Legislation Alert

Supported decision-making as an alternative to the probate conservatorship system. Read more

Senate Bill 1005 imposes protective measures that safeguard the sale of a conservatee’s former or current personal residence in a partition action. Read more

Senate Bill 1338, passed in 2022, and effective January 1, 2023, known as the CARE Act, creates a court process for the creation of a Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) plan for an individual experiencing a severe mental illness with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or certain other psychotic disorders.  Read more

By Kimberly R. McGheeBlack & McGheewww.kblack.com Headnote:  Designation of Health Care Decisionmakers and Surrogates Summary:  Assembly Bill 2338, passed in 2022, and effective January 1, 2023, confirms the order of priority for health care decisionmakers and authorizes a health care provider or designee of a health care facility caring for the patient to choose a health care decisionmaker for a patient who lacks capacity and has no legally authorized decisionmaker.   Assembly Bill 2338 added a new section 4712 to… Read more

Senate Bill 1024, passed in 2022, and effective January 1, 2023, creates a procedure to petition the California court for the appointment of a professional fiduciary practice administrator to act as a temporary professional fiduciary when a professional fiduciary either becomes incapacitated or dies and a vacancy exists. Read more

Effective January 1, 2023, new Probate Code section 15304, subdivision (c), clarifies that a trustee’s discretionary power to reimburse the settlor of a “grantor trust” for income taxes paid on behalf of the trust does not create a beneficial interest that would allow the settlor’s creditors to access trust assets to satisfy the settlor’s debts.   Read more

Assembly Bill No. 1745, which passed in June 2022, amends Section 16061.8 of the California Probate Code to specify that the 120-day limitation period, in which a person may bring an action to contest a trust (upon receiving notice under Section 16061.7), only applies when a revocable trust becomes irrevocable because of the death of a settlor of the trust.  Read more

Assembly Bill 1243, passed in 2021, takes effect on January 1, 2023.  The bill expands Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.03, which allows California courts to issue restraining orders to protect elder and dependent adults from abuse.  Read more

Probate Code section 890, enacted in 2019 by AB 473, requires the Judicial Council to adjust the dollar amounts to qualify for the various small estate procedures under Division 8 of the Probate Code (Probate Code sections 13000 et seq.) based on changes to the CPI for “All Urban Consumers” published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Read more

AB 1194 is a comprehensive bill that makes several notable changes to conservatorship and guardianship law. It is effective as of January 1, 2022. Read more