CA more permissible than many states on allowing attorneys to tap into elders' estates

http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_21338362/california-more-permissible-than-many-states-allowing-attorney?source=rss

When it comes to watching out for incapacitated adults, California courts fall short of what other states do to protect their vulnerable residents' life savings.

The Golden State is among the most permissive in allowing attorneys to tap into the estates of elderly and disabled adults who already feel they are being overcharged for court-appointed help, according to some legal experts and a review of higher court rulings.

Now, state lawmakers and a task force launched by Santa Clara County's top judges are considering ways to change that after the newspaper published "Loss of Trust," an investigation that exposed the Catch-22 faced by a disabled San Jose man and others like him. A judge here ruled last month that under California law he had no choice but to require that Danny Reed's trust pay almost $150,000 to a Los Gatos attorney who fought Reed's claim that a $108,000 bill for 4½ months work from his court-appointed trustee was excessive.

That likely wouldn't happen in many other states, such as Washington, Idaho, Kansas, New York, Missouri, Connecticut and Indiana, the newspaper found.