Conservatorship of Jesus Garibay

Case Number

1408200

Case Type

Hearing Date / Time

Mon, 03/02/2026 - 08:30

Nature of Proceedings

Final Accounting and Report

Tentative Ruling

Probate Notes:

Appearances required.

After supplemental declaration and submission of financial documents filed on February 2, 2026, and February 19, 2026, the following is noted for the court at the hearing:

Conservatorship Fee reduction.  Conservator’s fee request dates back to November of 2014.  According to Conservator, she was paid for providing care to the conservatee up to 141.5 hours biweekly from IHSS.  Conservator requests the remaining hours she was not paid for the services to the conservatee be paid out of the conservatorship estate.

According to the billing statements submitted, this amounts to $188,040.58 for November 2014 to December 2019, and $342,154 for caregiving services to the Conservatee from January 2020 to the date of death of the conservatee.  That time is admittedly backdated by the Conservator past the current accounting period.  Conservator alleges this is due to the insolvency of the estate at the time the services were provided. 

Caregiving services are compensable to a conservator, and may be paid upon petition to the court. (Prob. Code, §2640.)  As long as the fees can be substantiated with records showing the work was performed, there does not appear to be a statute limiting how far back the fee request can be dated.

However, the court has a super-fiduciary duty to the conservatorship estate to ensure the fees requested are “just and reasonable.”  (Id. at subd. (c).)  This means that the fees must be for services that are 1) necessary, and 2) provided at a reasonable rate that is commensurate with the rate generally found in the community for the services provided.

In this case, Conservator admits she was paid roughly $2,700 a month by IHSS for general caregiving services to the Conservatee.  Conservator admits via declaration that the hourly rate for those services averaged about $18.67 per hour, for 283 hours per month on average.  Conservator, in addition to the fees already paid, alleges she was not paid for (roughly) 5 to 6 hours per day on average during the period for which she is requesting reimbursement.  This request amounts to about $5,609.08 per month, using the rate of $35 per hour, which is what is being requested.  If that rate were applied to the hours paid by IHSS, the conservator’s request balloons to an additional $9,905 per month, for a total of $15,514.08 per month.  The court should find the rate unreasonable.

However, if the rate IHSS actually paid ($18.67) were used, the amount requested would be more reasonable at $8,681.55 per month.  Therefore, it is recommended this rate be adopted by the court and conservator be paid for 10,071.81 hours of uncompensated care from November 2014 to December of 2019 at 18.67 per hour ($188,040.69) and $181,292 for fees for the time requested from January 2020 to February 25, 2025, for a total of $369,332.69.

Appearances:

The court is open to the public for court business. The court is also conducting hearings via Zoom videoconference.

Meeting ID: 161 797 5412

Passcode: 8749009