ensure the proper administration of justice in the
case pursuant to Section 377.33 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
   (f) This section does not affect the applicable statute of
limitations for commencing an action for relief for abuse of an
elderly or dependent adult.