(a) Subject to subdivisions (b) and (c), the guardian or conservator shall pay the following from any principal and income of the estate:
(1) The debts incurred by the ward or conservatee before creation of the guardianship or conservatorship, giving priority to the debts described in Section 2431 to the extent required by that section.
(2) The debts incurred by the ward or conservatee during the guardianship or conservatorship to provide the necessaries of life to the ward or conservatee, and to the spouse and minor children of the ward or conservatee, to the extent the debt is reasonable. Also, the debts reasonably incurred by the conservatee during the conservatorship to provide the basic living expenses, as defined in Section 297 of the Family Code, to the domestic partner of the conservatee. The guardian or conservator may deduct the amount of any payments for these debts from any allowance otherwise payable to the ward or conservatee.
(3) In the case of a conservatorship, any other debt incurred by the conservatee during the conservatorship only if the debt satisfies the requirements of any order made under Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 1870) of Part 3.
(4) The reasonable expenses incurred in the collection, care, and administration of the estate, but court authorization is required for payment of compensation to any of the following:
(A) The guardian or conservator of the person or estate or both.
(B) An attorney for the guardian or conservator of the person or estate or both.
(C) An attorney for the ward or conservatee.
(D) An attorney for the estate.
(E) The public guardian for the costs and fee under Section 2902.
(b) The payments provided for by paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) are not required to be made to the extent the payments would impair the ability to provide the necessaries of life to the conservatee and the spouse and minor children of the conservatee and to provide the basic living expenses, as defined in Section 297 of the Family Code, of the domestic partner of the conservatee.
(c) The guardian or conservator may petition the court under Section 2403 for instructions when there is doubt whether a debt should be paid under this section.
(Amended by Stats. 2001, Ch. 893, Sec. 35. Effective January 1, 2002.)