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.
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.
This bill would include a professional fiduciary professional corporation, as specified, in the definition of "professional fiduciary" for purposes of the Professional Fiduciaries Act. The bill would authorize licensees to organize professional fiduciary professional corporations to provide professional fiduciary services, and would prescribe requirements and regulations for those professional corporations to provide fiduciary services. The bill would require a licensee, under penalty of perjury, to indicate on each case if the licensee is serving under a professional fiduciary corporation. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law generally regulates probate, guardianship, conservatorship, and other protective proceedings. Existing law defines "professional fiduciary" for these purposes. Existing law prohibits a person from holding themselves out to the public as a professional fiduciary unless they are licensed pursuant to the Professional Fiduciaries Act.
This bill would include a professional fiduciary professional corporation, described above, in that definition of "professional fiduciary." The bill would remove the provision prohibiting a person from holding themselves out to the public as a professional fiduciary unless they are licensed pursuant to the Professional Fiduciaries Act.
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.
The 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.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Statutes affected:
AB 586: 6501 BPC, 6534 BPC, 6561 BPC, 13401 CORP, 60.1 PROB, 2340 PROB
02/12/25 - Introduced: 6501 BPC, 6534 BPC, 6561 BPC, 13401 CORP, 60.1 PROB, 2340 PROB
04/21/25 - Amended Assembly: 6501 BPC, 6534 BPC, 6561 BPC, 13401 CORP, 60.1 PROB, 2340 PROB, 2340 PROB, 2340 PROB