Probate Examiner's Corner

NOTICE #1 – Implement California Senate Bill 280, update to PrC§2352.5.

Effective January 1, 2025, the Judicial Council of California will adopt the mandatory conservatorship Forms GC-355/355A, revised pursuant to SB 280.

To download and view a draft of the revised Forms GC-355/355A before January 1, 2025:

• Click here: https://www.courts.ca.gov/invitations-to-comment-archive.htm
• Scroll down to Probate and Mental Health.
• Download Probate Conservatorship: Care Plan

Effective January 1, 2025, Conservators will be required to prepare, serve, and file Form GC-355 Confidential Conservatorship Care Plan and Attachment Form GC-355A Confidential Medical Information Attachment in all conservatorship cases:

• No later than one-hundred-and-twenty (120) days after the court signs the order appointing conservator;
• No later than the end of the tenth (10^th) day prior to a hearing for the court to consider terminating the conservatorship. See California Probate Code sections 1850 et seq.
• Conservators, attorneys, and legal document preparers are advised to carefully review the service requirements of both Forms GC-355/355A as they differ.

Impact to the Probate Community: The revisions to statute PrC§2352.5 will impact all existing conservatorships. The revised forms will need to be prepared, served, and filed in all newly granted conservatorships as well as in existing limited conservatorships on an annual or biennial basis. The revised forms will need to be prepared, served, and filed in existing probate conservatorships when the court holds a hearing to consider whether or not to terminate the conservatorship.

Effective January 1, 2025, Probate Notes will reflect as a defect if Forms GC-355/355A are not on file at the time of each annual or biennial Conservatorship Review Hearing and/or Account Review Hearing in a Limited Conservatorship (PrC§1850.5) and any hearing for the court to consider whether or not to terminate a Conservatorship (PrC§§1850, 1853, 1860 et seq.).

NOTICE #2 – Adopt compliance with PrC§1830(c).

California Probate Code section 1830(c) requires filers in conservatorship matters to attach a blank Notice of Conservatee’s Rights, Form GC-341, to each proposed Order Appointing Conservator, Form GC-340, submitted to the court.

California Probate Code section 1830(c) also requires conservators to deliver a completed Notice of Conservatee’s Rights, Form GC-341, with a conformed copy of the filed Order Appointing Conservator, Form GC-340, attached, pursuant to California Probate Code section 1215 to the conservatee and the conservatee’s relatives, as set forth in California Probate Code section 1821(b), within thirty (30) days of the issuance of the Order Appointing Conservator.

Impact to the Probate Community: The changes enforce compliance with existing law (PrC§1830) prospectively, i.e., in conservatorships granted on or after January 1, 2025.

Effective January 1, 2025, Probate Notes will reflect as a defect any proposed Order Appointing Conservator, Form GC-340, that does not have a blank Notice of Conservatee’s Rights, Form GC-341, attached.

There will be a brief transition or “grace” period where the court will allow the submission of a blank Notice of Conservatee’s Rights, Form GC-341, if there are no other defects with the proposed Order Appointing Conservator, Form GC-340.