Section 1851 Of Chapter 2. Periodic Review Of Conservatorship From California Probate Code >> Division 4. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 2.
1851
. (a) (1) If court review is required pursuant to Section 1850,
the court investigator shall, without prior notice to the
conservator except as ordered by the court for necessity or to
prevent harm to the conservatee, visit the conservatee. The court
investigator shall inform the conservatee personally that the
conservatee is under a conservatorship and shall give the name of the
conservator to the conservatee. The court investigator shall
determine all of the following:
(A) If the conservatee wishes to petition the court for
termination of the conservatorship.
(B) If the conservatee is still in need of the conservatorship.
(C) If the present conservator is acting in the best interests of
the conservatee. In determining if the conservator is acting in the
best interests of the conservatee, the court investigator's
evaluation shall include an examination of the conservatee's
placement, the quality of care, including physical and mental
treatment, and the conservatee's finances. To the extent practicable,
the investigator shall review the accounting with a conservatee who
has sufficient capacity. To the greatest extent possible, the court
investigator shall interview individuals set forth in paragraph (1)
of subdivision (a) of Section 1826, in order to determine if the
conservator is acting in the best interests of the conservatee.
(D) (i) If the conservatee is incapable of communicating, with or
without reasonable accommodations, a desire to participate in the
voting process and may be disqualified from voting pursuant to
Section 2208 or 2209 of the Elections Code.
(ii) The conservatee shall not be disqualified from voting on the
basis that he or she does, or would need to do, any of the following
to complete an affidavit of voter registration:
(I) Signs the affidavit of voter registration with a mark or a
cross pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 2150 of the Elections
Code.
(II) Signs the affidavit of voter registration by means of a
signature stamp pursuant to Section 354.5 of the Elections Code.
(III) Completes the affidavit of voter registration with the
assistance of another person pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section
2150 of the Elections Code.
(IV) Completes the affidavit of voter registration with reasonable
accommodations.
(2) If the court has made an order under Chapter 4 (commencing
with Section 1870), the court investigator shall determine if the
present condition of the conservatee is such that the terms of the
order should be modified or the order revoked.
(3) Upon request of the court investigator, the conservator shall
make available to the court investigator during the investigation for
inspection and copying all books and records, including receipts and
any expenditures, of the conservatorship.
(b) (1) The findings of the court investigator, including the
facts upon which the findings are based, shall be certified in
writing to the court not less than 15 days before the date of review.
A copy of the report shall be mailed to the conservator and to the
attorneys of record for the conservator and conservatee at the same
time it is certified to the court. A copy of the report, modified as
set forth in paragraph (2), also shall be mailed to the conservatee's
spouse or registered domestic partner, the conservatee's relatives
in the first degree, and if there are no such relatives, to the next
closest relative, unless the court determines that the mailing will
harm the conservatee.
(2) Confidential medical information and confidential information
from the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System shall
be in a separate attachment to the report and shall not be provided
in copies sent to the conservatee's spouse or registered domestic
partner, the conservatee's relatives in the first degree, and if
there are no such relatives, to the next closest relative.
(c) In the case of a limited conservatee, the court investigator
shall recommend continuing or terminating the limited
conservatorship.
(d) The court investigator may personally visit the conservator
and other persons as may be necessary to determine if the present
conservator is acting in the best interests of the conservatee.
(e) The report required by this section shall be confidential and
shall be made available only to parties, persons described in
subdivision (b), persons given notice of the petition who have
requested the report or who have appeared in the proceeding, their
attorneys, and the court. The court shall have discretion at any
other time to release the report if it would serve the interests of
the conservatee. The clerk of the court shall limit disclosure of the
report exclusively to persons entitled to the report under this
section.
(f) A superior court shall not be required to perform any duties
imposed pursuant to the amendments to this section enacted by Chapter
493 of the Statutes of 2006 until the Legislature makes an
appropriation identified for this purpose.