BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                             SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
                             Senator Noreen Evans, Chair
                              2013-2014 Regular Session


          AB 1339 (Maienschein)
          As Amended June 10, 2013
          Hearing Date: June 18, 2013
          Fiscal: No
          Urgency: No
          TMW


                                        SUBJECT
                                           
                Professional Fiduciaries:  Guardians and Conservators

                                      DESCRIPTION  

          This bill would require a professional fiduciary or other  
          person, who petitions the court for appointment of the  
          professional fiduciary to act as a guardian or conservator, to  
          provide an hourly fee schedule with the petition for  
          appointment.  

          This bill would also require the professional fiduciary, upon  
          filing an inventory and appraisal, to provide an hourly fee  
          schedule or statement of his or her proposed compensation from  
          the estate.

          This bill would also establish requirements, as specified, for  
          the authorization of periodic payments from the estate to the  
          professional fiduciary for services rendered.

                                      BACKGROUND  

          In California, if an adult is unable to manage his or her  
          financial matters, a conservator of the estate may be appointed  
          by a court to manage the adult's (conservatee) financial  
          matters.  If the adult is unable to manage his or her medical  
          and personal decisions, a conservator of the person may be  
          appointed.  Similarly, a guardian of the estate or person may be  
          appointed for a minor child (ward). 

          A conservator or guardian is authorized to charge the  
          conservatee's or ward's estate for services rendered in  
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          connection with managing the conservatee's or ward's financial  
          or personal matters.  The conservator or guardian is required to  
          file a petition for fees for services rendered with the court.  

          A professional fiduciary is a person who provides  
          conservatorship or guardianship services for more than one  
          conservatee or ward to whom the person is not related.  In 2006,  
          in response to reports that individuals acting as professional  
          fiduciaries were abusing and taking advantage of elders and  
          dependent adults, SB 1550 (Figueroa, Ch. 491, Stats. 2006) was  
          enacted and established the Professional Fiduciaries Act (PFA).   
          The PFA provides a licensing and disciplinary scheme for  
          professional fiduciaries in order to protect conservatees and  
          wards.

          Recently, a Mercury News article exposed a problem with the  
          difficulty of conservatees and wards in challenging exorbitant  
          fee petitions submitted by professional fiduciaries, who may be  
          appointed by the court to act as the conservator or guardian of  
          the estate.  The article reported that "a six-month  
          investigation by this newspaper found a small group of [Santa  
          Clara] [C]ounty's court-appointed personal and estate managers  
          are handing out costly and questionable bills -- and charging  
          even more if they are challenged.  The troubling trend is  
          enriching these private professionals -- working as conservators  
          and trustees -- and their attorneys, with eye-popping rates that  
          threaten to force their vulnerable clients onto government  
          assistance to survive."  (de Sá, Santa Clara County's  
          court-appointed personal and estate managers are handing out  
          costly and questionable bills, Mercury News (June 30, 2012)  
           [as of June 9, 2013].)  Conservatees and wards,  
          under existing law, may be required to pay the litigation costs  
          of the conservator and guardian, but existing law does not  
          similarly allow a conservatee or ward to recover their  
          litigation costs, even if he or she is successful in challenging  
          the fee petition.

          This bill, sponsored by the Professional Fiduciary Association  
          of California, seeks to address this problem by requiring a  
          professional fiduciary to provide to the court and interested  
          persons an hourly rate schedule in connection with a petition to  
          appoint the professional fiduciary as conservator or guardian.   
          This bill would also require the professional fiduciary to  
          provide an hourly rate schedule when filing an inventory,  
                                                                      



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          appraisal, or petition for periodic payments.

                                CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
           
           1.Existing law  , the Professional Fiduciaries Act (PFA),  
            establishes a licensing and disciplinary scheme for a  
            professional fiduciary and defines "professional fiduciary" to  
            mean a person who acts as a conservator, guardian, trustee,  
            personal representative, agent under a durable power of  
            attorney for health care, or agent under a durable power of  
            attorney for finances, for two or more persons not related to  
            the professional fiduciary or to each other by blood,  
            adoption, marriage, or registered domestic partnership.  (Bus.  
            & Prof. Code Sec. 6500 et seq.)

             Existing law  prohibits a superior court from appointing a  
            person to carry out the duties of a professional fiduciary, or  
            permitting a person to continue those duties, unless he or  
            she:  (1) holds a valid, unexpired, unsuspended license as a  
            professional fiduciary under the PFA; (2) is exempt from the  
            definition of "professional fiduciary" under the PFA; or (3)  
            is exempt from the licensing requirements of the PFA.  (Prob.  
            Code Sec. 2340.)
             Existing law  authorizes a court to appoint a guardian of the  
            person, estate or both, taking into consideration the best  
            interest of the proposed ward.  (Prob. Code Sec. 1500 et seq.)
             
            Existing law  authorizes a relative or other person on behalf  
            of a minor child to petition the court for the appointment of  
            a guardian of the minor.  (Prob. Code Sec. 1510.)
           
            Existing law  authorizes a court to appoint a conservator to  
            act on behalf of a person who is unable to adequately provide  
            for his or her personal needs (a conservator of the person) or  
            incapable of managing his or her property or other financial  
            assets (a conservator of the estate).  (Prob. Code Sec. 1800  
            et seq.)
             
            Existing law  authorizes a proposed conservatee, or spouse,  
            domestic partner, relative, friend of the conservatee, public  
            administrator, or other interested person to petition the  
            court for the appointment of a conservator of the proposed  
            conservatee.  Existing law requires specified information to  
            be included in the petition.  (Prob. Code Secs. 1820, 1821.)
             
            Existing law  authorizes a court, upon a showing of good cause,  
                                                                      



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            to appoint a temporary conservator or guardian to serve  
            pending the appointment of a permanent conservator or  
            guardian.  Unless the court orders otherwise, existing law  
            provides the temporary conservator or guardian with only those  
            powers and duties that are necessary to provide for temporary  
            care of the conservatee or ward and to preserve and protect  
            the property of the conservatee or ward from loss or injury.   
            (Prob. Code Sec. 2250 et seq.) 
             
            Existing law  requires a professional fiduciary, who files a  
            petition to be appointed as the temporary or permanent  
            conservator of a person, to submit to the court a statement of  
            the professional fiduciary's registration or license  
            information and a statement explaining who engaged the  
            professional fiduciary or how the professional fiduciary was  
            engaged to file the petition for appointment as the temporary  
            or permanent conservator and what prior relationship the  
            professional fiduciary had with the proposed conservatee or  
            the proposed conservatee's family or friends, unless that  
            information is included in a petition for appointment for a  
            temporary or general conservator filed at the same time by the  
            professional fiduciary.  (Prob. Code Secs. 1821(c), 2250(c).)

             This bill  would require a petitioner or professional fiduciary  
            who petitions the court for appointment of the professional  
            fiduciary as a guardian or conservator of a ward's or  
            conservatee's estate to include in the petition the  
            professional fiduciary's proposed hourly fee schedule or other  
            statement of his or her proposed compensation from the estate  
            for services performed.

             This bill  would provide that the professional fiduciary's  
            provision of a proposed hourly fee schedule or another  
            statement of his or her compensation would not preclude a  
            court from later reducing the professional fiduciary's fees or  
            other compensation.

             This bill  would extend the existing requirement of a  
            professional fiduciary who petitions to become a permanent  
            conservator to require a professional fiduciary who petitions  
            to become a permanent guardian to include in the petition a  
            statement of the professional fiduciary's license information  
            and a statement explaining who engaged the professional  
            fiduciary or how the professional fiduciary was engaged to  
            file the petition for appointment of a guardian or to agree to  
            accept the appointment as guardian and what prior relationship  
                                                                      



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            the professional fiduciary had with the proposed ward or the  
            proposed ward's family or friends.
           
          2.Existing law  requires the conservator or guardian to file with  
            the court and mail to the conservatee or ward, within 90 days  
            of appointment, or as provided, an inventory and appraisal of  
            the estate.  (Prob. Code Sec. 2610.)
             
            This bill  would require a guardian or conservator who is a  
            professional fiduciary to file, concurrently with the  
            inventory and appraisal, a proposed hourly fee schedule or  
            another statement of his or her proposed compensation from the  
            ward's or conservatee's estate for services performed as the  
            guardian or conservator.

             This bill  would provide that the filing of a proposed hourly  
            fee schedule or another statement of the guardian's or  
            conservator's compensation would not preclude a court from  
            later reducing the professional fiduciary's fees or his or her  
            attorney's fees or other compensation.

           3.Existing law  provides that at any time after the filing of the  
            inventory and appraisal, but not before the expiration of 90  
            days from the issuance of letters or any other period of time  
            as the court for good cause orders, the conservator or  
            guardian may petition the court for an order fixing and  
            allowing compensation for services rendered to that point by  
            the conservator, guardian, or the attorney for the conservator  
            or guardian.  (Prob. Code Secs. 2640, 2641.)

             Existing law  permits the court to authorize periodic payments  
            to a guardian, conservator, or the attorney for the guardian  
            or conservator.  (Prob. Code Sec. 2643(a).)

             Existing law  provides that the petition requesting periodic  
            payment must describe the services to be rendered and the  
            reason why authority to make periodic payments is requested.   
            In fixing the amount of the periodic payment, the court is  
            required to take into account the services to be rendered on a  
            periodic basis and the reasonable value of such services.   
            (Prob. Code Sec. 2643(c).)

             Existing law provides that periodic payments are subject to  
            review by the court at the next accounting to determine that  
            the services were actually rendered and that the amount paid  
            was not unreasonable.  The court is required to make an  
                                                                      



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            appropriate order if the court determines that the amount paid  
            was either excessive or inadequate in view of the services  
            actually rendered.  (Prob. Code Sec. 2643(c).)

             This bill  would clarify the above provisions and specify that  
            if the guardian or conservator is a professional fiduciary,  
            the court may authorize periodic payments to the professional  
            fiduciary only if he or she has filed a proposed hourly fee  
            schedule or another statement of his or her proposed  
            compensation from the ward's or conservatee's estate for  
            services performed as a guardian or conservator, and only  
            after the court has addressed any objections filed.

             This bill  would require, in the petition for periodic  
            payments, the professional fiduciary to describe the services  
            to be rendered on a periodic basis, provide the reason why  
            authority to make periodic payments is requested, and provide  
            a good faith estimate of the fees to be charged by the  
            professional fiduciary from the date the petition is filed up  
            to, and including, the date of the next succeeding account or,  
            if the next succeeding account is due in less than one year, a  
            good faith estimate of the fees to be charged by the  
            professional fiduciary from the date the petition is filed  
            through the next succeeding 12 months. 

             This bill  would require, prior to ordering periodic payments  
            or fixing the amount of the periodic payment, the court to  
            determine whether making periodic payments is in the best  
            interest of the ward or conservatee, taking into consideration  
            the needs of the ward or conservatee and the need to preserve  
            and protect the estate.  If the court determines that making  
            periodic payments is not in the best interest of the ward or  
            conservatee, this bill would require the court to deny the  
            petition to authorize periodic payments.  If the court  
            determines that making periodic payments is in the best  
            interest of the ward or conservatee, this bill would require  
            the court to fix the amount of the periodic payment.  In  
            fixing the amount of the periodic payment, this bill would  
            require the court to take into account the services to be  
            rendered on a periodic basis and the reasonable value of those  
            services.

             This bill  would require a notice of the hearing on the  
            petition to be served with a notice of how to file an  
            objection to the petition, and would require both of these  
            notices to be provided to the court investigator. 
                                                                      



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             This bill  would authorize interested persons to file with the  
            court a written objection to the authorization of periodic  
            payments and require the court clerk to set any objections for  
            a hearing no fewer than 15 days after the date the objections  
            are filed.

             This bill  would provide that if an objection is filed, the  
            guardian or conservator has the burden of establishing the  
            necessity for and amount, if any, of periodic payments.

             This bill  would authorize the guardian or conservator of the  
            estate to make the periodic payments authorized by the order  
            only if the services described in the petition are actually  
            rendered. 

             This bill  would require judicial review of the payments made  
            pursuant to the order upon the next succeeding account of the  
            guardian or conservator of the estate to determine that the  
            services were actually rendered and that the amount paid on  
            account was reasonable and in the best interest of the ward or  
            conservatee, taking into consideration the needs of the ward  
            or conservatee and the need to preserve and protect the  
            estate. 

             This bill  would require the court to make an appropriate order  
            reducing the guardian or conservator's compensation if the  
            court determines that the amount paid on account was either  
            unreasonable or not in the best interest of the ward or  
            conservatee in view of the services actually rendered.

             This bill  would require the authorization for periodic  
            payments to terminate as of the due date of the next  
            succeeding account. 

             This bill  would provide that a guardian or conservator would  
            not be precluded from filing a subsequent petition to receive  
            periodic payments.

                                        COMMENT
           
          1.  Stated need for the bill  
          
          The author writes:
            
            Currently, no fee schedule or statement of the conservator  
                                                                      



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            compensation is required to be submitted to the court prior to  
            appointment as a conservator.  This, at times, can lead to  
            "sticker shock" when a conservatee's estate does not learn of  
            the fees until many months after the appointment of a  
            professional conservator.  Understandably, an invoice can seem  
            unreasonably high when a significant span of time has passed  
            before a bill is received.

            AB 1339 would require that when a petition to appoint a  
            conservator or a temporary conservator is filed, and the  
            petitioner is a professional fiduciary, the petition also  
            include the petitioner's proposed hourly fee schedule.  

            AB 1339 also allows for the filing of petitions for periodic  
            payments for the services rendered by appointed conservators  
            who are licensed professional fiduciaries.  Periodic payments  
            would be subject to objections and would require review by the  
            court prior to approval.  In the case of an objection, the  
            burden of establishing the necessity for periodic payments  
            would fall on the conservator.  These periodic payments could  
            ease the financial impact on an estate that would otherwise be  
            forced to make a one-time payment for all services already  
            provided over many months, potentially up to a year and a  
            half.

            In addition, AB 1339 would require an estimate of the  
            petitioner's proposed compensation from the estate for the  
            first year, for services to be performed when requesting  
            periodic payments.  This estimate would be submitted  
            concurrently with the completion of an inventory and appraisal  
            of the estate.  This additional requirement would be submitted  
            by a conservator who is a licensed fiduciary, within 90 days  
            of the appointment.

            These new requirements would add transparency and  
            accountability regarding the fee schedule, estimate, and  
            proposed compensation when the courts appoint conservators who  
            are licensed professional fiduciaries.  

          2.  Requiring information regarding professional fiduciary billing  
            rates  

          This bill would require a professional fiduciary to submit  
          hourly billing information when petitioning to be appointed as a  
          conservator or guardian.  Existing law does not require the  
          professional fiduciary to provide this information before  
                                                                      



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          billing the conservatee's or ward's estate.
          
          A recent Mercury News article revealed problems with the lack of  
          a requirement for a professional fiduciary to provide hourly  
          billing information prior to being appointed as a conservator or  
          guardian:  excessive fees may be billed to the conservatee's or  
          ward's estate which the conservatee or ward may spend  
          considerable money to challenge.  The article discovered that  
          "[i]n one case reviewed by this newspaper, a conservator charged  
          a Belmont dementia patient $1,062 to help celebrate her  
          birthday.  Another billed an incapacitated Sunnyvale couple  
          $26,946, including attorneys' fees, for the 12 days she spent  
          sorting through mail and orchestrating a cleanup of their  
          roach-infested home. . . .  Now, court investigators and some  
          attorneys . . . are fighting back against these excesses,  
          triggering a series of legal confrontations.  They're also  
          taking aim at troubling local practices and state law that they  
          say have rigged the system against the very people it's supposed  
          to protect.  Under California law, challenging an excessive bill  
          presents an astounding damned-if-you-do dilemma:  A private  
          estate manager can bill the cost to defend his charges right  
          back to the person who protested the bill in the first place."   
          (de Sá, Santa Clara County's court-appointed personal and estate  
          managers are handing out costly and questionable bills, Mercury  
          News (June 30, 2012)  
           [as of June 9, 2013].)  

          This bill seeks to provide conservatees, wards, and other  
          interested parties with the professional fiduciary's billing  
          information prior to any services being rendered.  Arguably,  
          knowing the proposed fees that may be charged to the estate  
          better equips the conservatees, wards, and courts with  
          information in order to decide whether the professional  
          fiduciary's fees are excessive or appropriate.  This bill would  
          allow conservatees and wards, and their families, to know in  
          advance the potential costs of the professional fiduciary's  
          services rather than having to challenge the fees after the  
          professional fiduciary has rendered services.  In this way,  
          conservatees and wards would be better protected against  
          unreasonable charges being billed against their estates.  

          The Trusts and Estates Section of the State Bar of California  
          raised the concern that a change in the professional fiduciary's  
          rates or fee schedules may occur during the guardianship or  
          conservatorship, which may last for many years, even decades,  
                                                                      



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          but the bill does not provide for a procedure to notify the  
          court and interested parties of changes to the rates or fee  
          schedules.  To address this concern, the author has requested to  
          take the following amendments in Committee:

             Author's amendments  :

             1.   On page 12, in line 5, remove and replace "Section" with  
               "Sections"
             2.   On page 12, in line 5, remove and replace "is" with "and  
               2614.8"
             3.   On page 12, between lines 19 and 20, insert:

               2614.8(a) At any time on or after one year from the  
               submission of an hourly fee schedule or another statement  
               of proposed compensation under this section or under  
               Section 1510, 1821, 2250 or 2614.7, a guardian or  
               conservator who is a professional fiduciary may submit a  
               new proposed hourly fee schedule or another statement of  
                                       his or her proposed compensation from the estate of the  
               proposed ward or proposed conservatee.
               (b) (1) Notice of how to file an objection to the new  
               proposed hourly fee schedule or another statement of  
               proposed compensation shall be given for the period and in  
               the manner provided in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section  
               1460) of Part 1.
               (2)  The notices required by paragraph (1) shall be made to  
               the court investigator, if appointed, for the period and in  
               the manner provided in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section  
               1460) of Part 1.
               (c) (1)  Any person entitled to notice under paragraph (1)  
               of subdivision (b) may file with the court a written  
               objection to the new proposed hourly fee schedule or  
               another statement of proposed compensation.  The court  
               clerk shall set any objections for a hearing no fewer than  
               15 days after the date the objections are filed.
               (2) If an objection is filed pursuant to paragraph (1), the  
               guardian or conservator shall have the burden of  
               establishing the need for the new proposed hourly fee  
               schedule or another statement of proposed compensation.

          3.     Providing additional information relating to inventories  
            and appraisals
           
          Existing law requires a conservator or guardian to file with the  
          court and mail to the conservatee or ward, within 90 days of  
                                                                      



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          appointment, or as provided, an inventory and appraisal of the  
          estate, which, depending upon the estate, may require intensive  
          organization and management.  The conservator or guardian is  
          then allowed to petition the court to be paid from the estate  
          for services rendered in connection with managing the estate.

          This bill would require, when filing the inventory and  
          appraisal, the professional fiduciary, acting as conservator or  
          guardian, to file with the court a proposed hourly fee schedule  
          or another statement of his or her proposed compensation from  
          the estate.  As discussed above, providing the conservatee or  
          ward with information of the potential costs to the estate prior  
          to services being rendered provides better transparency in order  
          to protect the conservatee or ward.  Furthermore, this  
          requirement would provide improved accountability of the  
          professional fiduciary so that the estate is not charged  
          excessive, duplicative, or unwarranted amounts for the  
          professional fiduciary's services.  This bill would also provide  
          that, although the professional fiduciary must submit a proposed  
          fee schedule, the filing of the fee schedule would not preclude  
          the court from later reducing the professional fiduciary's or  
          his or her attorney's fees or other compensation associated with  
          services provided to the estate.  This provision would provide  
          clarity that courts do have the ability to modify the fees  
          charged to the estate in order to better protect the estate  
          assets.
           
           4.     Enhanced procedural requirements regarding periodic  
            payments
           
          Existing law authorizes a court to order periodic payments to be  
          paid to a conservator, guardian, and his or her attorney.   
          Existing law requires a petition for periodic payments to  
          describe the services to be rendered on a period basis and why  
          authority to make the payments is requested.  A notice of  
          hearing on the petition must be served.  The court, in fixing  
          the amount of the periodic payment, must take into account the  
          services to be rendered and the reasonable value of the  
          services.  The guardian or conservator can only make authorized  
          payments if the services are actually rendered, and these  
          payments are subject to judicial review.  The court is required  
          to make an appropriate order if the court determines that the  
          amount paid was either excessive or inadequate in view of the  
          services actually rendered.

          This bill would establish a separate provision for periodic  
                                                                      



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          payments requested to be made by a professional fiduciary acting  
          as a conservator or conservatee.  First, the person to be paid  
          (the guardian, conservator, or his or her attorney) could only  
          receive payment for services rendered if he or she has filed a  
          proposed hourly fee schedule or other statement of his or her  
          proposed compensation from the estate.  Second, as in existing  
          law, the petition for periodic payments must describe the  
          services to be rendered and the reason why authority to make the  
          payments is required.  However, unlike existing law, the  
          petition must also include a good faith estimate of the fees to  
          be charged by the professional fiduciary from the date the  
          petition is filed to the date of the next succeeding account.

          Third, the court must determine whether making the requested  
          payments is in the best interest of the conservatee or ward,  
          taking into account the needs of the ward or conservatee and the  
          need to preserve and protect the estate.  If the court  
          determines the payments are not in the best interests of the  
          ward or conservatee, the court must deny the petition.  If the  
          court determines that making the payments is appropriate, the  
          court must fix the amount of the periodic payment, taking into  
          account the services to be rendered on a periodic basis and the  
          reasonable value of those services.

          Fourth, the petitioner must provide to the conservatee or ward a  
          notice of the hearing and notice of how to file an objection to  
          the petition, which must also be given to the court  
          investigator.  This bill would provide that any person entitled  
          to notice may file a written objection to the petition, and the  
          court clerk must set a hearing on the objections.  If an  
          objection is filed, this bill would require the professional  
          fiduciary to establish the necessity for and amount of the  
          periodic payments requested.

          Fifth, as in existing law, the payments may only be made after  
          the services are actually rendered, and the payments are subject  
          to judicial review.  However, unlike existing law, this bill  
          would also require the court, when reviewing the payments, to  
          determine whether the payments were reasonable and in the best  
          interests of the ward or conservatee.  This bill would also  
          authorize the court to reduce the professional fiduciary's  
          compensation if the court determines that the amounts paid were  
          unreasonable or not in the best interest of the ward or  
          conservatee in view of the services actually rendered.

          The enhanced procedures this bill would establish for petitions  
                                                                      



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          for periodic payments would increase the professional  
          fiduciary's accountability and provide better judicial oversight  
          in order to protect the estate of the ward or conservatee.   
          Furthermore, this bill would provide a better mechanism for  
          conservatees and wards to gain knowledge of excessive fees and  
          unreasonable services so that the conservatee or ward can  
          protect his or her estate during the management of the estate,  
          as opposed to discovering impropriety after the estate has been  
          drained.

          In response to concern raised regarding the court's ability,  
          when appropriate, to terminate periodic payments prior to the  
          filing deadline of the next account, the author has requested to  
          take the following amendment in Committee:

             Author's amendment  :

             1.   On page 14, in line 37, strike "as of" and insert "on a  
               date determined by the court but not later than"

          5.  Extending licensing and relationship to conservatee or ward  
            information requirement  

          Existing law requires a professional fiduciary, who petitions  
          the court to be appointed as a temporary or permanent  
          conservator or temporary guardian, to provide the professional  
          fiduciary's licensing information as well as a statement  
          regarding the professional fiduciary's relationship, if any, to  
          the conservatee, ward, or family members of the conservatee or  
          ward.  This bill would extend this requirement to a professional  
          fiduciary who petitions a court to be appointed as a permanent  
          guardian.   

          6.  Clarifying petitioner and professional fiduciary in petitions  

          Recent amendments to this bill clarify that any time a  
          professional fiduciary may be appointed as the conservator or  
          guardian, regardless of whether the professional fiduciary is  
          the petitioner or another person who seeks to have the  
          professional fiduciary appointed by the court, the licensing,  
          relationship, and hourly billing information must be provided to  
          the court.  

          Additionally, the recent amendments make a similar clarifying  
          change for a professional fiduciary filing an inventory or  
          appraisal for which the professional fiduciary, in his or her  
                                                                      



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          capacity as the conservator or guardian, may request  
          compensation for his or her services rendered.


           Support  :  None Known

           Opposition  :  None Known

                                        HISTORY
          
           Source  :  Professional Fiduciary Association of California

           Related Pending Legislation  :  None Known

           Prior Legislation  :

          SB 1716 (Bowen, Ch. 492, Stats. 2006) authorized court action on  
          informal reports of abuse and neglect from concerned friends or  
          family members; gave the court the ability to order a review of  
          a conservatorship at any time; and required that court  
          investigators more fully examine conservatees.

          SB 1550 (Figueroa, Ch. 491, Stats. 2006) See Background.

          SB 1116 (Scott, Ch. 490, Stats. 2006) remedied some of the  
          problems with the state's conservatorship system and established  
          a special procedure for the sale of a conservatee's primary  
          residence.

          AB 1363 (Jones, Ch. 493, Stats. 2006), among other things,  
          required an enhanced review of conservators and judicial  
          responsibility, along with uniform standards of conduct required  
          by conservators.

           Prior Vote  :

          Assembly Committee on Judiciary (Ayes 10, Noes 0)
          Assembly Floor (Ayes 75, Noes 0)

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