AB 1939: Professional fiduciaries: corporate practice.
This bill aims to amend the existing Professional Fiduciaries Act to allow professional fiduciaries to organize professional fiduciary corporations to provide fiduciary services. These corporations would be required to register with the secretary of state and comply with the Moscone-Knox Professional Corporation Act. The bill would also require the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau to maintain additional information in each licensee's file and require annual statements under penalty of perjury. The bill would add new causes for disciplinary action, including failure to respond to inquiries or produce documents in a timely manner. It would also define "professional fiduciary professional corporation" for probate and guardianship purposes. The bill would repeal provisions allowing superior courts to appoint professional fiduciaries to certain roles and instead require them to satisfy specif…
| Aug. 13, 2026 | In committee: Held under submission. |
| Aug. 03, 2026 | In committee: Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Jul. 01, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (June 30). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun. 15, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (June 15). Re-referred to Com. on JUD. |
| Jun. 11, 2026 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on B. P. & E.D. |
| Amended IN Senate June 11, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly May 18, 2026 |
| Introduced by Assembly Member Flora |
February 13, 2026 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 6501 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:6501.
As used in this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:SEC. 2.
Section 6534 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:6534.
(a) The bureau shall maintain the following information in each licensee’s file, shall make this information available to a court for any purpose, including the determination of the appropriateness of appointing, continuing the appointment of, or removing, the licensee as a conservator, guardian, trustee, personal representative of decedent’s estate, agent under a durable power of attorney for health care, agent under a durable power of attorney for finances, or a position arising from an appointment as a professional fiduciary practice administrator, and shall otherwise keep this information confidential, except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c) of this section:SEC. 3.
Section 6561 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:6561.
(a) A licensee shall initially, and annually thereafter, file with the bureau a statement under penalty of perjury containing the following:SEC. 4.
Section 6584 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:6584.
A license issued under this chapter may be suspended, revoked, or denied or other disciplinary action may be imposed for one or more of the following causes:SEC. 5.
Section 6592 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:6592.
(a) The fee for a professional fiduciary examination and reexamination shall be set by the bureau through regulation at the amount necessary to recover the actual costs to develop and administer the examination.SEC. 6.
Article 7 (commencing with Section 6593) is added to Chapter 6 of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, to read:Article 7. Professional Fiduciary Professional Corporations
6593.
(a) One or more licensees may organize a professional fiduciary professional corporation to provide professional fiduciary services that require licensure under this chapter.6593.1.
(a) A professional fiduciary professional corporation is a corporation that is6593.2.
Each of the following requirements apply to a professional fiduciary professional corporation:(g)A professional fiduciary professional corporation name shall contain the last name of at least one current or former qualified person.
(h)
(i)
6593.3.
(a) Upon request of the bureau, each professional fiduciary professional corporation shall provide to the bureau a corporation-wide report consisting of all of the following information:6593.4.
(a) If a professional fiduciary professional corporation is appointed in a matter in violation of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 310 of the Probate Code, then both of the following shall apply:6593.5.
This article shall become operative on January 1,As used in this part:
(a)“Professional services” means any type of professional services that may be lawfully rendered only pursuant to a license, certification, or registration authorized by the Business and Professions Code, the Chiropractic Act, or the Osteopathic Act.
(b)“Professional corporation” means a corporation organized under the General Corporation Law or pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 13406 that is engaged in rendering professional services in a single profession, except as otherwise authorized in Section 13401.5, pursuant to a certificate of registration issued by the governmental agency regulating the profession as herein provided and that in its practice or business designates itself as a professional or other corporation as may be required by statute. However, any professional corporation or foreign professional corporation rendering professional services by persons duly licensed by the Medical Board of California or any examining committee under the jurisdiction of the board, the Podiatric Medical Board of California, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, the Dental Board of California, the Dental Hygiene Board of California, the California State Board of Pharmacy, the Veterinary Medical Board, the California Architects Board, the Court Reporters Board of California, the Board of Behavioral Sciences, the Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensers Board, the Board of Registered Nursing, the State Board of Optometry, the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau, or the California Board of Occupational Therapy shall not be required to obtain a certificate of registration in order to render those professional services.
(c)“Foreign professional corporation” means a corporation organized under the laws of a state of the United States other than this state that is engaged in a profession of a type for which there is authorization in the Business and Professions Code for the performance of professional services by a foreign professional corporation.
(d)“Licensed person” means any natural person who is duly licensed under the provisions of the Business and Professions Code, the Chiropractic Act, or the Osteopathic Act to render the same professional services as are or will be rendered by the professional corporation or foreign professional corporation of which the person is, or intends to become, an officer, director, shareholder, or employee.
(e)“Disqualified person” means a licensed person who for any reason becomes legally disqualified (temporarily or permanently) to render the professional services that the particular professional corporation or foreign professional corporation of which they are an officer, director, shareholder, or employee is or was rendering.
SEC. 8.SEC. 7.
60.1.
(a) “Professional fiduciary” means a person who is a professional fiduciary as defined under subdivision (f) of Section 6501 of the Business and Professions Code.SEC. 9.SEC. 8.
PART 9.5. Professional Fiduciaries
310.
A superior court shall not appoint a professional fiduciary or a professional fiduciary professional corporation as a guardian, conservator, personal representative, or trustee, or permit a professional fiduciary or a professional fiduciary professional corporation to continue in any of those offices, unless the professional fiduciary or the professional fiduciary professional corporation satisfies any of the following:311.
A person shall not act or hold themselves out to the public as a professional fiduciary unless they are licensed as a professional fiduciary under Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code.SEC. 10.SEC. 9.
1510.
(a) A relative or other person on behalf of the minor, or the minor if 12 years of age or older, may file a petition for the appointment of a guardian of the minor. A relative may file a petition for the appointment of a guardian under this section regardless of the relative’s immigration status.SEC. 11.SEC. 10.
1821.
(a) (1) The petition shall request that a conservator be appointed for the person or estate, or both, shall specify the name, address, and telephone number of the proposed conservator and the name, address, and telephone number of the proposed conservatee, and state the reasons why a conservatorship is necessary. Unless the petitioner or proposed conservator is a bank or other entity authorized to conduct the business of a trust company, the petitioner or proposed conservator shall also file supplemental information as to why the appointment of a conservator is required. The supplemental information to be submitted shall include a brief statement of facts addressed to each of the following categories:SEC. 12.SEC. 11.
2250.
(a) On or after the filing of a petition for appointment of a guardian or conservator, any person entitled to petition for appointment of the guardian or conservator may file a petition for appointment of:SEC. 13.SEC. 12.
SEC. 14.SEC. 13.
2614.7.
If a guardian or conservator of the person or estate, or both, is a professional fiduciary, as described in Section 310, who is required to be licensed under the Professional Fiduciaries Act (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code), the guardian or conservator shall file, concurrently with the inventory and appraisal required by Section 2610, a proposed hourly fee schedule or another statement of their proposed compensation from the estate of the ward or conservatee for services performed as a guardian or conservator. The filing of a proposed hourly fee schedule or another statement of the guardian’s or conservator’s proposed compensation, as required by this section, shall not preclude a court from later reducing the guardian’s, conservator’s, or their attorney’s fees or other compensation.SEC. 15.SEC. 14.
2643.1.
(a) On petition by a guardian or conservator of the person or estate, or both, who is a professional fiduciary, as described in Section 310 and who is required to be licensed under the Professional Fiduciaries Act (Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code), the court may by order authorize periodic payments on account to a person described in subdivision (a) of Section 2643 for the services rendered by that person during the period covered by each payment only if that person has filed a proposed hourly fee schedule or another statement of their proposed compensation from the estate of the ward or conservatee for services performed as a guardian or conservator, as required by Section 2614.7, and only after the court has addressed any objections filed pursuant to subdivision (d).SEC. 16.SEC. 15.
SEC. 17.SEC. 16.