The 2025 revision of the capacity declaration (GC-335) for probate conservatorship in California is comprehensive. Can we optimize its utility by approaching it as a collaborative instrument? Without the collaboration, the forms can be a drudgery, and I suspect that PFAC members and probate attorneys are battling resistance by clinicians when presented with the new form. This presentation and open discussion will address the reasons for the changes and the potentially collaborative nature of the form in the engagement of PFAC members, the healthcare team, and family/friend/petitioners.
A1 – The Collaborative Nature of the New GC-335 (2025): Confidential Capacity Assessment and Declaration – Probate Conservatorship
Speakers
Gary Freedman-Harvey
Gary Freedman-Harvey, PhD (PSY11419) is a licensed psychologist directing my forensic practice on cognitive impairment in older adults.
My focus is on issues related to decision-making: testamentary capacity, capacity to amend a trust, to execute a power of attorney. I also analyze and opine on a person’s susceptibility to undue influence regarding financial decision-making and transactions.
I provide forensic evaluations and testimony, primarily in the area of conservatorships and trust litigation through the probate courts in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, Napa, Alameda, and Riverside Counties. I have presented professional continuing education programs on informed consent, decision-making, elder abuse, scams, and undue influence.