CONSERVATORSHIPS ATTORNEY LOS ANGELES

A conservatorship attorney at law obtains a Los Angeles California Conservatorship court order when you need to legally conserve and manage a person’s life, assets and finances and get conservatorship letters from the court.  Conservatorships are the Los Angeles court ‘s version of a supervised power of attorney with some additional protections in place for the conservatee in Los Angeles County.   “When you think of a conservatorship in California, think of the process as the legal life supervision over another person.” Connect with us in Los Angeles.

Two Quick Questions to answer to determine if you should call a conservatorship attorney in Los Angeles Ca:

Do you have a family member or a friend who is losing competency or has lost capacity and who needs help or protection for his personal or medical care?   Has your friend or a family member been subject to fraud, or are people trying to take advantage of him or her by influence?  Conservatorships require a competency declaration from an expert, usually a medical doctor which has to be presented to the court.

If the answer is yes to any of the above conservatorships qualifying questions, a knowledgeable conservatorship attorney at our law office in Los Angeles can help you determine if a conservatorship is in the best suited for your loved one, or conservatorship services with assist you to protect your loved one’s person and estate.

Focusing on What type of Conservatorship is Needed

With a Limited Conservatorship, many of the rights of the person are kept.  However, when a general conservatorship, sometimes called a permanent conservatorship is put in place, in order for the court to protect the disabled person, the court can take away the powers of the proposed conservatee, to essentially protect him from himself.  These can mean that the conservatee can lose the ability to write checks, pay bills, and make other financial decisions.   In that same proceeding, the Conservator (supervisor) is given the rights to pay bills, write checks, make investments, and other Conservator duties and powers.  

What document do I need to manage the financial affairs of my aging parent, and how does a conservatorship work?

If your parent did not put a plan in place to manage his or her estate, or did not sign a valid durable power of attorney when he or she was well, then you will need to go the route of a conservatorship.

When a power of attorney does not exist, cannot be obtained, or is invalid, in a California Conservatorship, we obtain a court order and letters from the court for our client that names the client as the conservator or decision-maker.  When your conservatorship lawyer tells you that you are appointed as the conservator, you will be given court papers and documents called Letters of Conservatorship.  This is a court form and the document which gives the conservator the right and duty to act for someone else.  With Letters of Conservatorship, you as a conservator of the estate, can pay bills and collect the income and assets of the disabled loved one. 

How can you suspend or revoke someone’s power of attorney when there is abuse?

Sometimes, even when there are powers of attorney in place, conservatorships come into play when a power of attorney has been used to financially abuse an elderly person or a disabled individual. The procedure to suspend or revoke a power of attorney is very common in conservatorships. California is unfortunately inundated with cases involving abuse of power of attorney documents. Ask us how you can remove an agent under a power of attorney.

There are two methods to revoke or remove an agent from a power of attorney:

1. When the principal is well and competent, the principal may revoke a power of attorney and thereby remove an agent.
2. When the principal is not competent, the procedure to revoke, suspend or remove an agent with a power of attorney is done in Court in Conservatorships or in Power of Attorney court proceedings.

Possession of a Car by a Disabled Person and Driving issues in Conservatorships in Los Angeles

If you are concerned about your parent or relative driving a car, the court can put in place that the conservatee shall not be in direct possession of his or her automobile, and a doctor can certify that the conservatee is not fit to drive.   When you use the conservatorship attorney at Sirkin Law Group, our attorneys can help you determine what is in the best interest of your family member and put conservatorship protections in place, if your parent or loved one poses a risk to himself or herself in driving. Discussing your case with an experienced conservatorship lawyer can help with the success of your case.

Do I have choices or any alternatives to a conservatorship in California?

Options and alternatives to conservatorships are the first course of an effective and free conservatorship evaluation during our consultation.  Our lawyers go through the conservatorship alternatives and help you find the most suitable way of helping your parent in Los Angeles.   As part of our due diligence in conservatorships, we evaluate the least costly possible avenues and the least restrictive means first to comply with the standard of care in conservatorships.

There are many choices to explore and our investigating conservatorship attorney evaluates the cost-expense ratios, pros and cons of conservatorship, as well as suitable other ways to manage the estate and personal affairs of the person before we petition for conservatorship in California.    If we do determine that the conservatorship is the best way to protect your family member, then we have to decide if a conservator of person or conservatorship of the estate, or both are needed.

Get a Complimentary Conservatorship Evaluation at our Free Consultation with our conservatorship attorney.

When you call our conservatorship lawyer, you will get a free consultation for conservatorships.  Call 818.340.4479 to arrange the best time for you.

Do you need advice from an expert and experienced conservatorship attorney who is knowledgeable about Los Angeles Conservatorship?  A California conservatorship advisor who handles a conservatorship on behalf of the conservator or a family member sees some of the most emotional financial elder abuse and conservatorship lawsuits in the Los Angeles Superior court called the Probate Court. 

Many years ago, Conservatorships were called guardianships in California.   Now, the difference between a conservatorship and a guardianship is just the age of the incompetent, affected or disabled person.  California law allows for the creation of a legal conservatorship when someone lacks capacity, becomes incompetent, or when he or she needs protection, either in the health or personal area of life, or when finances are a concern.  There are voluntary conservatorships and involuntary conservatorships in California. More commonly, securing an elder’s finances and asset protection is the focus of most conservatorships in Los Angeles.

The caretaker adult (called a “Conservator”) is given the lawful authority and responsibility to care for another adult (called a “Conservatee”).   What powers or responsibilities are appropriate for a conservator?  Our expert conservatorship lawyer in Los Angeles can help with you obtain or get legal powers in a conservatorship and give you guidance about the duties of a conservator. 

If you have a parent or relative who has become a conservator, but who is not doing a good job and needs to be removed as a conservator, call us. Conservatorship attorney Los ángeles.

What we do: 

As leading conservatorship attorneys in Los Angeles, we file conservatorship petitions, file objections to conservatorships, or file oppositions when needed, and handle competing conservatorships in Los Angeles. We have administered millions of dollars in conservatorship assets over the course of our career of over 26 years.

How do you get a conservatorship?

To get a conservatorship, you must present the conservatorship court judge with relevant information about the disabled person. To find the best legal care in Los Angeles conservatorship, contact our experts in conservatorship.  Call our Sirkin Law Conservatorship lawyers in Los Angeles can assist you to obtain conservatorship powers and authority over your family members or friends in need of help. 

We handle all conservatorship matters from start to finish, and prepare your Report and Conservatorship Accounting Petition for the court.  Some firms handle only conservatorship administration, and some handle conservatorship litigation.  Our attorneys handle both Conservatorship administration and Conservatorship litigation in California. 

Our conservatorship attorney and paralegals handle filing of conservatorship petitions and objections to conservatorship in Los Angeles.  We can answer your conservatorship questions and have the answers you are seeking.  Look to us for help.

Types of Conservatorships Available Under California Law:

General Conservatorships in Los Angeles County can be three basic types:

1) Conservatorship of the person; 2) Conservatorship of the Estate; and 3) Conservatorship of person and estate.

There are several other types of Conservatorship matters also available such as LPS Conservatorships (mental health) and Developmentally Disabled Conservatorship (also known as a Limited Conservatorship).

Read the most common conservatorship questions and answers here.

WHO CAN BECOME A CONSERVATOR OR FILE FOR A CONSERVATORSHIP IN CALIFORNIA?

A spouse, domestic partner, child, relative, friend, neighbor, the public guardian, and any  professional fiduciary can become a conservator of person and estate in Los Angeles.

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO WHEN THERE IS A CONSERVATORSHIP DISPUTE ABOUT WHO BECOMES A CONSERVATOR?

You must act quickly if there is a conservatorship filed and you disagree with the appointment of the person who wants to become a conservator.  Waiting too long can eliminate your right to have a say in the conservatorship.   Judges set deadlines for filing of objections in conservatorship cases.  If you miss that deadline, you will waive your rights to object.

How to Get Conservatorships in Los Angeles California?

We first collect the relevant data and facts regarding the disabled person.  We meet with you, represent you or a person nominated by you, prepare a petition for appointment of a conservator of person or estate of your loved one.   Complete our conservatorship intake form and return it to us by email.  We can then get your case evaluated very quickly.

How to Contest a Conservatorship in California?

You must file an objection and a competing conservatorship petition to contest another person’s petition for conservatorship.  If there are several persons who have filed competing petitions for conservatorship requesting that each becomes the conservator, the court will decide who shall become the conservator.  Preference rules exist for making such a determination. Contested Conservatorship proceedings can take long and may result in a trial.   Estate planning can be a conservatorship alternative in many cases and we can show you how to avoid a conservatorship.

A conservatorship must continue until the court orders the conservator relieved from his or her duties, or terminates the conservatorship. This can happen if the conservatee dies; if the estate is used up; if the conservatee regains his or her capacity; or if the conservator becomes unable or unwilling to act. In the last situation, the court will assign a successor conservator.

Conservatorships are time-consuming and expensive. They should only be used when absolutely necessary.  Estate Planning can sometimes avoid a conservatorship.  If you would like to know the cost of conservatorships in California send us an email referencing: How much does a conservatorship cost in California?

Candidates for conservatorships are usually disabled.  Some conservatees may have Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, parkinsons, brain injuries, mental retardation, alcoholism, substance abuse, autism, or other diseases.   Once a conservator is appointed, the Conservator can ask the Court for permission to do Medi-Cal planning for the Conservatee including substituted judgment petitions to protect the assets from Medi-Cal, and to purchase or sell property of the Conservatee.   Learn how to avoid a conservatorship and the benefits of estate planning by preplanning and calling us.

GUARDIANSHIP v. CONSERVATORSHIPS

Conservatorships are similar to Guardianships.  Conservatorships are protective court procedures for adults in California.  Guardianships protect minors in California. 

Our conservatorship law firm can help represent you in court to have a conservator appointed or in the contest of appointment of a conservator in Conservatorship Court in Los Angeles.

LAWYERS PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF FAMILY MEMBERS, ELDERLY AND DISABLED IN CONSERVATORSHIP CASES IN LOS ANGELES

Los Angeles Conservatorship proceedings and actions of conservators are court-supervised.  Bond companies require that you use a conservatorship attorney when you file for a conservatorship.

Family members are given notice of the proceeding and financial records of the conservatee are summarized in an accounting filed with the court.

When a Conservatee needs dementia or psychiatric medications, the Court reviews a doctor’s declaration regarding the need for the medication.    The ability of the Conservator to administer dementia medication depends on the court’s approval of administering such medication.

When a Conservator wants to sell real property or purchase real property, the court must give prior permission for such a sale transaction, especially when it involves moving the Conservatee from his or her home.  Read more about How to Sell Real Property or Real Estate of Conservatorship Estate.

A Court Appointed Attorney (CAC) is sometimes appointed for the Conservatee.  The role of this type of attorney is to advocate the wishes of the proposed conservatee when there is litigation, or when rights of the Conservatee are affected.  Mina Sirkin has been appointed as a Court Appointed Attorney – (formerly called Probate Volunteer Panel member) since 1992.   She has handled hundreds of conservatorship trials and thousands of conservatorships since then.

Conservatorship Attorney Is an Advisor About the California Conservatorship Law and Process, and Who Helps you Protect your Elder Parent or Family Members. Selecting a trusted conservator protects your parent and your disabled loved ones.

Conservatorship proceedings usually start when a person is so incapacitated that he or she cannot manage his/her own affairs.  A conservator arranges housing, food, medication, plans a budget, arranges doctor’s appointments, obtains legal documents, and generally protects the conservatee.

A conservatorship proceeding begins with a conservatorship petition filed with the court, followed by an investigation by a court investigator and a court hearing. Many factors can affect a conservatorship. For example, if the conservatee objects to the conservator’s appointment, he or she may object and the court will assign a CAC counsel for the conservatee for that purpose.

A conservator of the estate is required to provide accountings that give details of the conservatee’s assets, income and expenses, showing exactly how the conservatee’s money was spent. Additionally, the court will require that the conservator of the estate to post a bond. The conservator is paid by the conservatee’s estate and the court supervises the reasonableness of the payments to the conservator.

California Conservatorship (also called conservatorships) can get complicated when there are disputes about the conservatorship but can be fairly smooth when they are uncontested.   Mina Sirkin’s experience is in Los Angeles County Conservatorship, giving her the advantage in that court and expertise in representing conservators and individuals in court in emergency and temporary conservatorships.

Family problems are common in conservatorship cases when a parent becomes incompetent. Conservatorship disputes are called contested conservatorships or conservatorship contests. They can get resolved in mediation, by stipulation or at a trial. Contested Conservatorship and conservatorship litigation can involve any of the following situations:

1. Objections to the initial appointment of a particular person as a conservator.

2. Removal of an existing Conservator for cause.

3. Actions requesting the appointment of a successor conservator to which others object.

4. Disputes involving contested conservatorship accountings.

5. Determination of undue influence on an elderly or disabled person.

6. Objections to Proposed Actions by Conservator including substituted judgment actions and trusts.

7. Family mediations in determining the best conservator.

8. Requests to terminate a conservatorship or modify powers in a conservatorship.

9. Determination of rights to assets and disputes relating to ownership and title.

10. Conservatorship trial.  Call our conservatorship trial attorney.

SIRKINLAW.com® Expert Conservatorship Attorney Los Angeles;  Mina Sirkin is a Specialist conservatorship attorney handling complex Conservatorship cases in Los Angeles.

For all Conservatorships in Los Angeles, call our attorney, Mina Sirkin. Do you have Conservatorship questions for our conservatorship lawyer or attorney?  We have attorneys with conservatorship answers suitable for your individual case when you are looking to become a conservator or objecting to a conservator. LosAngelesConservatorship.net:  Call us for a Free Conservatorship Consultation in Los Angeles County at 818-340-4479 for more information on litigated conservatorship and contested conservatorship and including conservatorship administration matters.  Los Angeles Conservatorship, Los Angeles, Ca.

LOS ANGELES CONSERVATORSHIP OFFICE LOCATIONS

E-Mail: [email protected]

Call: 818.340.4479 or 800.300.9977

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On occasion, our probate attorney may receive a call from a client asking if a trustee can be changed or removed in Los Angeles. Here are some of the factors that we evaluate before we change or remove a trustee.

California Probate Code 15642  

“(a) A trustee may be removed in accordance with the trust instrument, by the court on its own motion, or on the petition of a settlor, cotrustee, or beneficiary under Section 17200.

(b) The grounds for removal of a trustee by the court include the following:

Is the change for good cause? Your first question should be whether or not the grounds for removal or change of a trustee exist. California Probate Code provides the following grounds for a change or removal of a trustee and you must answer the following questions first:

1. Has the trustee has committed a breach of the trust?
2. Is the trustee insolvent or otherwise unfit to administer the trust?
3. Is there hostility or lack of cooperation among co-trustees which impairs the administration of the trust?
4. Has the trustee failed to act or declined to act?
5. Is the trustee’s compensation excessive?
6. Is the sole trustee a disqualified person under PC 21350?
7. Is the trustee is substantially unable to resist fraud or undue influence? When the trustee holds the power to revoke the trust, substantial inability to resist fraud or undue influence may not be proved solely by isolated incidents of negligence or improvidence.
8. For other good cause.

What does the trust say about removal of the trustee or a change to a different trustee?

It is very important to determine what the trust says about removal and replacement of the trustee. The trust may have specified reasons and methods for changing or removal of the trustee.

Is the prior named trustee incapacitated?

If the named trustee is unable to manage the assets of the trust, the issue of switching the trustee can be explored. Note that the law states that occasional or isolated negligence is not the standard for the removal.

Does the named trustee refuse to act?

What evidence do you have to show that the trustee has refused to act? This information comes in by testimony of individuals or by documentary evidence.

What remedies are available, if you cannot change the trustee?

If the removal or switching the trustee is too risky, you may want to explore a petition for instructions as a means to get the court to order the trustee to act in a particular way.

There are times when the court is not inclined to change the trustee, but may suspend the trustee for a temporary period and appoint a professional fiduciary to act as a temporary trustee or trustee ad litem pending a litigation between to other parties. Talk to us about how to appoint a private trustee in Los Aneles

What are the risks in changing or removing the existing trustee?

If you attempt to remove a trustee without good cause, you will not only incur your own attorney’s fees, but you may end up paying the attorney’s fees of the other side.

Call Mina Sirkin, trust attorney in Los Angeles to determine your rights to switch a trustee. Call 818.340.4479 . #90064

Trustee Removal Attorneys in Los Angeles, CA 90064

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Clients often ask probate attorneys how to evaluate the performance of a Los Angeles executor in a probate case. Depending on the sophistication of your executor, the Los Angeles Probate court may use different standards for evaluating the performance of an executor in a probate litigation case.

Standard of Care for Professional Fiduciaries who are Executors:

When a Professional Fiduciary acts as an executor, he or she is held to the standard of care for a licensed professional fiduciary. The actions of the professional fiduciary as a Los Angeles Executor then must measure up to the standard of care of other executors who are licensed to act as such in Los Angeles County.

Standard of Care of Non-Professional Executors:

If a family member acts as an executor, he or she is held to the standard of care by other non-professional executors. Meeting the duty of reasonable care is the standard for all executors, regardless of their license standard, by the duty moves up or down depending on the person who is performing it.

Common Themes in Standard of Care of an Executor:

Regardless of the license status of the executor, the duty of loyalty, duty to keep the assets separate from his own, the duty not to profit from the estate without prior court approval, and the duty to account to are all themes that run to all executors and administrators. Read the Duties and Liabilities Form very carefully when you are selected as an executor, and ask questions of your lawyer. Duties and responsibilities of an executor are defined by law, but also by practice.

Types of Executors in Los Angeles:

1. Non-professional executors;
2. Professional executors.

Each of the types of executors above may serve in specific situations. Professional executors can be attorneys, CPAs, and professional fiduciaries who can assist in Los Angeles County.

Hire the right professionals to help you comply with your executor responsibilities in Los Angeles. Call Mina Sirkin, Probate Attorney for assistance in managing your probate estate at 818.340.4479.

Los Angeles Executor in 90064, 90025 and 91367. #losangeles #executor

When it comes to getting your probate notes cleared, you need tools and strategies on how to clear notes, and to get things done in the Los Angeles Court. Do you need to clear your probate notes in Los Angeles? This article discusses how to get your probate notes and how to clear them. With over 29 years of experience, our probate attorneys look forward to meeting clients and helping our clients clear their probate notes in all areas near Los Angeles. The following information about Los Angeles Probate Notes can assist you in getting the information you need to handle your probate notes:

Tools to Get Probate Notes Cleared

1. You will need to know where your particular court’s probate notes are located. For example, the Stanley Mosk Los Angeles Probate Court’s Probate Notes are located here:
2. You will need to know your case number. You can’t even start to get the notes cleared unless you have the case number of your probate case at hand.
3. You will need a pen and paper.
4. You will need to determine if you can do this yourself or if you need an attorney to do this for you and appear in court for you.
5. You can use the self-help process by using selfhelpprobate.com and use their self help or attorney help in getting your probate notes cleared.
6. No matter which methor or strategy you ues to get probate notes prepared, you will need to present them to the court before they can get cleared. You can use one of the electronic services for pleading submission to get your documents to the probate court or you can use the court’s drop-off box. We recommend you use an electronic filing service. Go here to see a list of the electronic filing services here. If you uses selfhelprobate.com, they will assist you in the electronic filing.
7. You will need to know what a supplement looks like and will need a verfiication form.

Strategies to get probate notes cleared

Your initial reaction to probate notes may be to be frustrated with the Los Angeles Probate Court system. Don’t let that prevent you from developing the best strategies to get the probate notes in order. You need to know that inside the courthouse, there are probate attorneys and probate examiners whose job is to evaluate your case, your notes, and your supplements which answer the judge’s questions. One strategy you may use is to review the notes and look up the code sections relevant to the notes. These include the California Probate Code, Local Probate Rules as well as relevant case law. If the court asks you for points and authorities, your strategy will include a visit to the Los Angeles Law Library and ask their excellent reference librarians where you can find the relevant reference material to your probate case. “Points and Authorities” is a term of art that references case law you must refer to in your pleading.

What are Probate Notes in Los Angeles?

The Los Angeles Superior Court Probate Departments have probate attorneys who review all pleadings filed by attorneys and pro per or unrepresented or self-represented persons who file them in court. Probate Attorneys of the Court tell the Judge what to look for in your papers, and pose questions about the contents of the papers.

What does the phrase “Clear Probate Notes” mean?

If you are represented by an attorney, your attorney will answer the questions posed by the Court’s probate attorney (also sometimes a Probate Examiner). If you are unrepresented, you must first find the probate notes related to your case and any minute order which refers to the questions of the court. In most cases, you can find the Los Angeles Probate Notes here by searching by case number.

What if you don’t know the case number?

If you need to clear your probate notes, but do not know the case number, you must look at one of the court’s papers and locate it, or search the court’s index with the decedent’s name or the administrator/executor’s name to get the case number.

Why are Probate Notes Important in Los Angeles?

Probate notes are important in Los Angeles as judges in Los Angeles Probate Court have a high volume of cases, the probate notes often summarize the probate case for the probate judge.

When you respond to the probate notes, you are can often repeat your case story which will likely be read by the Court and all judges read the Probate Notes.

If you can’t find the probate notes, you need to know what happens if you don’t check the Probate Notes on a timely basis?

If you have had a hearing, your probate notes are up in one area of the court’s site called [Probate Notes] for that day. They are taken off the next day and are put in another part of the website called Document Images, where the court lets you see the first page of the notes free, and if there are additional pages, you must then pay for them.

What happens if you cannot clear your probate notes?

Depending on your judge, the judge may give you additional time to clear them or deem them cleared, or may simply ignore them. What happens is up to the judge. How to get your probate notes cleared? If the Judge orders you to clear your notes, you must file a verified supplement to answer the notes. A Verified Supplement to a Probate Petition is a document signed under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California, that gives the additional requested information to the court. You essentially vouch for its truth to the court.

Get help for Probate Notes Los Angeles: Call our Probate Attorney in Los Angeles to get help with clearing your probate notes in LA County. Call Mina Sirkin at 818.340.4479.

The probate departments in the Stanley Mosk Los Angeles Probate Court work together to supervise the administration of Probate and Estate services in Los Angeles County, where people are often served by our Los Angeles Probate Lawyer, Mina Sirkin. Probate in general works to conserve the trusts and estates of deceased individuals, and handles hearings related to probate, trust, conservatorship and guardianships. While the Probate Court is a court of general jurisdiction, it does not handle civil matters, unless they are connected to a probate or trust case. Appeals from the Superior Court’s probate decisions are handled by the Court of Appeal in California.

Payment of probate creditor claims and payments to beneficiaries and heir in probate and the enforcement timely distribution of estates and trusts to the determined heirs/beneficiaries is the function of the Superior Court.

As an integral part of the trust management team, the Probate departments supervise the fiduciary duties of executors and administrators, as well as trustees, conservators and guardians in California.

The Probate Court is committed to supporting the mission, goals, objectives, and initiatives of California’s Probate Law. It also holds itself to a high level of integrity and standards in performing and carrying out its duties and functions in order to provide quality services to its beneficiaries and the public. The Probate Court also supervises the sale of real estate and manages disputes about heirship procedures.

To talk to us about your Probate questions, get straight forward answers about the Probate Court by calling Mina Sirkin, Probate Lawyer in Los Angeles at 818.340.4479

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To start a Probate in Los Angeles, you need the following information. Here is a list of Probate Information to gather before you start the probate process:

1. Decedent’s name, including any aliases.
2. Decedent’s last known address. The place of residence at the time of death governs where the probate petition must be filed.
3. You will need the Decedent’s Certified Death Certificate.
4. Please gather names and addresses of known relatives: Parents, Spouse, Children, Siblings of the decedent. If any person is deceased but leaves a child, please tell us.
5. A list of decedent’s known property. A bond needs to be issued for all liquid assets of the decedent, plus annual interest on income of the assets.
6. The name of the person who wants to be the personal representative, and their relationship to the decedent.
7. If there is a will or trust, please provide us with the originals of those documents.
8. Find out the social security number of the decedent.
9. Any information about the Decedent’s banks and CPA is also very helpful.
10. Gather information about the Decedent’s home and let us know if anyone lives there.

Once you have the above information, please call us for a free consultation and to obtain more information about probate in Los Angeles California. Call Mina Sirkin, Probate Attorney at 818.340.4479

#LosAngeles #Probate #Information #Los #Angeles

A fiduciary owes a duty of loyalty to a client. As a client, you can expect that if someone owes you a fiduciary duty, that he or she is aware of fiduciary law and will be loyal to you, over their own interests.

Common fiduciaries:

1. Attorneys.
2. Executors and Administrators of Estates.
3. Agents under a Power of Attorney
4. Trustees.
5. Conservators.
6. Guardians.
7. Financial Fiduciaries.
8. Professional Fiduciaries (Private Professional Fiduciaries).
9. Bank Trust Departments when acting as a Trustee, and Trust Companies.
10. Real Estate Brokers and Agents in California.
11. A Representative Payee under Social Security law.
12. A Veterans Fiduciary under Federal Law.
13. Professional Conservator.
14. Private Professional Conservators.

As a matter of California law, a fiduciary owes the highest duty of good faith, honesty and fair dealing with a client.

In general, the fiduciary must not commingle the funds of his subject with his own money, and must not profit from the transactions of the subject. There are exceptions to this rule, where a trust provides otherwise.

For example, a private professional conservator’s duty to the conservatee obligates the professional conservator to examine the needs of the conservatee in a way that complies with her duty of loyalty. Call us to discuss your conservatorship questions and needs. Attorneys often refer cases to our office which require professional fiduciaries or private conservators.

To talk to a Fiduciary Law Attorney in Los Angeles in our office, call Mina Sirkin at 818.340.4479 or to obtain information about a private professional conservator.

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The term guardianship refers to a protective proceeding in court. In California, a Guardianship may be set up for a minor. In other states, a Guardianship is the equivalent of the California Conservatorship of the Person of an adult. Having a trusted guardianship attorney in court tells your side of the story to the judge in Los Angeles.

There are themes that are common to both a Guardianship and Conservatorship as we list below:

1. In a Guardianship, any sale must be approved by the court. A Guardian cannot sell the property of the ward/ minor without court approval. Same is true of conservatorship sales or real property.
2. Where there are assets involved, a Guardian must account to the court based on a schedule set by the court. Same accounting rules are true for conservatorships.
3. A guardian and conservator must act in the best interest of the disabled or minor and owe a duty of loyalty to the ward or conservatee. A duty of loyalty means that the interests of the disabled person or minor must come before the interests of the guardian or conservator.
4. An inventory of the guardianship estate is required by the court and must be timely filed.
5. If a parent applies to be a guardian of the estate of a minor, the parent must first use his own resources to support the minor. Courts in California are reluctant to allow a parent to use the minor’s assets to support him or her.

Read our guide to Guardianships of estates here.

If you have questions about guardianship or conservatorship, call Mina Sirkin, Los Angeles Guardianship lawyer at 818.340.4479

Your rights in probate depend on several factors. When determining a beneficiary’s rights in an estate, we evaluate the following:

1. We review the will to determine whether the prospective client has direct rights as a beneficiary of a specific gift or residue, or if the client is a contingent beneficiary.
2. Due diligence is exercised when reviewing the inventory of an estate for discrepancies between the inventory and the accounting.
3. Timing of the distributions from an estate tie into the rights of an heir or beneficiary in the probate estate. A late accounting and a late distribution are sometimes signs of trouble in an estate.
4. You have a right to an accounting unless the will provides otherwise, and if the court determines that either you were paid in full, or that you do not have the required standing to request one.
5. If an executor or administrator requests that you waive your accounting right, you should talk to an attorney to determine if that is in your best interest. Don’t sign any document before talking with an attorney, and retaining one to review the documents.
6. You do have a reasonable right to information in probate. You can request special notice in a probate estate to get information about all court filings.

Mina Sirkin advises clients about their rights in probate in Los Angeles California. Call 818.340.4479 for appointments.

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When you need a professional trustee in Los Angeles, you must consider several issues. One aspect of your selection process is the experience of the private trustee in the Los Angeles area. Next is the cost of hiring a professional trustee vs. the cost of hiring your family member as a trustee.

There is a cost v. benefits analysis involved in picking a trustee and you must analyze the benefits v. the costs as in any business decision.

Tips and Questions about costs of a trustee:

1. Do you charge on an hourly basis or on a percentage basis?
2. Does the trustee need to hire an attorney or is the trustee licensed as an attorney? When you hire a private trustee, your trustee can hire an attorney to advise him or her about the legal aspects of trust administration. Sometimes, the trustee is an attorney. This generally results in one fee, as opposed to two fees, where the trustee acts as his own attorney.
3. If you are selecting a family member as a trustee, will the other family members respect his or her decisions? The cost of a family member trustee whose decisions are not respected can be high as it may result in trust litigation.
4. A benefit of a private fiduciary as a trustee is that he or she has great experience and has all the resources to manage the family’s trust and can hire financial advisors to allow the trustee to make good financial decisions for the trust.
5. Private trustees can handle trusts that only have real estate as assets. Bank are generally reluctant to accept trusts that solely own real estate.

To discuss your trustee needs in revocable trusts and irrevocable trusts, call Mina Sirkin for referrals to private trustees and to discuss the nature of trustee obligations and duties in Los Angeles. Call 818.340.4479