Guardianship of Sage Micah Rain Davis et al

Case Number

22PR00629

Case Type

Hearing Date / Time

Tue, 11/26/2024 - 09:00

Nature of Proceedings

First Accounting and Report of Guardian

Tentative Ruling

Probate Notes:

Appearances required, and no supplement is further required.  Appearances are required to discuss final orders and approval, taking into consideration the following issues:

Discrepancy no. 1 – Estate on hand at beginning of account does not match the amount listed in the Final Inventory and Appraisal filed May 18, 2023. (Prob. Code, §1061(a).) The Final I & A shows a total estate value of $38,913.97.  The property on hand here shows $33,462.96, a difference of $5,451.01  The property on hand should have reflected the amount in the Final Inventory and Appraisal. (Prob. Code, § 1061(a)(1).)  Thus over $5,400 is missing from this accounting from the very beginning.

Update for 11/26/24 Hearing:  Still not addressed, let alone resolved by amendment. It is recommended the Court surcharge the guardian for $5,400.

 

Discrepancy no. 2 – The estate is losing money at a rate that will not support the wards until they reach majority. The following causes are readily identifiable from the schedules:

• Unnecessary expenditures (excessive eating out, guardian using estate funds to pay for expenses that should be paid by the guardian’s own funds such as groceries, etc.)

Update for 11/26/24 Hearing:  Somewhat resolved by amendment and supplement. It is recommended the Court adopt the proposed “allowance” at paragraph 5 of the supplement.

Discrepancy no. 3 – Amount spent on groceries and food is excessive for reasonable support of the wards.  (http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/usdafoodplanscostoffood.htm )

Hundreds of dollars a month were spent over the period of the account on fast food, Starbucks, etc. that do not appear to be in the best interests of the wards, and have left the wards with near zero balances in each of their accounts.

Update for 11/26/24 Hearing: Somewhat resolved by supplement. It is recommended the Court adopt the proposed “allowance” at paragraph 5 of the supplement.

Breach of Fiduciary Duty. The above discrepancies resulted from several breaches of duty.  It is recommended the Court consider removal of the guardian over the estate and appointment of a Private Professional Fiduciary for the remaining minor.

The relationship of guardian and ward is a fiduciary relationship that is governed by the law of trusts, except as provided in this division.  Thus, all trustee duties are applicable to guardians. (Prob. Code, § 2101.)  The following fiduciary duties appear to have been breached:

• Imprudent management. 
  • Excessive spending
  • Failure to preserve estate property (Prob. Code, §16006)
  • Comingling estate property with non-estate property (§16009)
  • Failure to invest estate property, and make it productive. (Prob. Code §§16006–16007.)

• Conflict of Interest (Prob. Code, §16004)
  • Improvement of guardian’s home without a court order, using funds from the estate.
  • Paying guardian’s own bills out of the estate (gas, auto, etc)

Appearances:

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

Meeting ID: 160 543 3416

Passcode: 5053334