Existing law, the Professional Fiduciaries Act, establishes, until January 1, 2028, the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau, and requires the bureau to license and regulate professional fiduciaries. The act defines various terms for these purposes. The act requires the bureau to maintain specified information in each licensee’s file, and requires a licensee to annually file with the bureau a statement under penalty of perjury containing specified information, including among other things, any licenses or professional certificates held by the licensee.

Existing law, the Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act, defines and regulates professional corporations. The act provides that a professional organization renders professional services that may be lawfully rendered only pursuant to a license, certification, or registration authorized by, among others, the Business and Professions Code pursuant to a certificate of registration issued by the governmental agency regulating the profession, as specified.

Existing law authorizes the bureau to suspend, revoke, deny, or impose other disciplinary action on a professional fiduciary license for specified causes, including, among other things, violating specified laws, rules, or regulations pertaining to duties or functions of a professional fiduciary.

This bill would add to that list of causes the failure of a licensee to, in a timely manner, respond to inquiries or produce documents requested by the bureau, including inquiries and documents related to a professional fiduciary professional corporation.

Existing law generally regulates probate, guardianship, conservatorship, and other protective proceedings. Existing law defines “professional fiduciary” for these purposes.

This bill would include a professional fiduciary professional corporation, described above, in that definition of “professional fiduciary.”

Existing law prohibits a superior court from appointing a person to carry out the duties of a professional fiduciary unless that person holds a valid, unexpired, and unsuspended license as a professional fiduciary or is exempt from those licensing requirements, as specified.

This bill would repeal those provisions and would instead prohibit a superior court from appointing a professional fiduciary as, or permitting a professional fiduciary to continue as, a guardian, conservator, personal representative, or trustee, unless the professional fiduciary satisfies one of specified requirements.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.