Court Investigator's Annual Review
Santa Barbara County - Judge Timothy Staffel - 20260702 Tentative Ruling: Conservatorship of Stacy Renee Clark Tentative Ruling: Conservatorship of Stacy Renee Clark Case Number 1389253 Case Type Conservatorship Hearing Date / Time Thu, 10/05/2023 - 11:46 Nature of Proceedings 6th Accounting and Report Tentative Ruling Probate Notes: 6 th Accounting and Conservator Report No appearances required. Recommended for approval.
Court Investigator's Biennial Review The court investigator's report has been received and recommends that the conservatorship continue. No appearance is required. The next review hearing will be held on October 8, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. in the court identified above.
Tentative Ruling: Estate of Paul Kopp Tentative Ruling: Estate of Paul Kopp Case Number 1232040 Case Type Decedent's Estate Hearing Date / Time Wed, 11/08/2023 - 08:30 Nature of Proceedings OSC re: Termination of Administration Tentative Ruling Probate Notes: Appearances required. Any interested party that does not appear at the hearing and object will be considered to have waived the objection pursuant to CRC, Rule 7.801.
Tentative Ruling: Conservatorship of Carol Asta Tentative Ruling: Conservatorship of Carol Asta Case Number 1457365 Case Type Conservatorship Hearing Date / Time Wed, 11/15/2023 - 08:30
Nature of Proceedings Court Investigator's Annual Review Tentative Ruling Posted Probate Notes: The court investigator's report has been received and recommends that the conservatorship continue. No appearance is required. The next hearing in this matter will be held on November 13, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. in the court identified above.
Tentative Ruling: Conservatorship of Harry Leonard Keiffer Tentative Ruling: Conservatorship of Harry Leonard Keiffer Case Number 18PR00015 Case Type Conservatorship Hearing Date / Time Wed, 10/25/2023 - 08:30 Nature of Proceedings Petition for Attorney's Fees Tentative Ruling Probate Notes: Appearances required.
The following is noted for the Court: Attorney's fees must be reviewed for reasonableness. (Prob. Code, Sec.2640(c).) Generally, an appropriate fee petition will contain a summary of the total hours, the proposed hourly rate, and the amount of compensation sought. The petition must be accompanied by a detailed description of each service, the date, duration, rate, and total charges. Cal Rules of Ct 7.702, 7.751(b).
If compensation is requested for legal services performed by a paralegal, the petition must state that such services were performed under the direction and supervision of an attorney and must set forth the hours spent and services performed by the paralegal. (Prob. Code, Sec. 2640(c).) In determining the appropriateness of the charge, the court must consider the best interest of the conservatee, not the interest of beneficiaries of the estate, in awarding compensation to the conservator and the conservator's attorney. Cal Rules of Ct 7.702, 7.751(b).
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In this case, the billing statement submitted by conservatee's attorney contains cursory descriptions of work performed that do not provide enough information for the Court to rely upon in order to make a determination that the work performed was necessary, or the fee charged was reasonable. Thus, the Court has two options:
OPTION 1: Decrease the fee award to $6,036.583 (roughly 30%) for all billing entries that are arguably unreasonable due to the lack of detail in the description of the work performed.
OPTION 2: Order petitioner to resubmit her billing statement with descriptions of the work performed that are detailed enough to determine whether the work performed was necessary, and whether the fee charged was reasonable.
Tentative Ruling: Conservatorship of Alycia Martina Gonzalez Tentative Ruling: Conservatorship of Alycia Martina Gonzalez Case Number 16PR00118 Case Type