Court Investigator's Annual Review
Probate Notes: The following defects must be remedied before the sale may be held: No prior Court Order. This Court must be petitioned for the power to sell the conservatee's personal or former residence before " any significant resources" are committed to the sale. (Prob. Code, Sec.2540(c).) There is no court order on file granting the conservator the authority to sell the subject property.
Missing allegations. The following allegations are required by Probate Code section 2540(b), but are missing from the petition: Conservator discussed the proposed sale with the conservatee. Conservatee supports sale (or is opposed). (Prob. Code, Sec. 2540(b).) Circumstances that necessitate the proposed sale, including whether the conservatee has the ability to live in the personal residence and why other alternatives, including, but not limited to, in-home care services, are not available.
Notice is Inadequate. Notice must conform to the same requirements in the provisions governing the sale of real property in decedent's estates. (Prob. Code, Sec. 2543(b).) This includes publication, posting notice by the court clerk, etc. (Prob. Code, Sec.Sec.10308(c); 1230.) The notice in this case was not posted by the clerk and the Proof of Service was not on the proper Judicial Council Form. Notice of at least 15 days is required to the conservator, conservatee, spouse of conservatee (if applicable), the buyer, and any party requesting special notice. (Prob. Code, Sec.Sec.1220(a)(2)(B), 10308(c), and 11601.) Proofs of Service must be filed using form GC-020, attaching form GC-020(C) to that notice.
Proposed Order (DE-260). A proposed order must be submitted with relief that matches that requested in the petition. No such document was filed with the court.
Appraisal Older than Six Months. The conservatee's personal residence must be appraised less than six months prior to the confirmation hearing. (Prob. Code, Sec.2543(c).) The Court has the discretion to find that it is in the best interests of the conservatee to rely on an appraisal of the subject property that was conducted not more than one year prior, if a compelling reason is presented. (Ibid.)
Proposed Order (DE-260). A proposed order must be submitted with relief that matches that requested in the petition. No such document was filed with the court.
Tentative Ruling: Conservatorship of Noe Ramirez Rodriguez Tentative Ruling: Conservatorship of Noe Ramirez Rodriguez Case Number 19PR00007 Case Type Limited Conservatorship Hearing Date / Time Mon, 07/20/2026 - 08:30 Nature of Proceedings Review: Investigator's Report Tentative Ruling Probate Notes: 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 July 17, 2028. The Court will give notice.
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Tentative Ruling: Conservatorship of Tiege Billington Tentative Ruling: Conservatorship of Tiege Billington Case Number 1376900 Case Type Conservatorship Hearing Date / Time Mon, 07/20/2026 - 08:30 Nature of Proceedings Court Investigator's Annual Review Tentative Ruling Probate Notes: 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 July 19, 2027. The Court will give notice of the hearing.
Tentative Ruling: Guardianship of Arian Anthony Santos Tentative Ruling: Guardianship of Arian Anthony Santos Case Number 22PR00572 Case Type Guardianship Hearing Date / Time Mon, 07/06/2026 - 08:30 Nature of Proceedings Review: Second Accounting and Report Tentative Ruling Probate Notes: Appearances permitted to address notes, but not required. After review of the Second Supplement filed on June 22, 2026, the following is noted for the Court: Reduction of Attorney's Fees recommended. The requested attorney's fees of $5,547.75 should only be approved for $3,950, because several billing entries reveal what is 1) clerical work and 2) reveal entries formally referred to as "duplicative work" or "padding," and more commonly known as "remedial work" to correct Court-identified discrepancies in the accounting.
This is confirmed in the Second Supplement attorney for the Guardian filed on June 22, 2026, where attorney confirmed that some of the time billed for the First Accounting was to correct discrepancies in the First Accounting that were identified in the Probate Notes. Attorney's fees are within the sound discretion of the Court, and can be reduced for a multitude of reasons. (PLCM Group v. Drexler (2000) 22 Cal.4th 1084, 1096.) One of those factors is "padding." (Premier Medical Management Systems, Inc. v.
California Insurance Guarantee Association (2008) 163 Cal.App.4th 550, 556 ["padding' in the form of inefficient or duplicative efforts is not subject to compensation."].) In this case, the account was simple, straight forward, and was admittedly compiled by an accountant paid out of the estate. (2 nd Sup. P.8a.) In that accounting, the billing statement from the attorney shows work done on the first accounting to remedy discrepancies noted by the court that the attorney needed to correct. This remedial work consisted of a sizable portion of the 7.95 hours billed for the First Accounting, for which some of those fees this Court already approved.
As for the Second Accounting, the descriptions of the work performed reveal that much of the work performed was for work that was clerical, not legal in nature, and the account was so simple that hardly any attorney's fees need have been generated. The rate this court usually allows for clerical work is $65 per hour.