You get calendar notes in your probate court case. Now what do you? Every county is different. Some counties post calendar notes (or “tentative rulings”) a day before the court hearing and some do it a month before. Some do not post anything and you appear in Court and see what the Judge has to say. For those that do post notes how quickly can you or your attorney reply?

We pride ourselves on efficiency. We file probate cases extremely quickly. Time is of the essence in most probate cases as people, typically, want to move on from the death of their loved one. Or maybe they waited a while before having the emotional energy to deal with probate so there could be some issues developing like a house in foreclosure. EFFICIENCY IS KEY!

Few of us are perfect. Having filed over 1,000 probate cases we still get calendar notes to address. Sometimes they are mistakes we made and sometimes, dare I say it, it is at least possible that the court missed something in their review of the file. The key is filing something FAST to try and preserve your Court date.

Here are actual notes from our case. This is a public record but I still removed the name:

16. S-PR-XXXXXXX ___________. – In Re the Estate of
Missing proof of publication.
Missing required allegations at ¶ 5a(3)-(4) (RDP).
Proof of subscribing witness appears incomplete. Additional representations are needed; see Prob.C. §§ 8220(a) & 6110(b)-(c).

So first question is how quickly do you or your attorney get the notes? some counties, like Sacramento, email us as soon as the notes are posted. Others have to be checked manually. For those we check at least once a day and, as the court date gets closer, multiple times a day. We want to find out your notes as soon as possible so we can fix anything that needs to be fixed.

Then what?

The above notes are not uncommon.

Note 1 “Missing proof of publication.” We had a close Court date and the publication takes a few weeks. The newspaper often files just days before the court date so that’s a common note.

Note 2 “Missing required allegations at ¶ 5a(3)-(4) (RDP).” We missed one box. Did the decedent have a registered domestic partner. Out of, approximately 1,000 probate cases, I have only checked that one a couple times. It’s pretty rare. To fix we really need a verified supplement signed by our client. We got her a document to sign within a half hour of seeing the note. She printed, signed, emailed back to us, and we “fax filed” it the same day. So that’s cleared.

Note 3 “Proof of subscribing witness appears incomplete. Additional representations are needed; see Prob.C. §§ 8220(a) & 6110(b)-(c).” In some cases the will was not prepared with correct language which requires us to have to track down one of the will witnesses and have them sign a form about the execution of the document. A lot of times that will signing was 20 years ago so they might not remember. This note is a tough one. I think it’s arguable that the witness checked the boxes which they recalled but the court wanted more. So we discussed it with them and then filed an amended proof of subscribing witness form.

The point is these things happen. A large percentage of cases have calendar notes. The keys are: 1) finding the calendar notes as quick as possible to maximize the time you have to fix them, 2) determining what you need to do to address the notes, 3) efficiently addressing the notes to the Court’s satisfaction.

We got our calendar notes Friday morning for a Wednesday hearing. Only a few days and the Monday was a court holiday. WE GOT IT APPROVED ON-TIME THOUGH!

Good luck in your probate cases! -John