Assemblymember Anamarie Ávila Farías, who represents Walnut Creek in the California State Assembly, petitioned a Contra Costa County court to place her own mother and sister under conservatorship in 2018, claiming her mother had dementia.

Three medical professionals found no evidence of cognitive decline, and Ávila Farías dropped the case only after her mother agreed to transfer approximately $1.8 million in property, according to a KQED and CalMatters investigation published Saturday, August 1, based on court records filed in Contra Costa County Superior Court.

Ávila Farías sits on the Assembly's Aging and Long-Term Care Committee, the legislative body charged with protecting seniors from exactly the kind of conduct alleged in the court filings.

What the records show

The dispute began in February 2018, when Ávila Farías's mother, AnaMaria Ávila Bugarin, filed for a temporary restraining order alleging elder abuse. A judge granted it. After mediation failed and Ávila Bugarin moved to evict her daughter from a family home, Ávila Farías filed a conservatorship petition in Contra Costa County probate court covering both her mother and her sister Judith Ávila, telling the judge her mother had "an inability to carry out actions in her own rational self-interest, and is subject to delusional and severely disorganized thinking."

A judge immediately placed Ávila Bugarin under a temporary conservatorship, blocking the then-76-year-old from making any financial or personal decisions.

Two doctors and a neuropsychologist all concluded Ávila Bugarin did not have dementia. "Ms. Avila does not present with any form of significant cognitive deficits which would limit her ability to make medical, legal, financial or life care planning decisions for herself," neuropsychologist Dr. Eric Freitag told the court in September 2018.

The court-appointed professional fiduciary, whom Ávila Farías herself had recommended, told the court investigator she "hadn't noticed any of the issues" described in the petition and that Ávila Bugarin was "clear headed and able to take care of herself."

Even so, Ávila Farías did not withdraw the petition.

Property transfer and resolution

In August 2019, about a year after filing, Ávila Farías dropped the case after her mother agreed to transfer two contested properties valued at roughly $1.8 million and to sell the family home they co-owned. Her mother also agreed to drop the restraining order.

Five months later, the home still had not been listed. A judge appointed a receiver to sell it over Ávila Farías's objection. She then filed for personal bankruptcy, the family's third such filing since 2011 following earlier filings for their real estate company and her husband. The home sold in November 2020; proceeds covered more than $186,000 in legal fees. Ávila Farías also paid her mother $116,000 from the sale. The case was fully resolved in 2021.

Contradictory statements on record

Court and FPPC records reveal conflicting accounts from Ávila Farías about who paid for the properties. In a court filing during the conservatorship case, she wrote that she had been "financially responsible for all asset liability" for 20 years with "no financial contributions from Mom." But roughly three and a half years earlier, she told the Fair Political Practices Commission the opposite: "My mother provided the down payment and has made the loan payments ever since. My mother is the sole owner of the property."

Response and what's next

Ávila Farías declined to comment on case details, citing a confidentiality agreement. Her spokesperson, Roger Salazar, said in a statement to CalMatters that no court has ever found Ávila Farías engaged in wrongdoing. Her attorney, Gary Winuk, said the conservatorship process was appropriate to determine capacity.

Elder-law professor emeritus Melissa Brown of the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law characterized the attempt as "a weaponization of the process."

Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas's spokesperson, Nick Miller, told CalMatters the speaker was not aware of the restraining order or conservatorship petition when he appointed Ávila Farías to the Aging and Long-Term Care Committee.

Ávila Farías, who won her District 15 seat two years ago with Gov. Gavin Newsom's endorsement, is running for a second term in the November 2026 election.