The California Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program legislation (SB 1338) has passed the Legislature, and it certainly will be signed by Governor Newsom as the act has his support. Here is a link to the Governor’s statement on the passage of CARE Court https://www.gov.ca.gov/2022/08/31/governor-newsom-statement-on-the-legislatures-passage-of-care-court/.

I wrote a blog about the SB 1338 in May although I seldom write about legislation before it is enacted. But the CARE Court is a significant piece of legislation and I knew that it had strong support, and some opposition. Indeed, the details in the legislation have changed, and have increased significantly since May (printing SB 1338 from the legislative website is 25 pages, whereas in PDF form SB 1338 is 52 pages).

The CARE Court does not start immediately; however, as the CARE Court has to be put in place, further designed and implemented at the county level, a significant (perhaps tremendous) amount of work has to be done. Although SB 1338 is lengthy, it does not represent or arise to the level of being the plan and court rules for final implementation. As stated in SB 1338: “A first cohort of counties, which shall include the Counties of Glenn, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Stanislaus, and Tuolumne, and the City and County of San Francisco, shall begin no later then October 1, 2023, unless the county is provided additional time pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c).” To the extent that I am able to relatively easily follow progress that is being made, I will do so, and I will be commenting about this legislation and developments in future blog posts.

This legislation pertains to difficult issues, and to people with difficult health, mental and physical conditions and situations, and it also pertains to personal and constitutional rights. California already has in place conservatorship processes (both LPS and general conservatorships), and there also are already rights, duties and responsibilities relating to principal/agent, power of attorney, trustee/beneficiary, executor/beneficiary, doctor/patient and healthcare provider, and other similar relationships. To the extent that a CARE Court issues an order or directive, unless it is very truly voluntarily entered into, most likely it will be or at least could be considered to be an order or directive, or some sort of limitation on personal rights by the government.

More to follow after the Governor signs this legislation and the work begins.

Thank you for reading. Please pass this along to other people who would be interested.

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Best to you,

David Tate, Esq. (and inactive CPA)

• Business litigation and disputes – business, breach of contract/commercial, co-owners, shareholders, investors, founders, workplace and employment, environmental, D&O, governance, boards and committees.
• Trust, estate and probate court litigation and disputes – trust, estate, probate, elder and dependent abuse, conservatorship, POA, real property, mental health and care, mental capacity, undue influence, conflicts of interest, and contentious administrations.
• Governance, boards, audit and governance committees, investigations, auditing, ESG, etc.
• Mediator and facilitating dispute resolution:
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  • Business, breach of contract/commercial, owner, shareholder, investor, trade secret, etc.
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  • Other: workplace and employment, environmental.

Remember, every case and situation is different. It is important to obtain and evaluate all of the evidence that is available, and to apply that evidence to the applicable standards and laws. You do need to consult with an attorney and other professionals about your particular situation. This post is not a solicitation for legal or other services inside of or outside of California, and, of course, this post only is a summary of information that changes from time to time, and does not apply to any particular situation or to your specific situation. So . . . you cannot rely on this post for your situation or as legal or other professional advice or representation.

Also note – sometimes I include links to or comments about materials from other organizations or people – if I do so, it is because I believe that the materials are worthwhile reading or viewing; however, that doesn’t mean that I don’t or might not have a different view about some or even all of the subject matter or materials, or that I necessarily agree with, or agree with everything about or relating to, that organization or person, or those materials or the subject matter.

Thank you for reading this post. I ask that you also pass it along to other people who would be interested as it is through collaboration that great things and success occur more quickly. And please also subscribe to this blog and my other blog (see below), and connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter.

My two blogs are:

http://tateattorney.com – business, D&O, audit committee, governance, compliance, etc. – previously at http://auditcommitteeupdate.com

Trust, estate, conservatorship, elder and elder abuse, etc. litigation and contentious administrations http://californiaestatetrust.com

David Tate, Esq. (and inactive California CPA) – practicing only as an attorney in California.