Cal. Rules of Court, rule 7.51 · Chapter 2. Notices, Publication, and Service
Service of notice of hearing
Text — As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
(a) Direct notice required
(1) Except as otherwise permitted in the Probate Code, a notice sent by mail under Probate Code section 1220 must be mailed individually and directly to the person entitled to notice.
(2) A notice mailed to a person in care of another person is insufficient unless the person entitled to notice is an adult and has directed the party giving notice in writing to send the notice in care of the second person.
(3) Notices mailed to more than one person in the same household must be sent separately to each person.
(b) Notice to attorney
If a notice is required or permitted to be given to a person who is represented by an attorney of record in the proceeding, the notice must be sent as required in Probate Code section 1214.
(c) Notice to guardian or conservator
(1) When a guardian or conservator has been appointed for a person entitled to notice, the notice must be sent to the guardian or conservator.
(2) A copy of the notice must also be sent to the ward or conservatee unless:
(A) The court dispenses with such notice; or
(B) Under Probate Code section 1210 in a decedent's estate proceeding, the notice is personally served on a California- resident guardian or conservator of the estate of the ward or conservatee.
(d) Notice to minor
Except as permitted in Probate Code section 1460.1 for guardianships, conservatorships, and certain protective proceedings under division 4 of the Probate Code, notice to a minor must be sent directly to the minor. A separate copy of the notice must be sent to the person or persons having legal custody of the minor, with whom the minor resides.
(e) Notice required in a decedent's estate when a beneficiary has died
(1) Notice when a beneficiary dies after the decedent
Notice must be sent to the personal representative of a beneficiary who died after the decedent and survived for a period required by the decedent's will. If no personal representative has been appointed for the postdeceased beneficiary, notice must be sent to his or her beneficiaries or other persons entitled to succeed to his or her interest in the decedent's estate.
(2) Notice when a beneficiary of the decedent's will dies before the decedent
When a beneficiary under the will of the decedent died before the decedent or fails to survive the decedent for a period required by the decedent's will, notice must be sent to the persons named in the decedent's will as substitute beneficiaries of the gift to the predeceased beneficiary. If the decedent's will does not make a substitute disposition of that gift, notice must be sent as follows:
(A) If the predeceased beneficiary is a "transferee" under Probate Code section 21110(c), to the issue of the predeceased beneficiary determined under Probate Code section 240 and to the residuary beneficiaries of the decedent or to the decedent's heirs if decedent's will does not provide for distribution of the residue of the estate.
(B) If the predeceased beneficiary is not a "transferee" under Probate Code section 21110(c), to the residuary beneficiaries of the decedent or to the decedent's heirs if decedent's will does not provide for distribution of the residue of the estate.
(f) Notice when Indian Child Welfare Act may apply
If the court or the petitioner knows or has reason to know, as described in section 224.2(d) of the Welfare and Institutions Code, that an Indian child is the subject of a guardianship or specified conservatorship proceeding, notice must be given as prescribed in rule 7.1015(e).
Notes and commentary — not rule text
History
(Subd (c) amended effective January 1, 2004.)
(Subd (f) adopted effective January 1, 2022.)
Rule 7.51 amended effective January 1, 2022; adopted January 1, 2003; previously amended effective January 1, 2004.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
- Official file
- https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/seven/rule7_51
- Text hash
- sha256 53934102931271e4452cd96557ef275cec8caa20855630a9a4057b3956d990e4
- Composed by
- compose_crc.py 2026-10-22: the Judicial Council's rule pages read paragraph by paragraph; verify_crc.py's second reading of the Council's per-title PDFs finds every paragraph
BenchPath cards that rely on this text
- San Mateo County Superior Court Local Court Rules (as amended effective July 1, 2026) — Division IV, Chapter 4: Appointment of Executors and Administrators: Proof of Wills
- Ventura County Superior Court Local Rules of Court (effective July 1, 2026) — Chapter 10: Probate, Decedents’ Estates, Conservatorships, Guardianships, Guardianships of the Estate Only and Trusts
This rule cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Probate Code
- Prob. Code, § 240Printed as Probate Code section 240
- Prob. Code, § 1210Printed as Probate Code section 1210
- Prob. Code, § 1214Printed as Probate Code section 1214
- Prob. Code, § 1220Printed as Probate Code section 1220
- Prob. Code, § 1460.1Printed as Probate Code section 1460.1
- Prob. Code, § 21110Printed as Probate Code section 21110(c)
Welfare and Institutions Code
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.