Section 2953 Of Article 2. Estate Protection From California Probate Code >> Division 4. >> Part 5. >> Chapter 5. >> Article 2.
2953
. (a) (1) A public guardian who has taken possession or control
of the property of an elder person pursuant to this chapter is
entitled to petition a court of competent jurisdiction for the
reasonable costs incurred by the public guardian for the protection
of the person or the property, together with reasonable fees for
services, including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys' fees.
These fees shall be payable from the estate of the elder person if
the person is not deemed competent by the court and if any of the
following apply:
(A) The public guardian or someone else is appointed as the
temporary or general conservator of the estate.
(B) An attorney-in-fact, under a durable power of attorney, or a
trustee, takes steps, or is notified of the need to take steps, to
protect the estate of the elder person.
(C) An action is brought against the alleged financial abuser by
the elder person, his or her conservator, a trustee, a fiduciary, or
a successor in interest of the elder person, arising from a harm that
the public guardian taking charge was intended to prevent or
minimize.
(2) Any costs incurred by the public guardian pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall be compensable as provided in Section 2902. Fees
collected by the public guardian pursuant to this chapter shall be
used for the activities described in this chapter.
(b) When a public guardian has taken possession or control of the
property of an elder person pursuant to this chapter, the public
guardian shall exercise reasonable care to ensure that the reasonable
living expenses and legitimate debts of the elder person are
addressed as well as is practical under the circumstances.
(c) Any person identified as a victim in a declaration described
in Section 2954 may bring an ex parte petition in the superior court
for an order quashing the certification issued by the public guardian
as provided in subdivision (c) of Section 2952.
(1) Upon request by the petitioner, the court may defer filing
fees related to the petition, and order the public guardian to
authorize the release of funds from a financial institution to
reimburse the petitioner the filing fees from assets belonging to the
petitioner, but shall waive filing fees if the petitioner meets the
standards of eligibility established by subparagraph (A) or (B) of
paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 68511.3 of the Government
Code for the waiver of a filing fee.
(2) The court shall quash the certification if the court
determines that there is insufficient evidence to justify the
imposition on the alleged victim's civil liberties caused by the
certification.
(3) If the court determines that there is sufficient evidence to
justify the imposition on the alleged victim's civil liberties caused
by the certification, the court may, in its discretion, do one or
more of the following:
(A) Order disbursements from the alleged victim's assets, as are
reasonably needed to address the alleged victim's needs.
(B) Appoint a temporary conservator of the alleged victim's
estate, where the facts before the court would be sufficient for the
appointment of a temporary conservator under Section 2250.
(C) Deny the petition.
(D) Award reasonable attorney's fees to the respondent's attorney
from the victim's estate.