Inyo County Office of the Public Guardian

Recommendations 14

• R1

  Page 22
  Eacablishing Ptobace Conservators hip (Review, Inveotigacion Court document~, and Court Proceedings)
• R2

  Page 28
  The job description of the Inyo County Public Guardian be changed to provide that it is the duty of the Public Guardian's Office to seek reasonable fees to reasonably compensate the County for services rendered by the Public Guardian when there are conservatorship assets to do so.
• R3

  Page 28
  Each new Public Guardian read the Court Fee Schedule for Public Guardians and sign a document that he he/she has read it and understands it and will follow it to the best of his/her ability. He or she should seek the advice of the Court or County Counsel or an experienced attorney if they have questions about it.
• R4

  Page 28
  The Public Guardian's Office keep track of the time of the Public Guardian and that of its personnel in rendering services for the benefit of its conservatees. RS. Reports to the court be filed when due at least every 2 years.
• R5

  Page 22
  Any other extraordinary services not covered under Regular Servicrs EXHI BIT 'Jl.' 3 32 OESCRJPTION
• R6

  Page 28
  A system of oversight to insure timely filings needs to be created and implemented.
• R7

  Page 28
  A system of oversight be created to be sure that the Public Guardian always petitions the Court for the fees to which it is reasonably entitled under the law.
• R8

  Page 28
  When the Public Guardian in its discretion decides to apply to the Court for lesser or greater amounts than called for by the Public Guardian Fee Schedule, the Guardian should explain in the Petition for fees, which is a public document, why it is not seeking the amount supported by the Court Ordered Fee Schedule.
• R9

  Page 28
  To be sure there is some oversight on behalf of the Inyo County taxpayers, now and in the future, copies of all conservatorship accountings be provided both to the County Administrator Budget Analyst and to the County Auditor's Office at the time of filing the Accountings with the Court at the latest and preferably 10 days before filing the Accounting with the Court so that those offices may confer with the Public Guardians office or appear in Court if the interest of the County Taxpayers does not appear to be properly served by the fees requested in the Petition to the Court. Rl0. The County work with the Public Guardian to assure adequate levels of record keeping and fee calculations and to reasonably compensate the County for the Public Guardians services whether by use of software, personnel or other County office assistance in calculating and processing those fees. Pursuant to Penal Code section 933.05 the following response is required: • Public Guardian as to all Findings and all Recommendations. • County Counsel's Office as to Findings 4,5,6,8,9,11,13,14 and 15 and all Recommendations. • County Administrator's Office, as to Findings 2,3,6,8,13,14 and 15 and Recommendations 1,2,4,5,6,7,8, 9 and 10 . • County Auditor's Office as to Findings 6,8,13, 14 and 15 and Recommendations 1,2,4,5,6, 7,8, 9 and 10. • Inyo County Board of Supervisors as to all Findings and Recommendations. Postscript to Report On June 2, a few days after representatives of the County Counsel's Office were interviewed by members of the Grand Jury, possibly as a result of what we considered to be a confidential interview, we received a new ORDER ESTABLISHING PUBLIC GUARDIAN FEES signed May 29, 2018, signed by outgoing Judge Dean Stout. A copy is attached to this report as Exhibit 2. We do not have the time to fully analyze and comment on the new fee schedule. We note that the new schedule is even more dependent on time keeping than the previous two fee schedules which is remarkable in that the Public Guardian's office has not kept time records in recent years and has stated that it has not had the time or personnel to do so. We do not know if any consideration was given to the taxpayers before the new schedule was suddenly adopted. Most importantly, it has not been the purpose of this Grand jury to recommend a new fee schedule. Our purpose has been to recommend that the Public Guardian follow whatever fee schedule is in effect to seek reasonable fees for the benefit of the Inyo County tax payers when the conservatorship estates have sufficient assets to pay fees. It is also our purpose to recommend that when the fee schedule is not being followed, an explanation for the departure be in the petition for fees. Finally, it has been our purpose to recommend a system of oversight as to Public Guardian fee requests by someone who has at heart the interest of County and its taxpayers. I -- Exhibit 1 - I 2 93526 Inyo Co,unty Superior Court 168 North Edwards Street Poet Oftice Drawer U Indepentlence, California S Tel: (7~0) 878 -0218 rll.Eu JUL 1 3 2001 4 6 6 7 8 9 10 I I i I ! I l SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY.OF IITTO 11 In re the Matter of : ST,u,rQING ORDER NO. Ol - 003 ORDER ESTABLISHING PUBLIC GUARDIAN FEES I 12 ! I 13 INYO COfNTY PUBLIC GUARDIAN FEES H I 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Go¥ cause appearing therefore, the Court f~nds that the fee schedul~, attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference as 'Exhibit; •a, • are presumptively just and reasonable 'for services provide~ by the Inyo County l attachm~nt BXhibit "A." Public Guardian ae set forth in the i Pu,suant to Probate Code§§ 2623, 2640, and 2942, the Public I 23 Guardia! shall petition for not more than these tees for such services. In determining whether fees are just.and reasonable for 24 ' a parti~ular estate, the Court eha}l , among other factors, take 25 into cortsideration the actual -costs of the services provided, the 26 l amount br the' estate involved, the special value of services 27 ·p:rovideci in relation to the estate, and whether the compensation 28 I 35 30 1 requested might impose an economic hardship on the estate. This fee schedule shall apply to petitions Eiled after July 3 15 , 2001. This order repeals and supersedes the fee schedule 4 established by the Superior Court and the Public Guardian on March 5 1, 1979. · 6 7 Dated: J\,llY 13, 24)01 8 9 10 11 12 13 l4 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2 Dean T. Stout Judge of the Superior Court/ Acting Presiding Judge 31 PUBLIC GUARDIAN SERVICES RENDERED A. K§qular services: l. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10 . 11. 12. 13. 14. Visits co clients at place of residence or placement; visits from ~lients at Public Guardian's office; Contaoto with care providers, fami l y, friends, and others; Telephone calls to clients and from clients; Arrange for transportation to court hear1ngs, placements, medic~l facilities, residences, other locations; Handle correspondence from or to clients, providers of care, vendo~s. governmental agencies, private and public sector agenci'es and persons, and relatives and friends; Manage client mail, including change of addresses at post offices, picking up mail at residences or other locations; forwarding of mail to appropriate locations, and cancellation or maintenance of subscriptions or other items of mail; Application, verification, and maintenance of eligibility for private and public benefits, insurance coverage, Medicare/Med.-Cal , and related tasks, appeals, and admini~trative hearings; Fiscal case management of income, investments, real and personal property; daily weekly, and monthly budgets, and several miscellaneous financial transactions; Respond to urgent and imminent needs regarding changes in placem~nts, medical attention, fiscal needs, and other emergepcies; Assist clients in purchasing needed peroonal items, clothing, food, etc., and coordinale persons and agencies to provide or help with such services. Consult with county counsel regarding legal issues concerning care, placement, personal or financial protection, and estate planning; Coordination and advocacy with publ ic and private agencies, individuals, and programo regarding i ssues such as patients rights, facility licensing, criminal matters, civil actions and problems, residence status, pending lawsuiLs, class action suits,and related matters; Prepare petitions, accountings, and orders; coordinate with County, Counsel to have legal documents reviewed and consult with County Counsel on all legal proceedings, and appear at Court Hearings as necessary or as directed; All other regular services required pursuant to Probate Code. B. Extraordinary services; 1 . Investments; 2. Note debt service; 3. Small claims/litigation; 4. Dissol~tions; 5. Any other extraordinary services not covered under Regular Servicrs EXHI BIT 'Jl.' 3 32 OESCRJPTION 1. Eacablishing Ptobace Conservators hip (Review, Inveotigacion Court document~, and Court Proceedings) 2. Bond Fee I $25 of INYO COUNTY PUBU C GUARDlAN FEE SCHEDULE FEE AMOUNT UNIT $500 One time/ Plat rlat ree • l/4 Annually ll o f balance over $10,000 AUTHORJTY Probate Codes 2623, 2640, 2942 Probate Code 2942 (c) 3. Probate Accoun~ings $500 Annual or Superior Court (Mnua l or B_ian ual) Bi annual ) 4 . Attorney $ 98 00 per hour Aa incurred Probate Code 2623, (County Counsel) 2640, 2642, & 2942 ' Superior Court s. Personal Services $200 if Account Bal. Monthly Superior Court I Over $20,000 $150 if Account Bal. I $10,000 - $19,000 $SO if Account Bal. ' $5,000-$9,999 6. Re.il & Persona~ 6\ of gross value As Needed Probate Codes Property Sales 1by 2623, 2643, 2942 " .. Public Guardian Superior Court ' 7. Transportation 34 . S Cents per mile As Needed Probate Code (Investigations, Court 2942, Appearances, I Inyo County Transporting of Travel Pol icy Perso11al Property to Storage, Travel to conval eacents to access conservatees) 8. Storage of Personal $5 Monthly Probate Code Property 1 2942 9. Extraordinary ~ervices $50.00 per hour As Incurred Superior Court ~·or account ba.liance under $5,000, the standard $500.00 accounting fee will be taken in lieu qf monthly or other services provided by Public Guardian. For account ba4 ances over $20,000 . 00 an hourly fee will be taken monthly based on number of h urs spent. The PUbl1c Guaidian will request that accounting tees be deferred in any caae in which a con~ervatee•a daily needs of life cannot be met because of insufficient funds EXHIBIT 'B' 33 Exhibit 2 - l MARSHALL S. RUOOLPH(SBN 150073) TERRY K. WALKER (SBN 300261) 2 Office of County Counsel 224 North Edwards St., Box M 3 Independence, California 93526 Telephone: (760) 878-0229 4 Attorneys for Public Conservator F!lf:D 2 9 2018 IMAGED,NYQ s "El~OI\ COURT PA LA • 0~1o'.11, CLEAi( JV OEJ>U 6 1 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF INYO 9 In re the Matter of S /5t:J/llJ STANDING ORDER NO. /t-oS-3 10 INYO COUNTY 11 12 lJ 14 PUBLIC GUARDIAN FEES. ORDER ESTABLISHING PUBLIC GUARDIAN FEES 15 Good cause appearing therefore, the Court finds that the 16 fee schedule as amended, attached hereto and incorporated herein 17 by reference as Exhibi ts A and Bare presumptively just and 18 teasonable for services provided by the Inyo County Publi c 19 Guardian, 20 Pursuant to Probate Code Sections 2623, 2640, and 2942, the 21 Public Guardian shall petition for not more than these fees for 22 such ·services. I n determining whether fees are just and 23 reasonable for a particular estate, the Court shall, among other 24 f actors, take into consideration the actual costs of the 25 services provided, the amount of the e:sta t e involved, the ORDER ESTABLISHING PUBLIC GOMOIAN F5tS - l 31 2018 34 l special value of services provided in relation to the estate, 2 and whether the compensation requested might impose an economic 3 hardship on the estate. This fee schedule shall apply to petitions filed after s ::Jy", /, 2-o/ 9" 6 This order repeals and supersedes the fee schedule established 7 by the Superior Court and the Public Guardian on November 20, 8 2011 _(>/$oAD 17- oLJ?)"i)iJ 9 10 Date: /111t7 :l'J , 2018 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 DEAN T. STOUT, Presiding Judge Inyo County Superior Court ORDER ESTABLISHING PUBLIC GUARDIAN FEES - 2 35 INYO COUNTY PUBLIC GUARDIAN FEE SCHEDULE DESCRIPTION FEE AMOUNT UNIT AUTHORITY 1. Establishing Probate Estates wltl'I asseta (excluding One Probate Codea 2623, 26-40, Con,ervatorahlp (Review, !tie value or l)0(10nll home) ot: lime fee 2942 ll'IY88tlgatlon Court doeumentB, $0-$16,000 - fees waived and Court Proceedings) $15,000-$50,000 • $160 $50,000-$150,000 • $300 S160 000 and up • $850 2. Bond Fee $26.00 Flit FN + Y. of 1 % or Annually Probate Code 2942 (0)1 bll1nc;e over $10,000.00 3. Probate Aocol.lntingl $0-$16,000-walved Annual Superior Court (Annual or Biannua0 $16,000.$50,000 • $150 or $50, 000.$150,000 • $300 Biannual $150,000 and up - $850 4. Attomey (County $151.00 per hour As Probate Codes 2623, 2640, CounuQ Incurred 2642, and 2942 and Superior Court 5. PenJonal Servloss $0-$15,000 - lllel walvod Monthly Superior Court (See guldetlne1 attached S 16, 000.$50, 000 - $815/hr hereto) (with c.p ol $195 /month) $50,()()(),$160,000 • $85/hr (with cap of $325/month) $160,000 and up• $100/llr rno caol e. Real and Personal 5"1' of A le prtce 10 tlltllr a l'NI Aa Probate Code• 2623, 2643, P: S1le1 by Public estate agent or to th• PG. Needed 2042 and Superior Court G an Moblle home aales may be a higher perceotage but must be approved by the court . 7. Tran•portatlon Cumint Raleof Aa Probate Code 2942 (Investigations, Court 53.5 Cenbl per mile Needed (Per Inyo County Tr•vel Appearanoes, Transporting of Polley) Peraonal Property to Storage, Travel to conWllescente to accese conservatee) 8. Storage of Peraonal $5.00 Monthly Probate Code 2942 Property 9. Extraordinary Services same hourly ree str\lctU111 as In Aa Superior Court No. 6 but no cap. Incurred Att ma a,- 1ubjact to Court approval and must be prnented to the court prior to payment The PubUc Guardian will request that accounting fees be deferred In any case In which a conaervatee's dally needs of life cannot be met because d inaufficlant funds. EXHIBIT A 36 PUBLIC GUARQIAN PERSONAL SERVICES A. REGULAR SERvtCES; 1. Visits with client, at place of retldence or placement and at PubHo Guardian's ~~ ' 2. Contacts with care provldera, family, friend,, and othera; 3. Telephone calle to and from cllenta; 4. Arr9no• for tren1portatlon to court hearfngs, placements, medical facllitles, relldences, and other locatlons; 5. Handle corretpondence from or to clients, providers of care, agencies and peraont, and relatives and friends; 6. Manage d'ient man, Including change of addreseet at post offioea, picking up mall at residences or other locatlona; fOfW3rdlng of mall to appropriate locations, and cancenatlon or maintenance of subtaiptlona or other ltema of mall; 7. Application, verification, and maintenance of ellglbr11ty for private and public beneflte, lntu111nce coverage, Medlcare/MedlCal, and related taaka, appeal,, and administrative hearinga; 8. Aacal case management of Income, Investments, fltal and pmonal property. DaUy, weekly and monthly budget., and MVer• .I mlaoellaneous flnanc:lal tranHcliona, Including monthly bookkeeping; 8. Respond to urgent and Imminent needs regarding changes In placements, medlcal ettentlon, fiscal needs, and other emergencies; 10. Assist cllents In purchasing needed personal item,, clothing, food, et cetera, and coon:Jlnate peBOnl and agencies to p(OVlde or a111st with such services; 11. Consult with County Counsel regarding legal Issues ooneemlng care, placement. personal or financial protedlon, end estate planning; 1 12. Coordination and advocacy With public and private agenclea, lndlvidual,, and program• regarding lssue11 such II patients' r1ghl!I, facflity lfcen, lng, criminal matters, civil action• and problems residence status, pending fawsultt, class action 1ults, and related matters; 13. Prepare petitlons, aC()()Untlng1, and ordera. Coordlnate with County Counsel to have legal documents reviewed end consult wtth County counsel on all legal proceedings, end appear at court hearings as necessary or es directed; and 14. All other regular aervloes required pursuant to Probate Code. B. EXTRAORDINARY SEBYJCES; 1. lnvaatments; 2. Nole debt service; 3. Small clalma/lltlgatlon: 4. Ole.aolutlona: 5. Any other extraordinary aervicea not covered under Regular Servlcee; and 6. Sale of real property, If real estate agent la not utilized (refer to Item 6). 2018 EXHIBIT B 37 PROOF OF SERVICE BY MAIL · CASE NO. SISOAD- 18-053 I, the undersigned, say: I am and was nt all times herein mentioned, a citizen of the United States and a resident of the County of Inyo, over the age of eighteen years and not a party to the within action or proceedings; that my business address is 30 l West Line Street, Bishop, California; that on the date hereafter set forth I served the document described hereafter on the parties in said action or proceeding by depositing a true copy thereof, enclosed in a sealed envelope with postage thereon fully prepaid, a mail box regularly maintained by the Government of the United States at Bishop, Cali fomia, addressed as follows: Pamela M. Fo~tcr, Court E,cecutivc Officer Hand delivered Brian J. L.1mb, Judge Hand delivered Patricia Barton, Public Guardian Via inter-office courier Eli,..abcth Corpora, Public Defender V,ia inter-office mail Inyo County Counsel Via inter-office courier Terry Walker, President of the Inyo County Bar Association Via inter-office courier DOCUMENT(S) SERVED: Order establishing Public Guardian fees: filed May 29,2018. I certify under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct; executed on May ~o. 2018 at Bishop, California. RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS California Penal Code Sections 925 and 925a require that grand juries investigate and report on the operations, accounts and records of the officers, departments or functions of the county or any city within the county. Penal Code Section 933(c); No later than 90 days after the grand jury submits a final report on the operations of any public agency subject to its reviewing authority, the governing board of the public agency shall comment to the presiding judge of the superior court on the findings and recommendations pertaining to matters under the control of the governing body and every elected official or agency head for which the grand jury has responsibility shall comment to the presiding judge of the superior court with an information copy to the board of supervisors. Pursuant to the California Penal Code section 933.05, the person or entity responding to each grand jury finding shall indicate one of the following: 1. The respondent agrees with the finding. 2. The respondent disagrees wholly or partially with the finding, in which case the response shall specify the portion of the finding that is disputed and shall include an explanation of the reasons therefore. The person or entity responding to each grand jury recommendation shall report one of the following actions: 1. The recommendation has been implemented, with a summary regarding the implemented action. 2. The recommendation has not yet been implemented, but will be implemented in the future, with a timeframe for implementation. 3. The recommendation requires further analysis, with an explanation and the scope and parameters of an analysis or study, and a timeframe for the matter to be prepared for discussion by the officer or head of the agency or department being investigated or reviewed, including the governing body of the public agency where applicable. This timeframe shall not exceed six months from the date of publication of the grand jury report. 4. The recommendation will not be implemented because it is not warranted or is not reasonable, with an explanation therefore. 39
• R10

  Page 24
  Assist cllents In purchasing needed personal item,, clothing, food, et cetera, and coon:Jlnate peBOnl and agencies to p(OVlde or a111st with such services;
• R11

  Page 24
  Consult with County Counsel regarding legal Issues ooneemlng care, placement. personal or financial protedlon, end estate planning; 1
• R12

  Page 25
  Coordination and advocacy With public and private agenclea, lndlvidual,, and program• regarding lssue11 such II patients' r1ghl!I, facflity lfcen, lng, criminal matters, civil action• and problems residence status, pending fawsultt, class action 1ults, and related matters;
• R13

  Page 25
  Prepare petitlons, aC()()Untlng1, and ordera. Coordlnate with County Counsel to have legal documents reviewed end consult wtth County counsel on all legal proceedings, end appear at court hearings as necessary or es directed; and
• R14

  Page 25
  All other regular aervloes required pursuant to Probate Code. B. EXTRAORDINARY SEBYJCES;