H-1475.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 1873
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 56th Legislature 1999 Regular Session
By Representatives Mitchell and Constantine
Read first time 02/09/1999. Referred to Committee on Judiciary.
AN ACT Relating to guardianship fees and costs; and amending RCW 11.92.180.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 11.92.180 and 1995 c 297 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
A guardian or limited guardian shall be allowed such compensation
for his or her services as guardian or limited guardian as the court shall deem
just and reasonable. Guardians and limited guardians shall not be compensated
at county or state expense. Additional compensation may be allowed for other
administrative costs, including services of an attorney and for other services
not provided by the guardian or limited guardian. Where a guardian or limited
guardian is an attorney, the guardian or limited guardian shall separately
account for time for which compensation is requested for services as a guardian
or limited guardian as contrasted to time for which compensation for legal
services provided to the guardianship is requested. In all cases, compensation
of the guardian or limited guardian and his or her expenses including
attorney's fees shall be fixed by the court and may be allowed at any annual or
final accounting; but at any time during the administration of the estate, the
guardian or limited guardian or his or her attorney may apply to the court for
an allowance upon the compensation or necessary expenses of the guardian or
limited guardian and for attorney's fees for services already performed. If
the court finds that the guardian or limited guardian has failed to discharge
his or her duties as such in any respect, it may deny the guardian any
compensation whatsoever or may reduce the compensation which would otherwise be
allowed. Where the incapacitated person is a department of social and health
services client residing in a nursing facility or in a residential or home
setting and is required by the department of social and health services to
contribute a portion of their income towards the cost of residential or
supportive services then the department shall be entitled to notice of
proceedings as described in RCW 11.92.150. ((The amount of guardianship
fees and additional compensation for administrative costs shall not exceed the
amount allowed by the department of social and health services by rule.))
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