Probate Code, 1990

Except where Section 120 provides otherwise, dower and curtesy estates are not recognized.

A person related to the decedent through two lines of relationship gets only one share, using the relationship that gives the larger share.

This section says the part generally does not apply to decedents who died before January 1, 1985, except as stated, and Section 6412 applies regardless of when the decedent died.

A power of appointment exercised by a will is effective if the power existed at the powerholder’s death but was created after the will was executed, unless the creating instrument or the will shows an intent not to allow that exercise.

This section says when a parent-and-child relationship exists for intestate succession.

An adoption usually ends the legal parent-child relationship between an adopted person and a natural parent, except in specified family situations.

A parent may be barred from inheriting from or through a child if parental rights were terminated, the child was not acknowledged, or the parent abandoned the child for the stated period.

This section explains when a person is treated as a natural parent for this chapter.

For intestate succession, a parent-child relationship can exist between a person and a foster parent or stepparent if the relationship began during minority, continued through both lives, and there is clear and convincing evidence the person would have been adopted but for a legal barrier.

This section says the chapter does not affect or limit equitable adoption for the benefit of a child or the child’s issue.

A powerholder of a general power of appointment may make appointments in several forms, including all or part of the property, present or future interests, in trust, and by creating a new power of appointment.

The surviving spouse and minor children may stay in possession of the family dwelling and certain exempt family property until the inventory is filed and for 60 days after that, unless the court orders a different period for good cause on petition.

Any interested person may file a petition for an order under Section 6500, and notice of the hearing must be given under Section 1220.

A holder of a special power may make any appointment that a holder of a general power could make under Section 650, but only if the creating instrument allows it.

The court may, on petition and at certain times during estate administration, set aside exempt property other than the family dwelling for the surviving spouse or the decedent’s minor children.

Any interested person may file a petition for an order under Section 6510, and notice of the hearing must be given under Section 1220.

A holder of a special power of appointment may appoint all or part of the property to one or more permissible appointees and exclude others, unless subdivision (b) applies.

The court may, on petition, select and set apart one probate homestead during estate administration.

The probate homestead must be set apart for use by the surviving spouse or the decedent’s minor children.

The probate homestead must be selected from specified property types, and it cannot be taken from property possessed by a third person unless that person consents.

When selecting a probate homestead, the court must consider listed family, creditor, and estate factors, then choose suitable property and set it apart on proper terms and conditions.

A probate homestead may be set apart only for a limited period, and never past the surviving spouse’s lifetime or a child’s minority.

Any interested person may file a petition to select and set apart a probate homestead.

Property set aside as a probate homestead can still be reached for estate claims, liens, and later successor claims, but the homestead right limits that liability and can exempt some claims.

The court may modify or end a probate homestead right before final distribution, if it finds that appropriate. Certain people may file a petition, and notice of the hearing must be given to the listed persons.

This section says the chapter does not end or change a homestead declaration for a surviving spouse or minor child in the decedent’s estate property interests.

The decedent’s spouse, minor children, and certain dependent adult children are entitled to a reasonable family allowance from the estate; the court may also allow it to other dependent adult children and dependent parents.

The court may grant or change a family allowance when an interested person petitions for it.

A family allowance starts on the court’s order date or another time set by the court, but it cannot be made retroactive to before the decedent’s death.

A family allowance ends by the estate’s final distribution, or sooner under the insolvency rule; the court can also modify or end it.

The estate must pay the costs of proceedings under this chapter as administration expenses.

An appeal does not stop proceedings or enforcement if the person benefiting from the order gives an undertaking for double the payment amount.

This section defines “quasi-community property” and describes the kinds of property that count as it.

A powerholder may contract to make an appointment only when the power is presently exercisable, with a limited exception for the same person serving as donor and powerholder.

This section defines “decedent’s estate” for this chapter and excludes certain jointly held property, death-terminating interests, and some multiple-party accounts from the estate calculation.

This section defines “minor child” as a child of the decedent who was under 18 when the decedent died and who survived the decedent.

A petition may be filed to ask for a small-estate set-aside for the decedent’s surviving spouse and minor children, if the estate’s net value stays within the stated limit.

The petition must be filed in the superior court of a county where the decedent’s estate may be administered.

A petition under this section must state that the chapter applies and include specified information about the decedent’s estate, heirs, property, liabilities, and requested disposition.

A petition under this chapter can be filed in pending estate proceedings without an extra fee, may be filed with certain other probate petitions if proceedings have not started, and may be filed before final distribution of the estate.

This section lists who may file a petition under the small estate set-aside chapter, including the executor named in the will, the surviving spouse, certain guardians, a qualifying minor child, or a personal representative if one has been appointed.

The petitioner must give notice of the hearing and send the petition copy to specified family members and interested persons, with timing rules depending on whether estate proceedings are already pending or joined.

If a petition is filed under this chapter, the personal representative—or the petitioner if no personal representative has been appointed—must file an inventory and appraisal with the clerk of the court before the petition hearing. The personal representative or petitioner may also appraise certain assets.

If the estate’s net value is at or below $85,900, the court must make a small-estate order unless that would be inequitable.

A powerholder may release a discretionary power of appointment by signed written instrument and must deliver the release as required by the section.

When an order under Section 6609 becomes final, it is conclusive on all persons, including people not yet in being.

People who received title under Section 6609 can be personally liable for the decedent’s unsecured debts, but only up to a capped amount. Certain family members or a guardian may raise defenses the decedent could have used, and some creditor actions are barred unless specific timing or acknowledgment exceptions apply.

If a small-estate petition is filed together with a probate or administration petition and the court does not make an order under Section 6609, the court must proceed with the probate or administration petition as if the small-estate petition had never been filed.

Attorney fees for work on this chapter are set by private agreement between attorney and client, and the court does not approve them unless there is a dispute and a petition is filed.

The small estate set-aside rules in Sections 6600 to 6613 do not apply if the decedent died before July 1, 1987.

References to the repealed former Sections 640 to 647.5 are treated as references to the comparable provisions of this chapter.

A minor’s guardian must make a release only under a court order; the guardian or another interested person may ask the court for that order.

An exercise of a power of appointment is not void just because it goes beyond what was authorized; it is valid to the extent it is permitted by the power’s terms.

This section says what happens if an imperative power of appointment is not effectively exercised, is exercised defectively, or creates a right to compel exercise.

If a powerholder fails to exercise or effectively exercise a power of appointment, the property passes to the donor’s default taker or reverts to the donor. For a general power of appointment, an implied appointment to the powerholder’s estate may be found if the powerholder intended the property to be treated as their own property.

If an appointment fails because the appointee dies before it takes effect, the appointee’s surviving issue may take the property, unless the donor or powerholder intended a different disposition.

If the creating instrument does not say otherwise, a powerholder may appoint to the issue of a deceased permissible appointee when the appointee died before the power was exercised and meets the stated timing conditions.

When a powerholder’s disposition covers both appointed property and property the powerholder owns, the property must be allocated in a permissible way that follows the creating instrument and best carries out the powerholder’s intent.

If there is no contrary intent, a taker in default of appointment may share fully in property that was not appointed after a valid partial appointment.

This section says that “real property” includes a leasehold interest in real property.

The donor of a power of appointment may not use the instrument creating the power to change the creditors’ rights given by Sections 682, 683, and 684.

If a decedent leaves no eligible person to take the estate, the estate escheats at death under this part.

Real property in this state escheats to the state under Section 6800.

Tangible personal property owned by a decedent escheats to the state if it was customarily kept in California before death, even if it was located elsewhere at death.

Certain tangible personal property in a decedent’s estate escheats to California unless another jurisdiction makes a successful claim under the listed conditions.

Intangible property owned by a decedent escheats to the state if the decedent was domiciled in the state when they died.

Intangible property in a decedent’s estate generally escheats to the state, unless another jurisdiction claims it and meets the listed conditions.

Benefits from certain trusts generally do not escheat to the state and instead go to the trust or fund, but a terminated plan can trigger state escheat if the trust or fund was already distributed to beneficiaries.

Property covered by a special power of appointment is generally protected from the powerholder’s creditors and estate-administration expenses, except in stated circumstances.

Property subject to certain general powers of appointment can be reached by creditors when the powerholder’s own property or estate is insufficient.

Property subject to a general power of appointment in the donor’s favor can be reached by the donor’s creditors, the donor’s estate, and estate administration expenses, unless the donor irrevocably appointed it to someone else.

A person owed support by a powerholder is treated as a creditor, but only to the extent there is a legal obligation for the powerholder to provide that support.

This section defines “revocable transfer on death deed” and “revocable TOD deed” as a revocable transfer on death deed described in Section 5614.

The statutory rule against perpetuities applies to powers of appointment governed by this part.

This section says when a power of appointment is irrevocable or revocable, depending on the creating, exercise, or release instrument and whether Section 15400 applies.

A reference to this code or another law includes all past and future amendments and additions.

This section defines “security” to include many kinds of financial instruments and related certificates, warrants, and purchase rights.

The chapter’s definitions apply to this part unless the provision or context requires otherwise.

Subject to Section 7001, a decedent’s property title passes at death to the person named in the decedent’s will, or to the decedent’s heirs if there is no devise.

A decedent’s property is administered under this code unless law provides otherwise, and it remains subject to the rights of beneficiaries, creditors, and other persons as provided by law.

“Attorney” means an individual licensed to practice law in this state.

This section defines “deposit” for this chapter.

“Depositor” means a natural person who deposits a document with an attorney.

This section defines “document” for this part of the Probate Code.

The superior court has jurisdiction over proceedings under this code relating to administration of a decedent’s estate.

If the decedent was domiciled in California when they died, estate administration proceedings belong in the county of domicile, even if death occurred elsewhere.

For a decedent who was not domiciled in California when they died, this section identifies which county is the proper venue for estate administration.

A judge is disqualified from acting in certain probate estate proceedings if the judge has a specified interest, is named in the will, or helped draft or witness the will.

If no qualified judge is available, the court or judge must transfer the estate proceeding to another county.

A proceeding under this article must be transferred to a county where the decedent has property, or to an adjoining county if no other county has such property.

A transferred probate proceeding may be sent back to the original court on petition by the personal representative or another interested person, if requested before final distribution and the court finds the listed conditions are met.

If a document is deposited with an attorney, the attorney and any successor attorney who accepts the transfer must preserve it with ordinary care and keep it in a secure place.

If an attorney holds a deposited document that is lost or destroyed, the attorney must notify the depositor.

An attorney is not liable for loss or destruction of a deposited document if the depositor has notice, time to replace it, and the attorney offers free help to replace or recreate it.

An attorney who accepts a document for deposit is not required to check the document or provide ongoing legal services.

An attorney may charge the depositor for safekeeping or delivery costs only if a written agreement signed by the depositor allows it, and the attorney cannot claim a lien on the deposited document.

An attorney may use a notice-and-acknowledgment form when taking a will or other estate planning document for safekeeping, must use ordinary care to preserve it, and the depositor must keep the attorney updated on address changes.

An attorney, and a successor attorney who accepts transfer of a document, must use at least slight care to preserve a deposited document when the stated notice and acknowledgment conditions are met.

For this code section, “spouse” includes a domestic partner as defined elsewhere in the code.

A depositor may end a document deposit on demand, and the attorney must return the document to the depositor.

In estate-administration proceedings, a new-trial motion is allowed only in a will contest, a revocation of probate of a will, or a case where a jury-trial right is expressly granted.

When a probate judgment or order becomes final, it releases the personal representative and sureties from claims based on acts or omissions authorized, approved, or confirmed in that judgment or order.

This section defines “transaction” for this article as a transaction affecting title to estate property.

When a personal representative executes a real-property transaction under a court order, the instrument must state that the transaction is made under the order’s authority and must give the order date.

A transaction carried out by a personal representative under an authorizing or directing order is treated as if the decedent had done it personally while legally capable.

If certain probate orders affect real property, the personal representative must record a certified copy of the order with the county recorder in each county where the property is located.

If a U.S. department or bureau makes or awards compensation, pension, insurance, or another allowance to a decedent’s estate, it has the same rights as an interested person.

An attorney who holds or receives a deposited document may end the deposit only in the way this article allows.

An attorney may terminate a deposit of estate planning documents in one of three ways.

An attorney may terminate a document deposit in specified ways, but must give notice in one case, must not take a transfer fee, and must follow special rules for wills when the depositor has died.

An attorney who transfers documents under Section 732 must send transfer notice to the State Bar of California, and the notice must include specified details. The State Bar must keep only one notice per transferring attorney, set the notice form, and provide notice information on request.

An attorney may end a deposit of a document after the depositor’s death, but the allowed recipient depends on whether the document is a will or a trust.

This section says who may terminate a deposit of estate-planning documents when the attorney is dead or incapacitated, and requires notice if the deposit is terminated.

This section defines “State” to include U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and U.S.-subject territories and possessions.

This section defines “subscribing witness” for a will as a witness who signs the will as provided in Section 6110.

A public officer or employee who knows of a decedent’s property at risk of loss, injury, waste, or misappropriation must inform the public administrator.

The person in charge of a hospital, convalescent hospital, or board and care facility must immediately notify the county public administrator if someone dies there without known next of kin.

A funeral director controlling the decedent’s remains must notify the public administrator if the listed relatives or other persons cannot be found or contacted.

If there is no appointed personal representative, the county public administrator must promptly take possession or control of a decedent’s property that may be at risk or that the court orders taken.

A public administrator who has authority over a decedent’s property must promptly search for other property, a will, and instructions for disposition of remains, and must deliver any found will or instructions as specified.

A public administrator may issue a written certification and record it. Covered institutions and other persons must provide information, allow access to certain safe-deposit boxes, and surrender certain decedent property when they receive the certification, without asking for a death certificate, charging a fee, or requiring a court order or letters.

If a public administrator takes possession or control of a decedent’s property under this article, and someone else later becomes personal representative or takes possession/control, the public administrator may recover reasonable preservation costs and reasonable compensation.

A public administrator must comply with continuing education requirements established by the California State Association of Public Administrators, Public Guardians, and Public Conservators by or before January 1, 2010.

The county public administrator must promptly take specified steps in estate cases, including petitioning for appointment, accepting court-ordered appointments, or proceeding with summary disposition when the listed conditions are met.

This section says how a public administrator is appointed as personal representative, and sets a bond-fee charge for estates handled under this chapter.

The public administrator must administer the estate like a personal representative, unless this chapter says otherwise. The public administrator and the public administrator’s attorney are entitled to the same compensation rules, subject to a minimum floor.

The public administrator may receive additional compensation if specified conditions are met.

If money remains with the public administrator after final distribution, the court must order it paid over within 60 days; if the administrator fails to comply, the county district attorney must promptly sue the administrator and bond sureties for the ordered amount plus costs.

The public administrator must deposit estate money promptly upon receipt in an insured account, a financial institution, or with the county treasurer.

Money deposited under this article may be withdrawn if the public administrator orders it and the withdrawal is needed for estate administration.

The public administrator must credit each estate with the highest interest or dividends it would have earned if its funds had been deposited separately, and must deposit any excess interest or dividends in the county general fund.

The county treasurer must keep estate money deposited under this chapter, pay it out on the public administrator’s order for administration, and send unclaimed estate money to the State Treasurer or Controller.

After five years, unclaimed estate deposit money is presumed abandoned, and the Controller may seek a court order requiring the financial institution to send the money to the State Treasurer.

A public administrator may use summary estate disposition in limited small-estate situations, and certain institutions must provide information, access, and property when they receive the required certification.

A public administrator may withdraw, collect, and sell a decedent’s property under this article.

The public administrator must pay estate money in the order required by Section 11420 before distributing the decedent’s property under Section 7663.

The public administrator must distribute remaining estate property to beneficiaries after debts are paid, but not before four months have passed after authorization or taking possession. If there are no beneficiaries, the balance must be deposited with the county treasurer for the county general fund. If the deposit exceeds $5,000, the Controller must receive written notice at the time of deposit.

A person who receives property under this article is personally liable for the decedent’s unsecured debts, but liability is capped at the property’s net fair market value.

The public administrator must file a statement and distribution receipts with the clerk, and keep receipts and expenditure records for three years after disposition.

The public administrator, and any attorney for the public administrator, are paid under Part 7 for filing an application and related services, subject to stated exceptions. The public administrator is guaranteed at least $3,000.

This section defines when a person is not treated as a “surviving spouse.”

This section defines words used in the code, such as division, part, chapter, article, section, subdivision, paragraph, and subparagraph, unless another meaning is expressly stated.

This section defines “Totten trust account” and describes what it includes and excludes.

In proceedings under this code, the court is a court of general jurisdiction and has the same power and authority as a superior court.

After a decedent dies, any interested person may petition the court to start estate administration and may seek appointment of a personal representative, probate of the will, or both.

An executor named in a will must petition the court for estate administration within 30 days after learning of the decedent’s death and that they are named executor, unless good cause for delay is shown.

A petition for probate must include specified information, and if there is a will, the petitioner must attach required copies or translations and state whether the named executor consents to act or waives appointment.

The hearing on a petition must be scheduled within a set number of days after the petition is filed, and the petitioner must serve and publish notice of the hearing.

If a personal representative appointment is contested, the contestant may challenge competency or another person's right to appointment, and if the contest claims another person has the right to be appointed, the contestant must file a petition, serve notice, and the court must hear both petitions together. If a will is contested, Article 3 procedure applies.

At the petition hearing, the court may examine witnesses and require any person to attend as a witness about specified facts about the decedent and the estate.

If the court finds the required facts, it must issue an order fixing the time and place of death and the court’s jurisdiction, and it may admit the will to probate and appoint a personal representative when appropriate and supported by proof.

A final order admitting a will to probate or appointing a personal representative conclusively determines the court’s jurisdiction and cannot be collaterally attacked, except for extrinsic fraud or an erroneous death determination.

The court may order certain actions or proceedings into a separate civil action, and may transfer the severed matter there if the appropriate filing fees are paid.

“Transferor” means a testator, settlor, grantor, owner, or other person who executes an instrument.

This section defines “transferee” as the beneficiary, donee, or other recipient of an interest transferred by an instrument.

This section presumes all persons have decision-making capacity and explains that mental or physical disorder does not automatically mean a person lacks capacity.

The notice of hearing must include specified estate-administration information, and creditors or contingent creditors must file a claim and send a copy to the personal representative within the stated deadline.

A court’s capacity determination must be supported by evidence of a mental-function deficit and its connection to the act or decision; a diagnosis alone is not enough.

The petitioner must give notice of a decedent’s estate administration hearing at least 15 days before the hearing.

If a will may create a charitable testamentary trust or a charitable devise without an identified devisee, notice of hearing with the petition and will must be delivered to the Attorney General.

A general personal representative must give notice of the estate administration to creditors and to public entities.

When a foreign-country citizen dies without a will, dies with a will that names no executor, or property will pass to a foreign-country citizen, notice must be given to a recognized diplomatic or consular official of that foreign country who has an office in the United States.

A person generally lacks capacity to make a decision unless they can communicate the decision and understand and appreciate the relevant rights, consequences, risks, benefits, and alternatives.

A notice of hearing for a petition to administer a decedent’s estate must also be published before the hearing in the manner required by this article.

The notice must be first published at least 15 days before the hearing, and three weekly-or-more newspaper publications with at least five days between the first and last publications are sufficient.

Notice of hearing should generally be published in compliance with Section 8121, and a good-faith publication that substantially complies can still be sufficient if the court makes the required findings.

A notice published under this article must have its caption in 8-point type or larger and its text in 7-point type or larger.

The court may not hear a petition to administer a decedent’s estate unless an affidavit of due publication of the hearing notice has been filed.

After the notice of hearing is published and an affidavit is filed, a later court-ordered publication may leave out information for creditors and contingent creditors.

This section says a person has capacity to give informed consent to proposed medical treatment if they can answer questions intelligently, use rational thought, and understand the basic medical information listed in the section.

This section defines “trust” by listing what is included and what is excluded.

A custodian of a will must deliver the will to the county superior court clerk within 30 days after learning of the testator’s death, unless a probate petition is filed earlier, and must also give a copy to the named executor or beneficiary if their whereabouts are known.

If a petition alleges someone has a decedent’s will and the court accepts that allegation, the court must order that person to produce the will.

If a decedent was domiciled in this state at death and the will is held by a court in another state or country and cannot be produced here, a certified photographic copy may be admitted to probate with the same force and effect as the original.

A court may order a will transferred to another county’s superior court clerk when no estate proceeding is pending in the county where the will was delivered.

If there is no will contest, the court may allow a will to be proved with one subscribing witness and may permit deposition and photographic-copy procedures when no subscribing witness lives in the county.

If no subscribing witness is available, the court may allow proof of a will through handwriting evidence and certain supporting documents.

A holographic will may be proved the same way as other writings.

A petition to probate a lost or destroyed will must include a written statement of the will’s testamentary words, or their substance.

Witness testimony in a will proceeding may be written down, signed, and filed, and that preserved testimony may be used later if the witness becomes unavailable.

When a court admits a will to probate, the clerk must enter that fact in the minutes.

If no one contests a will or seeks revocation in time, probate admission is conclusive. A will may still be admitted even after another will was probated or property was already distributed, but it cannot change property already distributed. If the proponent has notice of certain probate proceedings, the proponent may seek probate only within the later of two stated deadlines.

In proceedings under this code, there is no right to a jury trial unless this code expressly says otherwise.

If a will is contested under Section 8004, the contestant must file an objection to probate, and people summoned must file a written response within 30 days after service. An executor named in the will has no duty to defend the contest until appointed personal representative.

In a will contest, the petitioner and other interested persons may answer or demur within the summons deadline; if a demurrer is sustained, the court may allow up to 15 days to amend; if someone misses the summons response deadline, they cannot participate further in the contest.

In a will contest trial, the will’s proponents must prove due execution, the contestants must prove grounds such as lack of intent or capacity, undue influence, fraud, duress, mistake, or revocation, and the court must decide contested factual issues affecting validity.

At trial, each subscribing witness must be produced and examined. If no subscribing witness is available under Evidence Code Section 240, the court may allow other witnesses to prove the will’s due execution.

The court may make appropriate orders on objections and must enter judgment admitting the will to probate or rejecting it, in whole or in part, and appointing a personal representative.

Certain interested people may ask the court to revoke probate of a will, but the petition must be filed within 120 days unless the petitioner was a minor or incompetent without a guardian or conservator at the time of probate.

A summons in a revocation-of-probate proceeding must be directed to the personal representative and known heirs/devisees, and served with instructions to file a written response within 30 days.

If satisfactory proof shows a will should be denied probate, the court must revoke probate of the will.

“Trust company” means an entity that has qualified to engage in and conduct a trust business in this state.

This section defines “trustee” to include original, additional, and successor trustees, whether or not a court appointed or confirmed them.

A person may not administer an estate until appointed as personal representative and the appointment has taken effect; an executor named in the will may still pay funeral expenses and take necessary preservation steps before that happens.

A petitioner for appointment as personal representative may place property with a trust company or financial institution, but must file a written receipt with a court-order withdrawal restriction.

A person cannot serve as a personal representative if they are a minor, under a conservatorship, unfit or unable to perform the job, removable under Section 8502, not a U.S. resident, or a surviving business partner objected to by an interested person.

A personal representative must take and sign an oath before letters are issued.

Before letters are issued, most personal representatives must file an acknowledgment that they received the duties-and-liabilities statement; the court may also require extra identifying information by local rule if confidentiality is protected.

Court letters must be signed by the clerk under the court’s seal and must include specified details about the county, the appointed personal representative, and any independent administration authority.

A person named as executor in the decedent’s will has the right to be appointed as personal representative.