Probate Forms

Petition for Probate

This form is used to ask a court to officially handle someone's estate after they die, including distributing their money and property according to their will or California law. You would need this form if you're the person named in a will to manage the estate, or if you're a close family member seeking to handle the deceased person's affairs when there's no will.

Notice of Hearing on Petition to Determine Claim to Property

This form notifies a person that a court hearing has been scheduled to decide who has the legal right to claim certain property that was taken or frozen by law enforcement. Someone involved in a case uses this form to tell the other party about the hearing date and details so they can appear in court to argue whether they should get the property back.

Notice of Hearing—Decedent's Estate or Trust

This form notifies interested parties that a court hearing will be held regarding the management, distribution, or settlement of a deceased person's estate or trust. Executors, trustees, and beneficiaries use it to ensure all relevant parties receive official notice of probate proceedings and have an opportunity to appear in court.

Notice of Petition to Administer Estate

This form notifies interested parties that someone has filed a petition to be appointed as the legal manager of a deceased person's estate. Executors, administrators, and family members use this form to officially announce the probate petition and give heirs and creditors a chance to object or participate in the estate administration process.

Citation—Probate

This form is used to formally notify a person that they are being sued or that a court case involving them has been filed in probate court. Probate lawyers, court administrators, and people involved in estate or guardianship cases use it to serve legal notice and ensure all parties know about the proceedings.

Summons (Probate)

This form notifies a person that they are being sued in probate court and must respond within a certain time period. Executors, administrators, and heirs use it to formally serve notice of legal claims related to wills, estates, and inheritance matters.

Proof of Subscribing Witness

This form documents that a witness signed a will or other legal document and confirms their identity and the circumstances of the signing. Probate attorneys and executors use this form to verify a witness's involvement with a will during the probate process, which is necessary to establish the document's validity and move forward with distributing the deceased person's estate.

Proof of Holographic Instrument

This form is used to prove that a handwritten will or other document is valid and was written entirely by the person whose signature appears on it. People use this form during probate proceedings to establish that a handwritten will should be accepted by the court without requiring witnesses to testify about its authenticity.

Notice of Petition to Administer Estate

The DE-140 is a court order form that officially approves and confirms a will or trust after someone has died, allowing their property and assets to be distributed according to their wishes. Probate executors, administrators, and heirs use this form to get the court's legal authorization to manage the deceased person's estate and transfer their belongings to the rightful beneficiaries.

Waiver of Bond by Heir or Beneficiary

This form allows an heir or beneficiary to give up their right to require a bond from an executor or administrator managing a deceased person's estate. Executors, administrators, and beneficiaries use this form to waive the bond requirement, which speeds up the probate process and reduces costs by eliminating the need for a surety bond.

Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative

This form explains the legal duties and responsibilities that a personal representative (executor or administrator) must follow when managing a deceased person's estate, along with the potential penalties for failing to do so properly. Executors, administrators, and heirs use this form to understand what the person handling the estate is legally required to do and what happens if they don't follow the rules.

Letters

This form is used to request official court documents that prove a person has the legal authority to act on behalf of a deceased person's estate. Executors, administrators, and other estate representatives use it to obtain these letters from the court so they can manage the dead person's assets, pay debts, and distribute property to heirs.

Request for Special Notice

This form allows someone to request that they be notified of important court dates and decisions in a probate or guardianship case. Heirs, creditors, and other interested parties use this form to stay informed about estate proceedings and ensure their rights are protected throughout the case.

Notice of Administration to Creditors

This form notifies creditors that a person has died and their estate is being handled through the court system. Estate administrators, executors, or personal representatives use it to inform creditors about the death and give them a deadline to file claims against the estate.

Inventory And Appraisal

This form lists and values all property, money, and other assets that belong to a deceased person's estate. Estate administrators and executors use it to create an official record of what the estate owns for probate proceedings and to determine the estate's total value for tax and distribution purposes.

Inventory and Appraisal Attachment

This form lets you list and assign monetary values to a deceased person's property and assets as part of their estate. Probate administrators and executors use it to document what the estate owns so the court can properly distribute it to heirs and pay any debts.

Notice of Proposed Action (Objection-Consent)

This form notifies a party that someone is proposing to take a legal action and gives them a chance to object or consent to it before the action is finalized. Attorneys, courts, and parties in civil cases use this form to ensure proper notice and an opportunity to be heard on proposed decisions or settlements.

Waiver of Notice of Proposed Action

This form allows a person to give up their right to be notified in advance about a planned court action or decision in a case. It's used by parties in dependency and guardianship cases who want to waive notice of proposed actions to speed up proceedings or consent to court decisions without delay.

Creditor's Claim

This form allows a creditor to file a claim against a deceased person's estate to request payment of money owed to them. Creditors use this form during probate proceedings to formally notify the court and the estate representative that they are owed a debt and want to be paid from the deceased person's assets.

Allowance or Rejection of Creditor's Claim

This form is used to accept or reject a creditor's claim for payment from a deceased person's estate during probate. Probate administrators and executors use it to decide which debts and bills the estate must pay.

Petition for Appointment of Guardian of Minor

This form petitions the court to appoint a guardian — such as a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or other relative — to care for and make decisions for a minor child or grandchild whose parents are unable to do so. A grandparent or other responsible adult who wants to become the legal guardian of a grandchild or other minor child files this petition to gain legal authority over the child's care.

Consent of Proposed Guardian, Nomination of Guardian, and Consent to Appointment of Guardian and Waiver of Notice

This form allows someone to agree to become a guardian, nominate who they want as guardian, and give consent for a guardian to be appointed while waiving their right to notice of court proceedings. Parents, relatives, and other adults use this form during guardianship proceedings to either volunteer to serve as guardian or approve someone else's appointment as guardian over a minor or incapacitated person.

Confidential Guardian Screening Form

This form helps courts collect personal background information about people who want to become guardians, including details about their health, finances, and any criminal history. Social workers and judges use it during custody and guardianship cases to screen whether someone is fit to care for a child or incapacitated adult.

Objection to Petition for Appointment of Guardian

This form allows someone to formally object to a petition for guardianship before a judge makes a decision about appointing a guardian. A parent, relative, or other interested person uses this form to oppose guardianship and explain why they believe the appointment should not happen.

Petition for Special Immigrant Juvenile Findings

This form is used to ask a court to make official findings that a young person qualifies as a special immigrant juvenile, which is needed to apply for a specific type of immigration protection. Young people in foster care or under court supervision use this form when they need the court's legal declaration to pursue special immigrant juvenile status with immigration authorities.

Special Immigrant Juvenile Findings

This form allows a judge to make official findings that a young person qualifies as a special immigrant juvenile, which is necessary for them to apply for immigration benefits and legal permanent residency. Probation officers, social workers, and attorneys use this form to help foster youth and other vulnerable minors obtain immigration relief and protect their legal status in the United States.

Order Appointing Guardian or Extending Guardianship of the Person

This form is used to officially appoint a guardian for someone who cannot care for themselves, or to extend an existing guardianship for an additional period of time. Parents, family members, social workers, or other concerned parties use this form when a court has determined that a minor or incapacitated adult needs a guardian for their personal care and custody.

Duties of Guardian (Probate)

This form lists all the legal responsibilities and duties that a guardian must follow when caring for a minor or incapacitated person's personal, financial, and medical needs. Parents, family members, or appointed guardians use this form to understand their obligations and ensure they are properly managing the ward's estate and wellbeing as required by law.

Letters of Guardianship

This form is the official court document that proves a person has been appointed as a guardian and shows what powers they have been given by the court. Guardians use this document to show banks, schools, doctors, and other organizations that they have the legal authority to make decisions and manage property for a minor or incapacitated person under their guardianship.

Confidential Guardianship Status Report

This form allows a guardian to report on the current status and well-being of a child or dependent adult under their care while keeping the report confidential from the public record. Court-appointed guardians use it to provide the court with regular updates about the guardian's duties and the ward's condition while protecting privacy in guardianship cases.

Petition for Termination of Guardianship

This form is used to ask a court to end a guardianship arrangement that was previously established. Parents, guardians, or the person under guardianship use it when they want to terminate custody and return decision-making authority to the original parent or allow the young person to become legally independent.

Order Terminating Guardianship

This form is used to officially end a guardianship arrangement and return legal responsibility for a minor or incapacitated person back to their parent or to the person themselves. A judge signs this order when a guardianship is no longer needed due to circumstances like the ward reaching adulthood, being reunified with a parent, or no longer requiring a guardian's protection.

Petition for Appointment of Probate Conservator

This form is used to petition the court to appoint a probate conservator to manage the finances, personal care, or both for an adult who cannot make those decisions themselves. A family member or other responsible person who wants to establish a conservatorship over an elderly or incapacitated adult files this petition to gain legal authority over that person's care and financial affairs.

Confidential Supplemental Information

This form allows people to provide private information about their case that they don't want made public in court records. Judges and court staff use it in cases involving child custody, domestic violence, or other sensitive matters to keep personal details confidential while still having the information needed to make fair decisions.

Attachment Requesting Special Orders Regarding Dementia

This form allows someone to request special court orders to protect a person with dementia, such as restrictions on their ability to make financial decisions or travel. Family members, caregivers, or conservators use this form to ask the court to put safeguards in place that help protect a person with dementia from exploitation or harm.

Confidential Conservator Screening Form

This form collects personal and background information about someone who wants to become a conservator to check whether they should be allowed to take on this responsibility. Courts and court investigators use this form to screen conservator applicants and prevent people with disqualifying criminal histories or other problems from being appointed to manage someone else's personal care or finances.

Citation for Conservatorship

This form is used to issue a citation that orders someone to appear in court for a conservatorship proceeding. Court officials and attorneys use this form to notify a proposed conservatee (the person who may be placed under conservatorship) of the court date and their right to object to the conservatorship.

Citation—Probate

This form is used to formally notify someone that they are being taken to court in a probate matter, such as a dispute over a will, trust, or estate. Probate lawyers, executors, trustees, and other parties involved in estate cases use this form to serve legal notice and ensure the defendant has official notification of the court proceeding.

Confidential Declaration on Medical Ability to Attend Hearing—Probate Conservatorship

This form allows someone to privately tell the court about medical reasons why they cannot attend a probate conservatorship hearing in person. A conservatee, conservator, or other interested party uses it to request an excuse from attending court due to a health condition or disability without disclosing sensitive medical details publicly.

Order Appointing Court Investigator

This form is used by a court to officially hire and assign a court investigator to conduct investigations needed in a case. Judges and court administrators use this form to appoint investigators for various matters including child custody, guardianship, conservatorship, and other cases where independent factual investigation is necessary to help the court make informed decisions.

Order Appointing Court Investigator (Review and Successor Conservator Investigations)

This form allows a court to officially assign an investigator to look into whether a conservatorship (a legal arrangement where someone manages another person's personal or financial affairs) is still necessary or working properly. Judges use this form when they need an independent investigation to check on a conservator's performance or to evaluate a replacement conservator before making decisions about continuing or changing the conservatorship.

Ex Parte Application for Order Authorizing Completion of Capacity Declaration—HIPAA

This form allows someone to request a court order that permits a healthcare provider to complete a capacity declaration without the person being evaluated knowing about it beforehand. A family member, conservator, or other interested party uses this form when they need to quickly establish whether someone lacks mental capacity—typically in conservatorship cases—without alerting that person to the evaluation.

Ex Parte Order Re Completion of Capacity Declaration—HIPAA

This form allows a judge to order that a capacity declaration be completed without the other party being present, which is used in situations where someone's mental or physical ability to manage their affairs needs to be documented quickly. Conservators, family members, or healthcare providers use this form when they need to establish incapacity for conservatorship proceedings or healthcare decisions and want to proceed without notifying the other party due to urgency or HIPAA privacy concerns.

Confidential Capacity Assessment and Declaration—Probate Conservatorship

This form is used to confidentially assess and document whether a person has the mental or physical capacity to make decisions about their own care, finances, or property in a probate conservatorship case. Attorneys, conservators, and healthcare providers use it to present evidence to the court about a person's capacity when requesting to establish or continue a conservatorship.

Ex Parte Order Authorizing Disclosure of (Proposed) Conservatee's Health Information to Court Investigator-HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)

This form allows a judge to order healthcare providers to release a person's private medical records to a court investigator without notifying the person whose records are being shared, which is permitted under federal privacy laws in conservatorship cases. Conservatorship attorneys and court investigators use this form to obtain medical information needed to assess whether someone should be placed under court-ordered guardianship or conservatorship.

Order Appointing Probate Conservator

This form officially appoints a probate conservator to manage the personal care, finances, or both of someone who cannot care for themselves. A judge uses this form to finalize a conservatorship decision after finding that a person lacks the ability to make their own decisions about their health, safety, or money.

Notice of Conservatee's Rights—Probate

This form tells a conservatee (a person under conservatorship) what legal rights they have, including the right to contest the conservatorship and request a hearing. Court-appointed conservators and probate courts use this form to inform conservatees about their protections and legal options for challenging the conservatorship arrangement.

Personalized Information for Conservatee—Probate

This form provides a personalized summary of important information about a conservatee's rights, responsibilities, and the conservatorship arrangement in plain language. Court staff, conservators, and attorneys use this form to ensure conservatees understand their legal status and key details about how their conservatorship works.

Duties of Conservator and Acknowledgment of Receipt of Handbook for Conservators

This form requires a newly appointed conservator to confirm they have received and reviewed the official handbook explaining their duties and responsibilities in managing a conservatorship. A conservator uses this form to acknowledge their understanding of their legal obligations when taking on responsibility for an incapacitated adult's personal care, finances, or both.

Letters of Conservatorship

This form provides official written proof that a court has appointed someone as a conservator to manage the personal or financial affairs of an adult who cannot care for themselves. Conservators, family members, and institutions use this document to show third parties like banks and healthcare providers that they have legal authority to act on behalf of the conserved person.

Confidential Conservatorship Care Plan—Part 1

This form documents a conservatee's personal care needs, medical history, and daily living arrangements in a confidential document that stays sealed from public view. Conservators use it to create and maintain a detailed care plan for someone they're legally responsible for protecting, ensuring their physical health, safety, and well-being are properly managed and monitored.

Confidential Conservatorship Care Plan—Part 2 (Medical Information)

This form documents a conservatee's medical information and care instructions as part of their conservatorship case, keeping sensitive health details confidential and separate from public court records. Conservators (court-appointed guardians) and their attorneys use this form to record and protect the medical care needs and treatment preferences of the person under conservatorship.

Conservatorship Registration Cover Sheet and Attestation of Conservatee's Non-Residence in California

This form notifies the court that a conservatee (a person under conservatorship) does not live in California and registers the conservatorship in the state. Conservators use this form to register out-of-state conservatorships and maintain legal authority over their ward's affairs across state lines.

Notice of Intent to Register Conservatorship

This form notifies the court and other parties that someone intends to register a conservatorship from another state or country in California. Conservators and their attorneys use this form to officially register an out-of-state conservatorship so it becomes enforceable in California and allows them to manage the conservatee's affairs across state lines.

Conservatorship Registrant's Acknowledgment of Receipt of Handbook for Conservators

This form confirms that a person under conservatorship has received and understood the Handbook for Conservators, which explains their rights and protections. A conservator or court official uses this form to document that the conservatorship ward has been informed about conservatorship laws and their legal protections.

Petition for Transfer Orders (California Conservatorship Jurisdiction Act)

This form allows someone to request that a conservatorship case be transferred to a different California county court. A conservator, conservatee, or other interested party uses this form when they need to move a conservatorship proceeding to another jurisdiction for reasons like the conservatee relocating or another county being more appropriate to handle the case.

Provisional Order for Transfer (California Conservatorship Jurisdiction Act)

This form is used to transfer conservatorship cases between California counties when a conservator or conservatee moves to a different location. Probate courts use this form to temporarily manage the transfer of conservatorship jurisdiction while the receiving county determines whether it should take over responsibility for the case.

Final Order Confirming Transfer (California Conservatorship Jurisdiction Act)

This form finalizes the transfer of a conservatorship case from one California county to another after all parties have agreed to the move. Conservators, conservatees, and their attorneys use it to officially close the case in the original county and confirm the conservatorship jurisdiction transfer is complete.

Petition for Orders Accepting Transfer (California Conservatorship Jurisdiction Act)

This form lets someone ask a California court to accept a conservatorship case that is being transferred from another state. A conservator or interested person uses this form when they want to move an existing conservatorship to California courts so that California can take over responsibility for managing the conservatorship.

Provisional Order Accepting Transfer (California Conservatorship Jurisdiction Act)

This form is used to officially accept the transfer of a conservatorship case from another state to California under the California Conservatorship Jurisdiction Act. Courts and attorneys use this form to finalize the transfer of guardianship or conservatorship authority over an incapacitated person from out-of-state jurisdiction to California courts.

Final Order Accepting Transfer (California Conservatorship Jurisdiction Act)

This form officially confirms that a California court has accepted a conservatorship case that was transferred from another state under the California Conservatorship Jurisdiction Act. A conservatorship judge uses this form to finalize the transfer of guardianship and conservatorship authority over a person or their estate from an out-of-state court to a California court.

Petition for Exclusive Authority to Give Consent for Medical Treatment

This form allows someone to request exclusive authority to make medical decisions for another person without needing court approval for each individual treatment decision. Parents, guardians, or caregivers use it to gain legal power to consent to medical treatment for a minor or dependent adult in their care.

Order Authorizing Conservator to Give Consent for Medical Treatment

This form allows a conservator to get court approval to consent to medical treatment on behalf of someone under their conservatorship. Conservators use this form when they need legal authorization to make healthcare decisions for the conservatee, such as surgery or other medical procedures.

Ex Parte Petition for Final Discharge and Order

This form is used to ask a court for final discharge and an order to close a conservatorship or guardianship case. A conservator or guardian files this form when they believe the conservatorship or guardianship should end and the protected person should be released from court supervision.

Notice of Conservatee's Death

This form notifies the court that a person under conservatorship has died and requests that the conservatorship case be closed. Court staff, conservators, and attorneys use it to officially end a conservatorship after the conservatee's death and expunge related court records.