If the court didn't grant your fee waiver request (guardianship or conservatorship)
The court will not grant a fee waiver if the fee waiver form is incomplete or if the court reviewed the information and initially decided the ward or conservatee doesn't qualify. You have a few options depending on why the fee waiver was denied.
Find out why your fee waiver wasn't granted
The court will respond using Form FW-003-GC and list the reason for not granting the request. You will have 10 days from the date of service to either pay the fee or provide more information. The date of service is listed on Page 3 under the "Clerk's Certificate of Service."
Read pages 2 and 3 of Form FW-003-GC to see what the court has ordered. If you don't follow the instructions, the court will cancel any papers you filed with your fee waiver request and you can miss important deadlines or have to start your case all over.
Your options
Select the reason shown on your Form FW-003-GC to see what you can do.
If your form was incomplete, you have 10 days to either pay the fee or file a new Form FW-001-GC with complete information. The Self-Help Center at your court can help with the form.
If the court denied your request because there wasn't enough information to make a decision, the court will set up a hearing date for you. The hearing will be confidential.
The hearing date and documents needed for the hearing will be on pages 2 and 3 of Form FW-003-GC. You must follow the instructions and go to court at the time listed.
If you don't go to the hearing, your fee waiver will be denied, and you will have to pay fees in 10 days, or the paperwork for your case will be cancelled.
If the court determined the ward or conservatee is ineligible, the Form FW-003-GC will show the reason.
You have 10 days to either pay the fee or ask for a hearing to show more information to a judge. If you ask for a hearing, the judge can decide to grant you a full waiver, a partial waiver, or extra time to pay, or they may deny your request again.
How to ask for a confidential hearing about your Fee Waiver
- Fill out a Request for Hearing About Court Fee Waiver Order (Ward or Conservatee) (form FW-006-GC) and the top of Notice on Hearing about Court Fees (Ward or Conservatee) (form FW-007-GC).
- Make 1 copy of your forms, for a total of 2.
- Take the original and copy of your FW-006-GC and FW-007-GC to the court clerk. The court will mail you another form with a hearing date to come to court.
Once you've filed the Request for Hearing, the court will send you a completed Form FW-007-GC, telling you when the court date is for your fee waiver hearing. You'll need to go to court, present your information.
After the hearing, the court will give you its decision using Form FW-008-GC. The judge's decision is final. If the fee waiver was denied, you'll need to pay the fee if you want to move forward with the case.
If you want to pay the fees and costs yourself
If you want, you can choose to advance the fees and costs yourself. If you or someone else is appointed guardian or conservator, you may be able to get paid back (reimbursed) for the costs from the estate of the guardian or conservator (if they have one).
You may have the right to get paid back by someone who is responsible for the care of the child or the conservatee reimburse you. For example, the parents of the child (ward) or the spouse of a conservatee who has control of the couple's community property.