CA app. court refuses to invalidate donative transfers pursuant to Prob Code § 21350 because grantee was not grantor’s care custodian: Estate of Austin (Sept. 15, 2010)

Pursuant to Cal Prob Code § 21350(a)(6), which invalidates donative transfers to a dependent adult's care custodian, plaintiff, decedent's daughter, sought to invalidate gifts given by the decedent to defendant, the daughter of the decedent's former wife. The decedent made the gifts while he was in a nursing home. In ruling against plaintiff, the trial court upheld the gifts' validity, concluding that plaintiff failed to prove defendant was the decedent's care custodian.

On appeal, the court concluded that substantial evidence supported the trial court's conclusion.  Defendant had not become the decedent's care custodian as a result of the limited services she had performed for decedent while he was not in the nursing home. Plaintiff failed to carry her burden of proving defendant was a disqualified transferee as defined in § 21350(a)(6). There was no evidence of defendant providing any health or social services to decedent while he was in the nursing home. The evidence showed that decedent had been able to take care of himself, and defendant had not provided assistance to him until he broke his hip in October 2006 and had triple bypass surgery three weeks later. Decedent was in a nursing home during November 2006, while recovering from the surgery, and was in nursing homes in 2007 due to failing health. At other times after decedent became ill, defendant lived next door and took him to his doctors' appointments, prepared meals for him, and helped out wherever she could. There was no evidence that defendant was ever a paid live-in caregiver for decedent. The services provided by defendant could not reasonably be characterized as substantial, ongoing health services or social services.

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