Probate Examiner's Corner

INTEREST-BEARING ACCOUNT:

Pursuant to PrC§9652, a personal representative must maintain all estate cash in an interest-bearing financial account or other investments authorized by law, except for an amount that is reasonably necessary for orderly administration of the estate.
 
As the court explained in more than one matter, it is not acceptable to deposit estate funds into the attorney’s client trust account without the court’s prior approval, nor is it acceptable to deposit all estate funds into a non-interest-bearing account without the court’s prior approval.
 
This court has considered an argument that all the cash in the estate is “an amount reasonably necessary for orderly administration”. This court did not find that argument compelling.

LETTERS:
Purs. to statute (PrC§§8400 et seq), it has always been the court’s policy that the Letters must agree with the signed Order. The Probate Examiners must review Letters prior to issuance, and that review includes comparing the signed Order to the proposed Letters. That will impact the public’s ability to obtain issued Letters the same day as the petition hearing. The Probate Examiners apologize for the inconvenience to the probate community, but the review is a necessary step of the court’s oversight.

INVENTORY AND APPRAISAL FORMS:  An Inventory and Appraisal must be filed in all decedent's estates, conservatorship, and guardianship matters by a date certain pursuant to statute. If the estate has no assets at all as of the date of the appraisal (e.g., the date of decedent's death, or the date of appointment), an Inventory and Appraisal is still required and failure to file the form even when the estate has no value will very likely result in a required court appearance. For more information, those interested are invited to review the California Probate Referee Guide published by the California Probate Referee's Association, which is available for download online.

If more time is needed to marshal the assets, please see California Probate Code section 8800(b) and (c). Failure to file the Inventory and Appraisal by the statutory deadline, or obtain an extension of time, may result in penalties.

If the Inventory and Appraisal has been submitted to the probate referee but not filed prior to the Inventory Review date, the Personal Representative, or their retained counsel, may file a declaration attesting to these facts and provide an anticipated timeframe for filing.  The Court may, in its discretion, continue the Inventory Review hearing without required appearances.

The revised Local Rules of Court which took effect January 1, 2026 are available for download.

For the probate community, Local Rule 8.07 provides clear guidance regarding Guardians ad Litem.