Article 2. Inventory And Appraisal Of Estate of California Probate Code >> Division 4. >> Part 4. >> Chapter 7. >> Article 2.

(a) Within 90 days after appointment, or within any further time as the court for reasonable cause upon ex parte petition of the guardian or conservator may allow, the guardian or conservator shall file with the clerk of the court and mail to the conservatee and to the attorneys of record for the ward or conservatee, along with notice of how to file an objection, an inventory and appraisal of the estate, made as of the date of the appointment of the guardian or conservator. A copy of this inventory and appraisal, along with notice of how to file an objection, 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 result in harm to the conservatee.
  (b) The guardian or conservator shall take and subscribe to an oath that the inventory contains a true statement of all of the estate of the ward or conservatee of which the guardian or conservator has possession or knowledge. The oath shall be endorsed upon or annexed to the inventory.
  (c) The property described in the inventory shall be appraised in the manner provided for the inventory and appraisal of estates of decedents. The guardian or conservator may appraise the assets that a personal representative could appraise under Section 8901.
  (d) If a conservatorship is initiated pursuant to the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (Part 1 (commencing with Section 5000) of Division 5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code), and no sale of the estate will occur:
  (1) The inventory and appraisal required by subdivision (a) shall be filed within 90 days after appointment of the conservator.
  (2) The property described in the inventory may be appraised by the conservator and need not be appraised by a probate referee.
  (e) By January 1, 2008, the Judicial Council shall develop a form to effectuate the notice required in subdivision (a).

If the ward or conservatee is or has been during the guardianship or conservatorship a patient in a state hospital under the jurisdiction of the State Department of State Hospitals or the State Department of Developmental Services, the guardian or conservator shall mail a copy of the inventory and appraisal filed under Section 2610 to the director of the appropriate department at the director's office in Sacramento not later than 15 days after the inventory and appraisal is filed with the court. Compliance with this section is not required if an unrevoked certificate described in subdivision (c) of Section 1461 is on file with the court with respect to the ward or conservatee.

If a timely request is made, the clerk of court shall mail a copy of the inventory and appraisal filed under Section 2610 to the county assessor.

Whenever any property of the ward or conservatee is discovered that was not included in the inventory, or whenever any other property is received by the ward or conservatee or by the guardian or conservator on behalf of the ward or conservatee (other than by the actions of the guardian or conservator in the investment and management of the estate), the guardian or conservator shall file a supplemental inventory and appraisal for that property and like proceedings shall be followed with respect thereto as in the case of an original inventory, but the appraisal shall be made as of the date the property was so discovered or received.

(a) Within 30 days after the inventory and appraisal is filed, the guardian or conservator or any creditor or other interested person may file written objections to any or all appraisals. The clerk shall set the objections for hearing not less than 15 days after their filing.
  (b) Notice of the hearing, together with a copy of the objections, shall be given for the period and in the manner provided in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 1460) of Part 1. If the appraisal was made by a probate referee, the person objecting shall also mail notice of the hearing and a copy of the objection to the probate referee at least 15 days before the time set for the hearing.
  (c) The court shall determine the objections and may fix the true value of any asset to which objection has been filed. For the purpose of this subdivision, the court may cause an independent appraisal or appraisals to be made by at least one additional appraiser at the expense of the estate or, if the objecting party is not the guardian or conservator and the objection is rejected by the court, the court may assess the cost of any such additional appraisal or appraisals against the objecting party.

(a) If the guardian or conservator fails to file an inventory and appraisal within the time allowed by law or by court order, upon request of the ward or conservatee, the spouse of the ward or the spouse or domestic partner of the conservatee, any relative or friend of the ward or conservatee, or any interested person, the court shall order the guardian or conservator to file the inventory and appraisal within the time prescribed in the order or to show cause why the guardian or conservator should not be removed. The person who requested the order shall serve it upon the guardian or conservator in the manner provided in Section 415.10 or 415.30 of the Code of Civil Procedure or in a manner as is ordered by the court.
  (b) If the guardian or conservator fails to file the inventory and appraisal as required by the order within the time prescribed in the order, unless good cause is shown for not doing so, the court, on its own motion or on petition, may remove the guardian or conservator, revoke the letters of guardianship or conservatorship, and enter judgment accordingly, and order the guardian or conservator to file an account and to surrender the estate to the person legally entitled thereto.
  (c) The procedure provided in this section is optional and does not preclude the use of any other remedy or sanction when an inventory and appraisal is not timely filed.

If a guardian or conservator of the person or estate, or both, is a professional fiduciary, as described in Section 2340, who is required to be licensed under the Professional Fiduciaries Act (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code), the guardian or conservator shall file, concurrently with the inventory and appraisal required by Section 2610, a proposed hourly fee schedule or another statement of his or her proposed compensation from the estate of the ward or conservatee for services performed as a guardian or conservator. The filing of a proposed hourly fee schedule or another statement of the guardian's or conservator's proposed compensation, as required by this section, shall not preclude a court from later reducing the guardian's, conservator's, or his or her attorney's fees or other compensation.

At any time on or after one year from the submission of an hourly fee schedule or another statement of proposed compensation under this section or under Section 1510, 1821, 2250, or 2614.7, a guardian or conservator who is a professional fiduciary may submit a new proposed hourly fee schedule or another statement of his or her proposed compensation from the estate of the proposed ward or proposed conservatee. The submittal of a new hourly fee schedule or another statement of the guardian's or conservator's proposed compensation, as authorized by this section, shall not preclude a court from later reducing the guardian's or conservator's hourly fees or other compensation, or his or her attorney's fees or other compensation.

If a guardian or conservator fails to file any inventory required by this article within the time prescribed by law or by court order, the guardian or conservator is liable for damages for any injury to the estate, or to any interested person, directly resulting from the failure timely to file the inventory. Damages awarded pursuant to this section are a personal liability of the guardian or conservator and a liability on the bond, if any.