Conservatorship of Armando Isabel Perez

Case Number

21PR00508

Case Type

Hearing Date / Time

Wed, 04/09/2025 - 08:30

Nature of Proceedings

1. Accounting and Report (2nd, 3rd and Final) 2. Petition for Attorney’s Fees (Faulks)

Tentative Ruling

Probate Notes:

Appearances required. 

The following is noted for the Court at the hearing:

Accountings

Conservator’s Fees – Recommended for approval if no party objects.  After Supplement, the Conservator’s billing entries are still overly vague (e.g. “12 incoming emails, 2 medical, 7 legal, 3 family”), thus do not provide the Court with sufficient information to determine whether the fee request for those entries are just and reasonable.  Billing entries must be sufficiently descriptive so that the court has enough facts to conclude the work performed was “just and reasonable.”  Just and reasonable is usually interpreted to mean that the work performed was necessary, the amount of time to complete the task reflects competence and skill, and the rate charged was within the community standard.

If, as here, the description is overly vague, “the reasonableness of the sums allowed by the court and the full nature of each service alleged to have been rendered must be determined from the declarations in the petition and in such inferences as may be drawn from documents in the record of the estate proceeding as reported in the clerk's transcript.” (In re Fulcher's Estate (1965) 234 Cal.App.2d 710, 718.)

Phrases such as ‘court appearances,’ ‘initial investigation, study and preparation,’ ‘determination of complex issues,’ ‘sales of property,’ ‘services in connection with the collection of notes and accounts,’ ‘services in negotiating and completing the settlement of the issues presented by * * * and subsequent services in effectuating,’ ‘extensive preparation in advance of the hearing,’ ‘extensive office consultation, research, interviewing of witnesses, collection of evidence,’ ‘preparation and filing of * * * tax returns * * * including numerous conferences' lend little towards informing of the extent of the extraordinary services performed, without the taking of evidence to substantiate with particularity the actual services, item by item, for which extra compensation is sought.

(Id. at p. 717.)

Most of the entries in the Conservator’s billing statements are objectionably vague.  Some brief examples of the vague entries are provided here, with what follows the / as the immediate questions those entries raise:

• “34 incoming emails, 6 medical, 25 legal, 2 family, 1 neighbor” / What was in the emails? Did reading them require specialized skill past general clerical work? What, if anything, was accomplished? Is the Conservator benefiting the Conservatee’s estate by fielding all the emails?
• “Schedule Perez Cardiologist appt”, “Schedule Perez Haircut” “Schedule Perez nail appt.” / Why is someone getting paid $150/her to do clerical/secretarial work?
• “Court re conservatorship” / Was this a court appearance? If so, was it necessary for the conservator to be there when attorney for conservator could attend?
• “22 checks written for the month” / Are these bills being paid? Did writing the check require specialized skill? Was the task merely “writing” the check, and if so, did it really take 4.4 hours to write out 22 checks?

Compared to the much more detailed description of the work performed by the Conservator’s attorneys, the difference is clear. 

If these entries were few and far between, they would be excusable or easily disapproved.  But the Conservator’s almost entire billing statement is so rife with these vague entries, the court cannot be expected to determine the reasonableness of the work performed by such vague descriptions.

However, since the Conservatee is deceased, and the only persons to be protected are the beneficiaries of the Conservatee’s estate, the Court can view the overall fees, and the discounts given in service to the estate, as just and reasonable compensation, absent any objection by the parties.

Petition for Attorney’s Fees (Faulks Matta)

Recommended for approval.

Appearances:

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

Meeting ID: 161 956 1423

Passcode: 137305