Professional fiduciaries.

Assembly Member Flora's legislation establishes a framework for professional fiduciaries to organize as corporations while enhancing oversight of fiduciary services in California. The bill authorizes licensed fiduciaries to form professional corporations specifically for providing fiduciary services, with all directors, shareholders, and officers required to maintain individual licenses under the Professional Fiduciaries Act.

The legislation implements new reporting requirements for fiduciary corporations, mandating detailed disclosures to the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau about corporate structure, licensee information, and client cases. These corporation-wide reports are designated as confidential investigatory files, accessible only in specific circumstances such as disciplinary proceedings or court orders. Corporations must respond to Bureau inquiries and submit reports within 60 days of request or face potential disciplinary action.

Under the bill's provisions, courts cannot appoint professional fiduciary corporations as guardians of the person, conservators of the person, or in roles related to healthcare decisions. For permitted appointments, petitions must specify which corporate member holds primary responsibility. The measure also expands existing individual fiduciary reporting requirements to include whether services are being provided through a professional corporation and requires fiduciaries to maintain this information in case records under penalty of perjury.

The Professional Fiduciaries Bureau gains authority to regulate these corporations alongside individual licensees, with power to promulgate specific regulations through the Administrative Procedure Act. The legislation aligns fiduciary corporations with other professional corporations under the Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act while establishing distinct requirements for this specialized field.