Letter to Heirs or Devisees to Accompany Notice of Petition to Administer Estate
(CA)

Summary

This template is a cover letter explaining the purpose of the Notice of Petition to Administer Estate. You should send it to the heirs or devisees of a decedent when mailing the notice. It is intended for use in California. This template includes practical guidance, drafting notes, and alternate and optional clauses. At least 15 days before the hearing of a petition for administration of a decedent's estate, the petitioner must serve notice of the hearing by mail or personal delivery on each devisee, executor, and alternate executor named in any will being offered for probate, or, alternatively, on each heir of the decedent if the decedent died intestate. Cal. Prob. Code §§ 8110(b), 1206(a)(2), 1207–1208. The template contains alternate paragraphs for use depending on whether the decedent died testate or intestate, and an optional paragraph to describe the property that a devisee is to receive under the decedent's will. For a letter to a publisher requesting publication of a Notice of Petition to Administer Estate, see Letter to Publisher Requesting Publication of Notice of Petition to Administer Estate (CA). For more information on probate and estate administration in California, see Governing Law of Probate, Jurisdiction and Proceedings (CA) and Fiduciary Appointments and Duties in Probate Proceedings (CA).