Guardians

Entering his second hour on the witness stand, Britney Spears' father was the picture of resigned misery. His shoulders sagged like he was carrying buckets of cement. His suit jacket flapped open and his tie lay crookedly across his barrel chest. His eyes were puffy and cast down and his mouth drooped in the pronounced frown of a bulldog.

In a hearing Wednesday, the daughter of "Columbo" star Peter Falk described lifelong tensions between the 81-year-old actor's children and his wife of more than 30 years. Now Catherine Falk and her stepmother are locked in a court battle for control of the ailing star, who has dementia.

Phoebe Hearst Cooke is a noted horsewoman and philanthropist. She owns two ranches in San Luis Obispo County, and with assets between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, she is a fixture on the Forbes list of America's wealthiest people. She also is at the center of legal actions filed by relatives who contend the 81-year-old granddaughter of publishing legend William Randolph Hearst no longer has the capacity to manage her own affairs.

A judge refused to establish a conservatorship for Peter Falk on Monday, but has scheduled testimony to decide whether court intervention is necessary to allow visits between the ailing actor and his daughter. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Aviva K. Bobb scheduled an evidentiary hearing on May 27 to try to determine how close the "Columbo" star was to his adopted daughter, Catherine, before falling ill.

Laws to protect seniors and dependent adults from abuse by court-appointed conservators are under threat as California lawmakers seek painful cuts to close the state's $15.2-billion budget deficit. The laws were part of a sweeping reform package signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger two years ago after a Los Angeles Times series had exposed theft, abuse and negligence by some professional conservators appointed to look after seniors.

An Orange County conservator accused of embezzling more than $900,000 from a dead woman's estate to feed an Internet gambling addiction was sentenced Thursday to nine years in prison after pleading guilty. In addition, Jennifer Ann Wenger, 53, of San Juan Capistrano was ordered to pay $840,000 in restitution as part of a plea agreement approved by Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Marc Labreche.

A retired nurse entrusted by judges and federal officials to manage the affairs of disabled veterans pleaded guilty Monday to forging documents and lying to the court in order to steal from one of her clients, a veteran suffering from psychosis and seizures. As part of the deal prosecutors struck Monday with Anne Chavis, 73, charges involving seven other clients will be dismissed, but Chavis will have to reimburse all victims named in the 15-count complaint.

A task force set up by California's chief justice to consider statewide conservatorship reform is seeking public comments on a list of draft recommendations that include a "Bill of Rights" for people under conservatorship and improved ways to protect the assets of incapacitated adults from theft.

Concerned about predatory practices and weak oversight of conservators serving as guardians for the elderly, the California Judicial Council on Friday approved a series of reforms aimed at protecting seniors from being "hijacked" into conservatorships and other abuses.

After a string of chilling reports detailing abuse of the elderly, lawmakers and advocacy groups will unveil recommendations today to strengthen oversight of adult guardianships. Members of the Senate Special Committee on Aging called for nationwide data collection on guardianship cases, mandatory quality standards for guardians and an infusion of federal funds to boost local court supervision programs.