Judge: William A. Crowfoot, Case: 23AHCV01054, Date: 2024-10-15 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 23AHCV01054    Hearing Date: October 15, 2024    Dept: 3

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - NORTHEAST DISTRICT

Claimant Zhi Fei Cheng (“Claimant”), a person with a disability, by and through their Guardian Ad Litem, Naiwei Hsu (“Petitioner”), has agreed to settle their claims against Defendant Canh Hoang Nguyen. Court approval is required for all settlements of claims by a person with a disability. (Probate Code §§ 3500, 3600, et seq.; Code of Civ. Proc. § 372.)  The Court finds the settlement amount to be fair and reasonable.  Further, the requested attorney’s fees, which amounts to approximately 27% of the total settlement amount, is fair and reasonable.

As required by Probate Code section 3604(b), the Court makes the following findings: (1) the SNT beneficiary has a disability which substantially impairs the individual’s ability to provide for his own care or custody and constitutes a substantial handicap; (2) the SNT beneficiary is likely to have special needs that will not be met without the trust; and (3) the money to be paid to the trust does not exceed the amount that appears reasonably necessary to meet the SNT beneficiary’s special needs.

The proposed trust instrument meets the requirements set forth in California Rules of Court (CRC) rule 7.903(c) and LASC rule 4.116(b) and is ready for approval for creation and/or funding. However, Petitioner requests to modify the investment standard so that the co-trustees have the authority to purchase mutual funds and bonds with maturity dates later than 5 years to provide for diversification and a higher rate of investment return. While the Court is inclined to grant this request, it must be included in a revised proposed order.  

The proposed order is also deficient in that Item 11 states that bond is not required. Here, the proposed co-trustees are Naiwei Hsu and May Hsu. Bond must be required of a trustee unless they are a corporate fiduciary.  (Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 7.903(c)(5); Prob. Code, § 2320.) Accordingly, the Court will require a $1,756,000 bond from the co-trustees and for the proposed order to be revised to reflect this requirement.

In light of the required changes to the proposed order, the Court CONTINUES the hearing on this petition to _______________ at 8:30 a.m. in Department 3 of the Alhambra Courthouse.

Moving party to give notice.

Dated this 15th day of October 2024

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the Court at ALHDEPT3@lacourt.org indicating intention to submit on the tentative as directed by the instructions provided on the court website at www.lacourt.org. Please be advised that if you submit on the tentative and elect not to appear at the hearing, the opposing party may nevertheless appear at the hearing and argue the matter. Unless you receive a submission from all other parties in the matter, you should assume that others might appear at the hearing to argue. If the Court does not receive emails from the parties indicating submission on this tentative ruling and there are no appearances at the hearing, the Court may, at its discretion, adopt the tentative as the final order or place the motion off calendar.