I have a situation that I need a referal for.
As some of you may recall, my Dad passed away quite suddenly this past December.

Prior to that my Mother suffered a stroke in June of 2004. While she never completely recovered, she did regain much of her mental and physical faculties.
Since Dad's death though, she has begun a slow, and scary decline. I recently took her in to an Alzheimer's and Dementia center for a thorough evaluation. Their diagnoses is new onset Alzheimer's. In addition, I have a younger sister who is over the age of majority, but either marginally retarded, or because of the way my Mother and Grandmother raised her(Dad never put his foot down, I don't know why)has been sheltered, and enabled all her life to the point she is functionally disabled. As a result, she will never be able to care for herself. I have been handling all of her, and Mother's finances, and health care through both a General, as well as Durable  Health care Power of Attorney. This was executed earlier this year when Mother was still fairly lucid, and was able to sign her name. This has, until very recently, been sufficient to do what needed to be done. As far as my sister goes, she has agreed to follow any suggestion I make depending on the situation.

My Mother has no living relatives, and those on my Dad's side of the family, for reasons without foundation, and the specifics of which I won't bore you with, think that I'm scum. As a result  some of these God-fearing Christian individuals have been making  noise about attempting to step in and petition the court for a conservatorship over both my Mother and sister.

I was hoping to avoid the time and expense of doing this myself, as I have been able to operate quite well with the instruments I have. Furthermore, my bookkeeping if demanded by the court would prove conclusively that there has been no financial mismanagement on my part, and all of both my Mother's and sister's material, medical, and emotional needs are being met.

However,as a result of all this meddling on the part of my relatives, I find myself in need of a referal to a Probate, and/or Family Law Attorney either located in Tulare County California, or one in Southern California familiar with the Tulare County Superior Court.

As I said, I had hoped to avoid the expense of a formal conservatorship, but it seems that a pre-emptive strike is in order here.
I know that I could ask the Tulare County Bar Association, but I thought that since quite a few lawyers are active participants on this board, I'd try and keep it in the family so to speak.
Thanks

Social agencies, perhaps even the clinic that saw your mother, often interact with probate lawyers.  The directors of those agencies often have honest, no-bones-to-pick opinions about which lawyers do the best for their clients.

I would call and ask their opinion.

I have durable power of attorney over both my Mom (advanced Parkinson) and Dad (two strokes partial paralysis). I handle all of their affairs. I’m trying to keep them in their home as long as possible they require 24/7 nurses and scheduling is a real pain. The worst part is watching them slowly slip away. My sister lives about 8 hours away and will only spend brief visits. She says it makes her depressed. Well no sh*t how do you think I feel dealing with it on a daily basis. I am sorry that your other relatives are giving you so much trouble. I hope you resolve this soon. Just thought you might like to know you are not alone.

You sound like a hell of a guy, I am impressed that you are going to the effort to keep your parents together & in their own home in their last years and youa re smart to have the home care vrs expensive & dreary nursing homes. keep up the good work

The yellow pages and the bar association will just give you a list of potential lawyers.  But if you have the time - it just takes a morning - go to the probate court and watch some of the lawyers in action.  When you see one you like, and who works well and seems to know her way around the courtroom and the judge(s), talk to her.  If she won't talk to you, try another, etc.  It sounds as if you are going to need one eventually, so take care of it now.  Another resource is the public guardian's office.  They may have a referral list as well.  Good luck.