Second District, Division 2 Determines Trust Beneficial Interest Is Not Part of Conservatee’s Estate.
In Conservatorship of the Person and Estate of George, Case No. B221327 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Oct. 27, 2010) (unpublished), the trial court ordered fees for a conservator, County Counsel (counsel for guardian), and Public Defender (counsel for conservatee) paid from the conservatee’s trust in connection with underlying conservatorship proceedings.
That order was reversed by the appellate court upon appeal by the trustee ordered to pay.
Reason? Compensation could only be paid from conservatee’s “estate,” which did not include conservatee’s beneficiary interest in the trust. That beneficial interest was not “personal property” because conservatee only possessed an inchoate right to enforce performance of the trust for purposes of compelling trustee to make support payments from trust property on his behalf.