Bill Text: CA AB596 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Appointed legal counsel.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2022-02-01 - From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB596 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AB596-Introduced.html
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 596
| Introduced by Assembly Member Nguyen |
February 11, 2021 |
An act to add Sections 1473 and 1475 to the Probate Code, relating to conservatorships.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 596, as introduced, Nguyen.
Appointed legal counsel.
The Guardianship-Conservatorship Law authorizes the court to appoint private legal counsel for a ward, a proposed ward, a conservatee, or a proposed conservatee in any proceeding under its provisions if the court determines the person is not otherwise represented by legal counsel and that the appointment would be helpful to the resolution of the matter or is necessary to protect the person’s interests. The law requires the court to appoint the public defender or private counsel to represent the interest of a conservatee, proposed conservatee, or person alleged to lack legal capacity for assistance in particular proceedings that include, among others, proceedings to establish a conservatorship or to remove the conservator.
This bill would require an attorney, who is appointed under these provisions and determines that a conservatee or proposed
conservatee is unable to communicate, to report the nature of that inability to the court, and would require the court, upon a determination of the inability to communicate, to discharge the appointed attorney and appoint a guardian ad litem. The bill would specifically require an attorney who is appointed under these provisions to represent a conservatee, a proposed conservatee, or person alleged to lack legal capacity to act as an advocate for the client, and would prohibit the attorney from substituting their own judgment for that of the client’s expressed interests.
