Probate Court

The former wife of beleaguered Broadcom Corp. co-founder Henry T. Nicholas III has lost an attempt to limit his control of the family's fortune. Orange County Superior Court Judge Mary Fingal Schulte ruled Thursday that Probate Court was not the proper venue for Stacey Nicholas to seek to have her former husband removed as co-trustee of the family's trust, which she estimated to be worth $600 million.

During the three years she's crusaded to give homeowners a straightforward deed transfer that would avoid Probate Court, Mary Pat Toups has racked up thousands of travel miles, including more than 30 trips to Sacramento. Some lawyers probably wish the tireless seniors' activist would get lost en route.

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.

Calling for reform of California's "broken" conservatorship system, a leading lawmaker outlined an ambitious plan Monday for licensing and auditing professional guardians who care for the state's most vulnerable adults. Assemblyman Dave Jones (D-Sacramento), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said he would introduce a bill next month that would require training and licensure for conservators.

When it comes to paying conservators, Orange County's Probate Court has built a reputation for stinginess. Most judges in Southern California approve conservators' fees without a quibble. But those in Orange County are well known for slashing fees by as much as 50%, particularly when conservators bill top dollar for shopping and other chores.

Emmeline Frey was wheeled toward the bench, escorted by a family friend. She was 93 years old and frail, suffering from dementia and a broken hip. In San Diego County's busy Probate Court, it was up to Judge Thomas R. Mitchell to decide how to preserve the $1 million she had amassed pinching pennies over a lifetime. On the recommendation of Frey's attorney, he appointed a professional conservator named Donna Daum.

Frumeh Labow buzzes through the double doors of Los Angeles County's main Probate Court, a queen bee in her hive. She has several items to settle. She asks a judge for permission to sell the Beverly Hills home of a 66-year-old man with Parkinson's disease, though he wants to keep it. She asks the judge to order the release of financial records by the girlfriend of another aged client. She asks the court to approve $25,140 in fees, to be paid from the bank account of a third elderly ward.

A Connecticut probate judge has ordered the former executor of violinist Isaac Stern's estate to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to Stern's three grown children. Stern's children, from his second marriage, had gone to probate court asking former executor William Moorhead III for more than $2 million, claiming he improperly calculated the estate's value and transferred assets to Stern's third wife, Linda Reynolds Stern.

The owners of a Pomona massage parlor that served as a house of prostitution were sentenced to five years' probation Friday in addition to having to turn over their property to an elementary school. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Terry A. Green also ordered that Herschel H. Jennings, 65, wear an electronic monitoring device for one year in lieu of serving a year in County Jail.

A former Las Vegas topless dancer who admitted stalking her ex-lover by posting sexually explicit photos of the married man on the Internet was placed on five years' probation Thursday and ordered to serve 210 days in the Ventura County Jail. Robin Kelly, a 43-year-old Simi Valley resident who performed under the name "Ruby Tuesday," has served most of the jail sentence and is expected to be released in about two weeks.