It can be frustrating to a Conservator when they attempt to marshal an asset held by a financial institution in another state and that institution does not recognize their California Letters of Conservatorship. I had this happen recently when my client tried to have the Conservatee’s pension payments from a former employer based in a different state come to the Conservator to be used for the Conservatee’s expenses. My client was concerned that they had to go to that state and set up another conservatorship. Luckily, that is not the case.
California along with 45 other states (not Michigan, Texas, Florida, or Kansas) and all three of the US territories have adopted a version of the Uniform Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act (the UAGPPIA or “Act”). In California, it is called the California Conservatorship Jurisdiction Act (the CCJA or “Act”). The Act achieves three things. First, the Act provides a priority system for resolving multi-state jurisdictional conflicts. Second, the Act provides a simplified transfer process when an adult subject to a guardianship or conservatorship moves to a new state of residence. Third, the Act allows a guardian or conservator to register out-of-state orders with a local court to lawfully exercise authority in the enacting state. I will address the second item in a separate post. The third item is what is discussed below.
I have used the Act for both a California conservatorship registering in another state and another state conservatorship or guardianship registering in California. For registering a California conservatorship in another state, I recommend hiring counsel licensed in that state to assist with the paperwork. The process for registering another state’s conservatorship or guardianship is relatively simple and usually does not require a hearing. Here are the requirements:
- Confirm that there is no conservatorship proceeding pending in California.
- Provide 15-day notice to all parties entitled to notice of the proceeding in the other state as well as those entitled to notice in California of the intent to register conservatorship. The form Notice of Intent to Register Conservatorship (Judicial Council Form GC-361) must be used for this notice.
- File certified copies of the order and letters of office from the other state, proof of notice, and the Conservatorship Registration Cover Sheet and Attestation of Conservatee’s Non-Residence in California (Judicial Council Form GC-360) in the superior court of any appropriate county.
- If it is a conservatorship or guardianship of the estate, the documents are filed in the county where the assets are located along with proof of a bond.
- Upon registration, the court will provide the conservator with written information concerning a conservator’s rights, duties, limitations, and responsibilities in this state.
- The conservator must file a Conservatorship Registrant’s Acknowledgement of Receipt of the Handbook for Conservators (Judicial Council Form GC-362).
There are various fees required for the filings, but once all the above has been done, the foreign Letters should be recognized by all financial institutions in California.