Adult Guardianship Periodic Reporting Requirements in California

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Initial filings

A conservator granted care powers files a care plan within 120 calendar days after appointment and no later than 10 days before a hearing on whether the conservatorship continues or ends (§ 2351.2). An estate conservator files an inventory and appraisal within 90 days after appointment; the court may allow more time for reasonable cause on an ex parte petition (§ 2610). The inventory includes an oath that it truly states the estate known to or possessed by the conservator (§ 2610).

Recurring reports and their contents

The court can require an updated care plan at any time and reviews the most recent plan at a continuation or termination hearing. The plan covers residence, level of care, health and medication, visitation and activities, identified problems, estimated expenses and health care providers (§ 2351.2). The conservator's assessment of care needed to keep the adult in their personal residence belongs in that plan (§ 2352.5).

The estate account is first presented at the end of one year after appointment, then at intervals no longer than two years unless the court orders greater frequency (§ 2620). It summarizes property at the start and end, receipts, disbursements and distributions (§ 1061), with detailed schedules (§ 1062). The approval petition or accompanying report explains unusual transactions and discloses compensation (§ 1064). Account statements and the specified supporting documents accompany the filing (§ 2620).

Delivery and court review

The care plan goes to the conservatee, counsel, any separate estate conservator, and specified close family, subject to the statutory harm exception for family delivery; it is otherwise confidential (§ 2351.2). The estate inventory goes to the conservatee, counsel and specified family with instructions for objecting (§ 2610). An account hearing receives statutory notice (§ 2621), and interested people may file written objections (§ 2622).

What trips people up

The care-plan rule has an exception for a first-degree relative serving as limited conservator for a developmentally disabled adult (§ 2351.2(h)). A court may excuse estate accounts for a qualifying small estate and low monthly income, but the exemption requires an order and remains subject to further account orders (§ 2628). A pending bill, AB 2090, proposes higher financial thresholds for that exemption.

Missing a care plan can lead to a civil penalty of up to $500 or removal (§ 2351.2). A missed estate account prompts written notice to file and set a hearing; the ordinary notice clock is 30 days, and the statute gives a separate 45-day clock for a public agency (§ 2620.2).

Common questions

Must a final account combine all activity after the adult dies? No. The final court account separates the period ending on the date of death from the later period (§ 2620(b)).

What if property is discovered after the inventory? The conservator files a supplemental inventory and appraisal for that property (§ 2613).

Does termination end the court's account jurisdiction? The court retains jurisdiction to settle accounts after the conservatorship relationship ends (§ 2630).

Statutes and sources

The quoted current California Probate Code sections were accessed October 3, 2026.