Westamerica Bank v. Schultz CA2/1

Filed 6/30/14 Westamerica Bank v. Schultz CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

WESTAMERICA BANK, B249522, B249524, B250285

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. Nos. KP010150, v. KP009938, KP009736)

STANLEY R. SCHULTZ, Defendant and Appellant.

APPEALS from orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Thomas C. Falls, Judge. Orders reversed and remanded with directions.

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Law Offices of William E. Crockett, William E. Crockett and Kenneth C. Bounds for Defendant and Appellant.

No appearance for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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Stanley R. Schultz is the chief executive officer of IBAR Settlement Company (IBAR), which provides advisory services to trustees of special needs trusts for substantially disabled children and adults. IBAR’s services include assisting with Medi-Cal and social security benefits, coordinating reimbursements, evaluating proposed equipment purchases, reviewing matters with caregivers, making home visits, assessing long-term care needs and facilitating communication between the beneficiary’s family, the trustee and health care providers. Since the 2003 inception of the three trusts in these appeals,1 IBAR has been the independent member of the trust advisory committee. Although subject to judicial review, each court-approved trust authorized the trustee to pay an independent member of the trust advisory committee, here IBAR, at an annual rate of .75% of the value of trust assets, and the trustee in all three trusts paid IBAR according to that formula. The trustee reduced its own fee generally to .75% of the value of trust assets. Schultz maintained that reduction was the result of the efficiencies IBAR created for the trustee. As specified in each trust, at the end of the first year and biennially thereafter, the trustee provided the trial court an accounting and report and requested authorization to pay its attorney fees from the trust proceeds. In the reports, the trustee identified the amounts paid to IBAR for its work as the independent member of the trust advisory committee and requested approval of those amounts. In February 2013, Westamerica Bank, as successor trustee for each of the trusts, filed petitions for approval of accounting for a specified reporting period. In the petitions, Westamerica Bank identified the payments it had made to IBAR using the .75% formula specified in the trusts and requested approval of those payments. In support of each petition, IBAR presented a log detailing its services and the time it had spent on each task, and Schultz filed a declaration describing IBAR’s expertise. No opposition was filed or objection made to any of the petitions.