Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: Who pays legal fees for conservator

Another question you have is who pays for the court appointed attorney? If a conservatorship does go through the estate pays for the court appointed attorney. And yes, the estate pays for your attorney if you win the conservatorship. The money does not come out of the trust but from the estate exclusive of the trust. If the estate is not large enough to pay the fees without going into the trust you can petition the court to go into the trust to pay the legal fees for the court appointed attorney (the PVP) and the attorney who advises you regarding the conservatorship.

Of course, these fees are all subject to the court's discretion. If you bring a frivolous petition for conservatorship and it fails you would have to pay all the legal fees. That is not the case here where your sister has filed before you.

10.145 COMPENSATION FOR COURT APPOINTED ATTORNEYS

Requests for compensation of court-appointed attorneys, including attorneys appointed from the probate volunteer panel (PVP), should be made as part of the written report filed with the Court or otherwise orally in Court at the hearing. The Court may order a dollar amount to be paid by the estate or that compensation shall be paid by the county. A form request for county-paid compensation may be obtained from the courtroom clerk. Services may be considered partly pro bono and not be paid at regular rates. Except in rare instances (such as cases involving unusual problems requiring extraordinary expertise), county-paid compensation will be limited to $70 per hour.

If there is no court appearance required of the court-appointed attorney, a petition for compensation should be filed and set for hearing in the ordinary manner.

(Rule 10.145 [1/1/95] amended and effective 1/1/98.)