2010 California Code
Welfare and Institutions Code
Article 4. Property And Support Of Patients

7275.  The husband, wife, father, mother, or children of a patient
in a state hospital for the mentally disordered, the estates of such
persons, and the guardian or conservator and administrator of the
estate of such patient shall cause him to be properly and suitably
cared for and maintained, and shall pay the costs and charges of his
transportation to a state institution. The husband, wife, father,
mother, or children of a patient in a state hospital for the mentally
disordered and the administrators of their estates, and the estate
of such person shall be liable for his care, support, and maintenance
in a state institution of which he is a patient. The liability of
such persons and estates shall be a joint and several liability, and
such liability shall exist whether the person has become a patient of
a state institution pursuant to the provisions of this code or
pursuant to the provisions of Sections 1026, 1368, 1369, 1370, and
1372 of the Penal Code.
   This section does not impose liability for the care of mentally
retarded persons in state hospitals.



7275.1.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Director of Mental Health may delegate to each county all or part of
the responsibility for determining the ability to pay, as delineated
in subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 5710, for the cost of care
provided to mentally disordered minor children in a state hospital,
and all or part of the responsibility for collecting the charges.
   (b) If the director delegates responsibility pursuant to
subdivision (a) and that responsibility is accepted by a county, the
director shall establish and maintain the policies and procedures for
making the determinations and collections. Each county to which
responsibility is delegated pursuant to subdivision (a) shall comply
with policies and procedures adopted pursuant to this subdivision.



7276.  (a) The charge for the care and treatment of all mentally
disordered persons and alcoholics at state hospitals for the mentally
disordered for whom there is liability to pay therefor shall be
determined pursuant to Section 4025. The Director of Mental Health
may reduce, cancel or remit the amount to be paid by the estate or
the relatives, as the case may be, liable for the care and treatment
of any mentally disordered person or alcoholic who is a patient at a
state hospital for the mentally disordered, on satisfactory proof
that the estate or relatives, as the case may be, are unable to pay
the cost of that care and treatment or that the amount is
uncollectible. In any case where there has been a payment under this
section, and the payment or any part thereof is refunded because of
the death, leave of absence, or discharge of any patient of the
hospital, that amount shall be paid by the hospital or the State
Department of Mental Health to the person who made the payment upon
demand, and in the statement to the Controller the amounts refunded
shall be itemized and the aggregate deducted from the amount to be
paid into the State Treasury, as provided by law. If any person dies
at any time while his or her estate is liable for his or her care and
treatment at a state hospital, the claim for the amount due may be
presented to the executor or administrator of his or her estate, and
paid as a preferred claim, with the same rank in order of preference,
as claims for expenses of last illness.
   (b) If the Director of Mental Health delegates to the county the
responsibility for determining the ability of a minor child and his
or her parents to pay for state hospital services, the requirements
of Sections 5710 and 7275.1 and the policies and procedures
established and maintained by the director, including those relating
to the collection and accounting of revenue, shall be followed by
each county to which that responsibility is delegated.



7277.  The State Department of Mental Health shall collect all the
costs and charges mentioned in Section 7275, and shall determine,
pursuant to Section 7275, and collect the charges for care and
treatment rendered persons in any community mental hygiene clinics
maintained by the department and may take such action as is necessary
to effect their collection within or without the state. The Director
of Mental Health may, however, at his discretion, refuse to accept
payment of charges for the care and treatment in a state hospital of
any mentally disordered person or inebriate who is eligible for
deportation by the federal immigration authorities.



7277.1.  In the case of liability for care arising under Section
7275 during the lifetime of a decedent, where the decedent, or his
spouse, father, mother, or child, has been a patient in a state
hospital preceding the date of decedent's death, a claim for costs
and charges shall be mailed within four months after written request
therefor, in the form required by the department, by the fiduciary of
the estate or trust or by any other person liable for the claim or
any portion thereof.



7278.  The department shall, following the admission of a patient
into a state hospital for the mentally disordered cause an
investigation to be made to determine the moneys, property, or
interest in property, if any, the patient has, and whether he has a
duly appointed and acting guardian to protect his property and his
property interests. The department shall also make an investigation
to determine whether the patient has any relative or relatives
responsible under the provisions of this code for the payment of the
costs of transportation and maintenance, and shall ascertain the
financial condition of such relative or relatives to determine
whether in each case such relative or relatives are in fact
financially able to pay such charges. All reports in connection with
such investigation, together with the findings of the department,
shall be records of the department, and may be inspected by
interested relatives, their agents, or representatives at any time
upon application.



7279.  (a) If any person committed to a state mental hospital has
sufficient estate for the purpose, the guardian or conservator of the
person's estate shall pay for his or her care, support, maintenance,
and necessary expenses at the mental hospital to the extent of the
estate. The payment may be enforced by the order of the judge of the
superior court where the guardianship or conservatorship proceedings
are pending. On the filing of a petition therein by the department
showing that the guardian or conservator has failed, refused, or
neglected to pay for such care, support, maintenance, and expenses,
the court, by order, shall direct the payment by the guardian or
conservator. Such order may be enforced in the same manner as are
other orders of the court.
   (b) If at any time there is not sufficient money on hand in the
estate of a committed person to pay the claim of a state mental
hospital for his or her care, support, maintenance, and expenses
therein, the court may, on petition of the guardian or conservator of
the estate, or if the guardian or conservator fails, refuses, or
neglects to apply, on the petition of the department, make an order
directing the guardian or conservator to sell so much of the other
personal or real property or both, of the person as is necessary to
pay for the care, support, maintenance, and expenses of the person at
the mental hospital. From the proceeds of such sale, the guardian or
conservator shall pay the amount due for the care, support,
maintenance, and expenses at the mental hospital, and also such other
charges as are allowed by law.
   (c) Payment for the care, support, maintenance, and expenses shall
not be extracted, however, from a person who has no more than five
hundred dollars ($500) of assets.



7280.  The guardian or conservator of the estate of any person who
is confined in a state mental hospital may, from time to time, pay to
the state mental hospital moneys out of the estate to be used for
the future personal needs of the mentally disordered person while in
a state mental hospital and for burial expenses, such sums so paid to
be credited to the patient's personal deposit account, subject to
the provision relating to the deposit of funds in the patients'
personal deposit fund.



7281.  There is at each institution under the jurisdiction of the
State Department of Mental Health and at each institution under the
jurisdiction of the State Department of Developmental Services, a
fund known as the patients' personal deposit fund. Any funds coming
into the possession of the superintendent, belonging to any patient
in that institution, shall be deposited in the name of that patient
in the patients' personal deposit fund, except that if a guardian or
conservator of the estate is appointed for the patient then he shall
have the right to demand and receive such funds. Whenever the sum
belonging to any one patient, deposited in the patients' personal
deposit fund, exceeds the sum of five hundred dollars ($500), the
excess may be applied to the payment of the care, support,
maintenance and medical attention of the patient. After the death of
the patient any sum remaining in his personal deposit account in
excess of burial costs may be applied for payment of care, support,
maintenance and medical attention. Any of the funds belonging to a
patient deposited in the patients' personal deposit fund may be used
for the purchase of personal incidentals for the patient or may be
applied in an amount not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500) to the
payment of his burial expenses.



7282.  The State Department of Mental Health with respect to a state
hospital under its jurisdiction, or the State Department of
Developmental Services with respect to a state hospital under its
jurisdiction, may in its own name bring an action to enforce payment
for the cost and charges of transportation of a person to a state
hospital against any person, guardian, conservator, or relative
liable for such transportation. The department also may in its own
name bring an action to recover for the use and benefit of any state
hospital or for the state the amount due for the care, support,
maintenance, and expenses of any patient therein, against any county,
or officer thereof, or against any person, guardian, conservator, or
relative, liable for such care, support, maintenance, or expenses.




7282.1.  If a person who is or has been a recipient of services
provided by the State Department of Developmental Services or the
State Department of Mental Health in a state hospital, or the
guardian, conservator, or personal representative of such person,
brings an action or claim against a third party for an injury,
disorder, or disability, which resulted in the need for care,
maintenance, or treatment in a state hospital, the person or the
guardian, conservator, or personal representative shall within 30
days of filing the action or claim give to the Director of
Developmental Services, for hospitals under the jurisdiction of the
State Department of Developmental Services, or the Director of Mental
Health, for hospitals under the jurisdiction of the State Department
of Mental Health, written notice of the action or claim and of the
name of the court or agency in which the action or claim is to be
brought. Proof of the notice shall be filed in the action or claim.
For pending actions or claims filed prior to January 1, 1986, proof
of the notice shall be filed by February 1, 1986.
   Any judgment, award, or settlement arising out of the action or
claim shall be subject to a lien in favor of the Director of
Developmental Services or the Director of Mental Health, for
hospitals under the jurisdiction of that department, for the cost of
state hospital care and treatment furnished with respect to the
subject of the action or claim, however:
   (a) A lien shall not attach to that portion of a money judgment
awarded for pain and suffering.
   (b) A lien shall not attach if over 180 days has elapsed between
the time when notice was given to the department and the time when
the department has filed its lien with the court or agency in which
the action or claim has been brought.
   (c) A lien authorized by this section shall not be placed for
services which have been paid through the state Medi-Cal program.
   (d) This section shall not apply to actions or claims in which a
final judgment, award, or settlement has been entered into prior to
January 1, 1986.



7283.  All moneys collected by the State Department of Mental Health
and the State Department of Developmental Services for the cost and
charges of transportation of persons to state hospitals shall be
remitted by the department to the State Treasury for credit to, and
shall become a part of, the current appropriation from the General
Fund of the state for the transportation of the mentally disordered,
correctional school, or other state hospital patients and shall be
available for expenditure for such purposes. In lieu of exact
calculations of moneys collected for transportation charges the
department may determine the amount of such collections by the use of
such estimates or formula as may be approved by the Department of
Finance.



7284.  If any incompetent person, who has no guardian or conservator
of the estate and who has been admitted or committed to the State
Department of Mental Health for placement in any state hospital for
the mentally disordered, is the owner of any property, the State
Department of Mental Health, acting through its designated officer,
may apply to the superior court of the proper county for its
appointment as guardian or conservator of the estate of such
incompetent person.
   For the purposes of this section, the State Department of Mental
Health is hereby made a corporation and may act as executor,
administrator, guardian or conservator of estates, assignee,
receiver, depositary or trustee, under appointment of any court or by
authority of any law of this state, and may transact business in
such capacity in like manner as an individual, and for this purpose
may sue and be sued in any of the courts of this state.
   If a person admitted or committed to the State Department of
Mental Health dies, leaving any estate, and having no relatives at
the time residing within this state, the State Department of Mental
Health may apply for letters of administration of his or her estate,
and, in the discretion of the court, letters of administration may be
issued to the department. When the State Department of Mental Health
is appointed as guardian, conservator, or administrator, the
department shall be appointed as guardian or conservator or
administrator without bond. The officer designated by the department
shall be required to give a surety bond in such amount as may be
deemed necessary from time to time by the director, but in no event
shall the initial bond be less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000),
which bond shall be for the joint benefit of the several estates and
the State of California. The State Department of Mental Health shall
receive such reasonable fees for its services as such guardian,
conservator, or administrator as the court allows. The fees paid to
the State Department of Mental Health for its services as guardian,
conservator, or administrator of the various estates may be used as a
trust account from which may be drawn expenses for filing fees, bond
premiums, court costs, and other expenses required in the
administration of the various estates. Whenever the balance remaining
in such trust fund account shall exceed a sum deemed necessary by
the department for the payment of such expenses, such excess shall be
paid quarterly by the department into the State Treasury to the
credit of the General Fund.


7285.  The State Department of Mental Health may invest funds held
as executor, administrator, guardian or conservator of estates, or
trustee, in bonds or obligations issued or guaranteed by the United
States or the State of California. Such investments may be made and
such bonds or obligations may be sold or exchanged for similar bonds
or obligations without notice or court authorization.



7286.  The State Department of Mental Health may establish one or
more common trusts for investment of funds held as executor,
administrator, guardian or conservator of estates, or trustee and may
designate from time to time the amount of participation of each
estate in such trusts. The funds in such trusts may be invested only
in bonds or obligations issued or guaranteed by the United States or
the State of California.
   The income and profits of each trust shall be the property of the
estates participating and shall be distributed, when received, in
proportion to the amount of participation of each estate in such
trust. The losses of each trust shall be the losses of the estates
participating and shall be apportioned, as the same occur, upon the
same basis as income and profits.


7287.  Upon the death of an incompetent person over whom the State
Department of Mental Health has obtained jurisdiction pursuant to
Section 7284, the department may make proper disposition of the
remains, and pay for the disposition of the remains together with any
indebtedness existing at the time of the death of such person from
the assets of the guardianship or conservatorship estate, and
thereupon it shall file its final account with the court or otherwise
close its administration of the estate of such person.



7288.  Whenever it appears that a person who has been admitted to a
state institution and remains under the jurisdiction of the State
Department of Mental Health or the State Department of Developmental
Services does not have a guardian or conservator of the estate and
owns personal property which requires safekeeping for the benefit of
the patient, the State Department of Mental Health or the State
Department of Developmental Services may remove or cause to be
removed such personal property from wherever located to a place of
safekeeping.
   Whenever it appears that such patient does not own property of a
value which would warrant guardianship or conservatorship
proceedings, the expenses of such removal and safekeeping shall be
paid from funds appropriated for the support of the institution in
which the patient is receiving care and treatment; provided, however,
that if the sum on deposit to the credit of such patient in the
patients' personal deposit fund exceeds the sum of three hundred
dollars ($300), the excess may be applied to the payment of such
expenses of removal and safekeeping.
   When it is determined by the superintendent, at any time after the
removal for safekeeping of such personal property, that the patient
is incurable or is likely to remain in a state institution
indefinitely, then any of those articles of personal property which
cannot be used by the patient at the institution may be sold at
public auction and the proceeds therefrom shall first be applied in
reimbursement of the expenses so incurred, and the balance shall be
deposited to the patient's credit in the patients' personal deposit
fund. All moneys so received as reimbursement shall be deposited in
the State Treasury in augmentation of the appropriation from which
the expenses were paid.



7289.  When a person who is a client of a state hospital or
developmental center in the State Department of Mental Health or the
State Department of Developmental Services has no guardian or
conservator of the estate and has money due or owing to him or her,
the executive director of the institution of which the person is a
client may, during the client's residence at the institution, collect
an amount not to exceed three thousand dollars ($3,000) of any money
so due or owing upon furnishing to the person, representative,
officer, body or corporation in possession of or owing any sums, an
affidavit executed by the executive director or acting executive
director. The affidavit shall contain the name of the institution of
which the person is a client, and the statement that the total amount
requested pursuant to the affidavit does not exceed the sum of three
thousand dollars ($3,000). Payments from retirement systems and
annuity plans which are due or owing to the clients may also be
collected by the executive director of the institution of which the
person is a client, upon the furnishing of an affidavit executed by
the executive director or acting executive director, containing the
name of the institution of which the person is a client and the
statement that the person is entitled to receive the payments. These
sums shall be delivered to the executive director and shall be
deposited by him or her in the clients' personal deposit fund as
provided in Section 7281.
   The receipt of the executive director shall constitute sufficient
acquittance for any payment of money made pursuant to this section
and shall fully discharge the person, representative, officer, body
or corporation from any further liability with reference to the
amount of money so paid.
   The executive director of each institution shall render reports
and accounts annually or more often as may be required by the
department having jurisdiction over the hospital or the Department of
Finance of all moneys of clients deposited in the clients' personal
deposit accounts of the institution.



7289.1.  (a) The amount of three thousand dollars ($3,000) as set
forth in Section 7289, shall be adjusted annually, on January 1 by
the State Department of Developmental Services as it applies to state
hospitals or developmental centers under its jurisdiction, and by
the State Department of Mental Health as it applies to state
hospitals under its jurisdiction, to reflect any increases or
decreases in the cost of living occurring after December 31, 1967, so
that the first adjustment becomes effective January 1, 1990. The
indices of the California Consumer Price Index--All Urban as prepared
by the Department of Industrial Relations, shall be used as the
basis for determining the changes in the cost of living.
   (b) In implementing the cost-of-living provisions of this section,
the State Department of Developmental Services and the State
Department of Mental Health shall use the most recent December for
computation of the percentage change in the cost of living after
December 31, 1967. The amount of this adjustment shall be made by
comparing the average index for the most recent December with the
average index for December 1967. The product of any percentage
increase or decrease in the average index and the amount set forth in
Section 7289 shall be the adjusted amount subject to affidavit
pursuant to the provisions of Section 7289.



7290.  The State Department of Mental Health or the State Department
of Developmental Services may enter into a special agreement,
secured by a properly executed bond, with the relatives, guardian,
conservator, or friend of any patient therein, for his care, support,
maintenance, or other expenses at the institution. Such agreement
and bond shall be to the people of the State of California and action
to enforce the same may be brought thereon by the department. All
charges due under the provisions of this section, including the
monthly rate for the patient's care and treatment as established by
or pursuant to law, shall be collected monthly. No patient, however,
shall be permitted to occupy more than one room in any state
institution.



7291.  The county from which each person has been committed to an
institution for defective or psychopathic delinquents shall pay the
state the cost of the care of such person, for the time the person
committed remains a patient of the institution, at the monthly rate
therefor fixed as provided in Section 7292.



7292.  The cost of such care shall be determined and fixed from time
to time by the Director of Mental Health, but in no case shall it
exceed the rate of forty dollars ($40) per month.



7293.  The State Department of Mental Health shall present to the
county, not more frequently than monthly, a claim for the amount due
the state under Section 7291 which the county shall process and pay
pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section
29700) of Division 3 of Title 3 of the Government Code.




7294.  Any person who has been committed as a defective or
psychopathic delinquent may be paroled or granted a leave of absence
by the medical superintendent of the institution wherein the person
is confined whenever the medical superintendent is of the opinion
that the person has improved to such an extent that he is no longer a
menace to the health and safety of others or that the person will
receive benefit from such parole or leave of absence, and after the
medical superintendent and the Director of Mental Health have
certified such opinion to the committing court.
   If within 30 days after the receipt of such certification the
committing court orders the return of such person, the person shall
be returned forthwith to await further action of the court. If within
30 days after the receipt of such certification the committing court
does not order the return of the person to await the further action
of the court, the medical superintendent may thereafter parole the
person under such terms and conditions as may be specified by the
superintendent. Any such paroled inmate may at any time during the
parole period be recalled to the institution. The period of parole
shall in no case be less than five years, and shall be on the same
general rules and conditions as parole of the mentally disordered.
   When any person has been paroled for five consecutive years, if in
the opinion of the medical superintendent and the Director of Mental
Health the person is no longer a menace to the health, person, or
property of himself or of any other person, the medical
superintendent, subject to the approval of the Director of Mental
Health, may discharge the person. The committing court shall be
furnished with a certified copy of such discharge and shall thereupon
make such disposition of the court case as it deems necessary and
proper.
   When, in the opinion of the medical superintendent, a person
heretofore committed as a defective or psychopathic delinquent will
not benefit by further care and treatment under any facilities of the
department and should be returned to the jurisdiction of the court,
the superintendent of the institution and the Director of Mental
Health shall certify such opinion to the committing court including
therein a report, diagnosis and recommendation concerning the person'
s future care, supervision or treatment. Upon receipt of such
certification, the committing court shall forthwith order the return
of the person to the court. The person shall be entitled to a court
hearing and to present witnesses in his own behalf, to be represented
by counsel and to cross-examine any witness who testifies against
him. After considering all the evidence before it, the court may make
such further order or commitment with reference to such person as
may be authorized by law.