Truitt

This appeal presents a narrow jurisdictional question of the power of the superior court, sitting in probate, to set aside a deed executed by a conservator before the conservatee’s death. The facts and procedural history relevant to this question can be briefly stated.

Francis Starr was a widower, residing in Berkeley, California, who experienced declining health in the years after the death of his wife and before his own death at age 89 on October 31, 1987. During a period of hospitalization, an adopted son, John Truitt, petitioned the Superior Court for the County of Alameda to be appointed conservator of Starr’s person and estate. Following his appointment on April 24, 1987, Truitt sought to remedy what he perceived to be Starr’s undue generosity toward two friends, Lisbeth Hibbard and Corrine Mason. By a deed dated November 1, 1984, Starr had given Lisbeth Hibbard a joint tenancy interest in his home at 2609 Webster Street in Berkeley. Without the benefit of a court order, Truitt executed a grant deed on June 23, 1987, transferring Starr’s interest in the property to himself as conservator for the purpose of severing the joint tenancy. The deed was recorded on June…