Probate and Mental Health Advisory Committee

Probate Code section 890 requires the Judicial Council, every three years effective April 1, to adjust the dollar amounts specified in sections 6600 to 6615 and sections 13000 to 13660 of the code. These amounts are used to determine eligibility for small estate set-asides and disposition of estates without administration.

After making the adjustments, the Judicial Council is required to publish a list of the current dollar amounts and the date of the next adjustment. Current and past amounts are published here: Probate Code 890 Adjusted Amounts. The effective date of the next scheduled adjustment is April 1, 2028.

Under rule 10.44 of the California Rules of Court, the advisory committee comprises judicial officers with experience in probate; probate court lawyers, examiners, and investigators; lawyers who practice primarily decedents’ estate, trust, guardianship, conservatorship, or elder abuse law; persons knowledgeable in mental health or developmental disability law; a public interest lawyer; a private fiduciary; and a county counsel, public guardian, or similar public officer familiar with guardianship and conservatorship issues. The committee reports to the Judicial Council’s Rules Committee. Members are appointed by the Chief Justice to staggered three-year terms.

Download the committee roster.
 

• Hon. Jayne Chong-Soon Lee, Chair, Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of San Joaquin
• Hon. Julia Campins, Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa
• Hon. Candice Garcia-Rodrigo, Judge of the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino
• Hon. Aaron W. Heisler, Commissioner of the Superior Court of California, County of Orange
• Ms. Johanna Bloomfield, Managing Attorney, Mental Health Advocacy Services, Los Angeles
• Mr. Mark A. Gonzalez, Lead Deputy County Counsel, Office of the County Counsel, County of Santa Clara
• Ms. Sheri Gulino, Probate Director, Superior Court of California, County of Riverside
• Mr. Christopher Haug, Probate Attorney, Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles
• Ms. Bertha Sanchez Hayden, Associate Vice President, Bet Tzedek Legal Services, Los Angeles
• Mr. Thomas M. Johnson, Managing Attorney, Superior Court of California, County of Riverside
• Mr. Daniel C. Kim, Attorney, DK Trust Law, Sacramento
• Ms. Marilyn R. Kriebel, Professional Fiduciary, Kriebel & Associates, El Cajon
• Dr. Bonnie J. Olsen, Professor of Clinical Family Medicine & Vice Chair for Research, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles
• Ms. Stella Pantazis, Managing Attorney & General Counsel, Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco
• Ms. Anne M. Rudolph, Attorney at Law, Hughes & Pizzuto, San Diego
• Ms. Julie R. Woods, Probate Attorney, Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles

Judicial Council Lead Staff to the Committee

• Ms. Julia Kaufman, Attorney, Center for Families, Children & the Courts, Judicial Council of California
• Mr. Corby Sturges, Attorney, Center for Families, Children & the Courts, Judicial Council of California

Rule 10.44. Probate and Mental Health Advisory Committee

(a) Area of focus
The committee makes recommendations to the council for improving the administration of justice in proceedings involving:

(1) Decedents' estates, trusts, conservatorships, guardianships, and other probate matters; and

(2) Mental health and developmental disabilities issues.

(b) Additional duty
The committee must coordinate activities and work with the Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee in areas of common concern and interest.