Amends TCA Title 34.

This bill makes various changes to present law concerning fiduciaries. FIDUCIARY'S FAITHFUL PERFORMANCE OATH Under present law, the only effective evidence of appointment of a fiduciary is duly issued letters of guardianship or conservatorship. Before delivering the letters of guardianship or conservatorship, present law requires the clerk to administer to the fiduciary an oath for the faithful performance of the fiduciary's duties. If there is more than one fiduciary and any of the fiduciaries is not a resident of the county in which the court supervising the proceedings is located, the oath of the nonresident fiduciary may be sworn or affirmed in the presence of a notary public and the acknowledgement of the fiduciary's oath, when certified by the notary public, must be presented to the appropriate clerk. At least one fiduciary's oath must be taken by the clerk. This bill instead generally requires that, before delivering the letters of guardianship or conservatorship, the clerk administer to a fiduciary an in-person oath for the faithful performance of the fiduciary's duties. If the clerk administers an in-person oath, then the clerk must notarize the oath. This bill authorizes a clerk or court to waive the in-person requirement for the faithful performance oath if the fiduciary files with the clerk a faithful performance oath containing all of the required language in the form of a written document that: (1) Is notarized in the presence of a notary public; or (2) Signed and dated under penalty of perjury. Under this bill, a fiduciary's faithful performance oath must include the fiduciary's promise that the fiduciary has completed court-approved training regarding the fiduciary's role as a conservator or guardian, unless the training is expressly waived by the court or pursuant to another law. COURT-APPROVED TRAINING FOR CONSERVATORS This bill adds a requirement that appointed conservators must complete court-approved training prior to a letter of guardianship or conservatorship being issued. A public guardian is exempt from the training required by this bill. The court-approved training must be free and easily accessible through internet access or other online availability. The full text of this bill provides examples of acceptable training that can be approved by the court. CONTENTS OF COURT ORDER NAMING CONSERVATOR Present law specifies various contents that must be included in a court order that names a conservator. This bill adds that the court order must require the conservator or co-conservators to file a sworn statement with the court acknowledging completion of the court-approved training required by this bill or waiver of the court-approved training for one of the following reasons: (1) The appointed conservator is a professional conservator or guardian and has already completed such training or equivalent training; (2) The appointed conservator is a private attorney in good standing and has already completed such training or equivalent training; or (3) For other good cause shown and reported in the order. The sworn statement must be included as part of the conservator's or co-conservators' fiduciary oath, which must be signed and dated under penalty of perjury or be notarized in the presence of a notary public or the court's clerk. EXAMINATION OF THE RESPONDENT Under present law, when a court orders the medical or psychological examination of a respondent to a petition for appointment of a conservator, the examining physician, psychologist, or senior psychological examiner must send a sworn written report to the court with copies to the petitioner and the guardian ad litem. This bill authorizes the report to be notarized in the presence of a notary public (which requires an oath), or signed and dated under penalty of perjury pursuant (which does not require an oath).