LPS conservatorship petition: court appoints public defender or other counsel within 5 days
5 days after date of the conservatorship petition, under Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code 5365.
Rule text
The court shall appoint the public defender or other attorney for the conservatee or proposed conservatee within five days after the date of the petition.
Calculate this deadline
- Trigger (Date of the conservatorship petition): Friday, November 6, 2026.
- Exclude the trigger day and count 5 calendar days: Wednesday, November 11, 2026.
- That day is a Veterans Day, but this date is fixed by the rule and does not move: Wednesday, November 11, 2026.
Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code 5365
The court shall appoint the public defender or other attorney for the conservatee or proposed conservatee within five days after the date of the petition.Official source
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 12, 12a, 10; Gov. Code 6800, 6804, 6806; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 1.10 (for periods set by the Rules of Court)
CCP 12: "The time in which any act provided by law is to be done is computed by excluding the first day, and including the last, unless the last day is a holiday, and then it is also excluded." CCP 12a: "(a) If the last day for the performance of any act provided or required by law to be performed within a specified period of time is a holiday, then that period is hereby extended to and including the next day that is not a holiday. For purposes of this section, “holiday” means all day on Saturdays, all holidays specified in Section 135 and, to the extent provided in Section 12b, all days that by terms of Section 12b are required to be considered as holidays.(b) This section applies to Sections 659, 659a, and 921, and to all other provisions of law providing or requiring an act to be performed on a particular day or within a specified period of time, whether expressed in this or any other code or statute, ordinance, rule, or regulation." CCP 10: "Holidays within the meaning of this code are every Sunday and any other days that are specified or provided for as judicial holidays in Section 135." Gov. Code 6800: "The time in which any act provided by law is to be done is computed by excluding the first day, and including the last, unless the last day is a holiday, and then it is also excluded." Gov. Code 6804: "“Month” means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed." Gov. Code 6806: "A day is the period of time between any midnight and the midnight following." CRC 1.10(a): "The time in which any act provided by these rules is to be performed is computed by excluding the first day and including the last, unless the last day is a Saturday, Sunday, or other legal holiday, and then it is also excluded." CRC 1.10(b): "Unless otherwise provided by law, if the last day for the performance of any act that is required by these rules to be performed within a specific period of time falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or other legal holiday, the period is extended to and includes the next day that is not a holiday." Elec. Code 15: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the last day for the performance of any act provided for or required by this code shall be a holiday, as defined in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 6700) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, the act may be performed upon the next business day with the same effect as if it had been performed upon the day appointed.For purposes of this section, the Friday in November immediately after Thanksgiving Day shall be considered a holiday."Official source
- Some practitioners count the certification day as day 1; that reading gives a date one day earlier. Court duty; informational.
- If the clerk's office is closed or inaccessible on the last day (weather, emergency or local closure orders), the deadline may be extended. Check local orders.
This calculator applies the cited rules to the dates you enter. It is not legal advice. Court orders, local rules, and case-specific facts can change a deadline; verify before relying on it. Rule set pending attorney review.
Worked example
Date of the conservatorship petition on Monday, March 15, 2027, personal service: due Saturday, March 20, 2027.
- Trigger (Date of the conservatorship petition): Monday, March 15, 2027.
- Exclude the trigger day and count 5 calendar days: Saturday, March 20, 2027.
- That day is a Saturday, but this date is fixed by the rule and does not move: Saturday, March 20, 2027.
Notes
Some practitioners count the certification day as day 1; that reading gives a date one day earlier. Court duty; informational.
Related deadlines
- 14-day certification for intensive treatment: maximum period (14 days after)
- Certification review hearing within 4 days of certification (unless judicial review requested) (4 days after)
- Certification review hearing for a person still held under 5150 but not certified: within 7 days of initial detention (7 days after)
- Habeas corpus (request for release): court must release or hold evidentiary hearing within 2 judicial days after petition filed (2 court days after)
- Certification review hearing within 4 days after withdrawal of request for judicial review (4 days after)
- Additional 30-day certification for grave disability (Article 4.7): maximum period (30 days after)
- Petition for up to 30 additional days (5270.70): earliest filing (after 15 days of the 30-day period) (15 days after)
- Petition for up to 30 additional days (5270.70): latest filing (at least 7 days before the 30 days expire) (23 days after)
Local rules by county
County local rules and courtroom procedures can add to or change this deadline. Pick a county to calculate with them applied.
- Alameda
- Alpine
- Amador
- Butte
- Calaveras
- Colusa
- Contra Costa
- Del Norte
- El Dorado
- Fresno
- Glenn
- Humboldt
- Imperial
- Inyo
- Kern
- Kings
- Lake
- Lassen
- Los Angeles
- Madera
- Marin
- Mariposa
- Mendocino
- Merced
- Modoc
- Mono
- Monterey
- Napa
- Nevada
- Orange
- Placer
- Plumas
- Riverside
- Sacramento
- San Benito
- San Bernardino
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Joaquin
- San Luis Obispo
- San Mateo
- Santa Barbara
- Santa Clara
- Santa Cruz
- Shasta
- Sierra
- Siskiyou
- Solano
- Sonoma
- Stanislaus
- Sutter
- Tehama
- Trinity
- Tulare
- Tuolumne
- Ventura
- Yolo
- Yuba
Rules current as of 2026-10-27. Confirm against the official source and any local rule or court order before relying on a date. Rules changelog.