SECTIONS 2610-2615 - California Statutes

PROBATE CODE

SECTION 2610-2615

2610. (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).

2611. 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 Mental Health 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.

2612. 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.

2613. 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.

2614. (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.

2614.5. (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.

2615. 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.