Merced County Superior Court Local Rules of Court (effective July 1, 2026) — Probate Rules; Petition for Approval of Minor's Compromise (Rules 100 and 101)

Requirement

RULE 100: PROBATE RULES – PREFACE It is not the Court’s intent in adopting these rules to cover every anticipated question or concern, or to be a research tool, but rather to provide a few additional guidelines, which are considered important for local practice. The Probate Department of the Merced Superior Court encourages the use of the Probate Code, California Rules of Court, Judicial Council forms, and the publications of the Continuing Education of the Bar as valuable guidelines and references with respect to local practice. The Probate Department of the Merced Superior Court is a court of general jurisdiction pursuant to Probate Code § 800 having jurisdiction over all matters governed by the Probate Code, and, in the discretion of the Judge assigned to Probate Department, having concurrent jurisdiction over all Probate-Related Civil Matters, including all Estate-related civil matters, all Trust related civil matters, all probate related family law matters, and all civil matters alleging a breach of fiduciary duty by a trustee, administrator, conservator, guardian or attorney-in-fact. (Eff. 7/1/04; 1/1/18; Renum. 7/1/18; Rev. 1/1/09, 7/1/21) A. Time and Place of Hearing In Merced, all uncontested probate hearings and contested matters, which are not expected to exceed ten (10) minutes in length, shall be set at 8:15 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. All hearings which are likely to exceed ten (10) minutes in length should be set at 1:30 p.m., on a Monday or Wednesday. In Los Banos, all probate hearings shall be set at 8:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. (Eff. 7/1/04; Rev. & Renum. 7/1/18; Rev. 1/1/13, 1/1/14, 1/1/18, 7/1/21) B. Applicable Rules Except as otherwise provided in these rules, all provisions in the local general and civil law and motion rules apply to probate proceedings. (7/1/04; Renum 7/1/18) C. Appearances 1. There is no Probate Commissioner in Merced County. 2. Appearances are required on all petitions for appointment of conservators, and/or guardians and confirmation of sale of real or personal property and on any petition to which objections are filed. 3. If the moving party does not appear on any calendared matters, cases involving issues which are incomplete or questionable may be continued one to two weeks or may be dropped from calendar, depending on the circumstances. 4. See rule 3.1(E) for telephone appearances. (Eff. 7/1/04; Renum. 7/1/18; Rev. 1/1/22) D. Forms Approved by the Judicial Council All probate forms printed and approved by the Judicial Council are mandatory in Merced County. Failure to use such forms may result in the Clerk’s refusal to file a submitted document. (Eff. 7/1/04; Renum. 7/1/18) E. Orders Except in the case of confirmation of sales, contested matters and orders requiring information from a governmental agency, the moving party shall submit the proposed order at least three (3) Court days prior to the hearing date. Orders shall have the scheduled hearing date, time, and department noted on the face sheet below the title of the document. (Eff. 7/1/04; Renum. 7/1/18) F. Appointment of Representative(s) 1. Where a petition seeks the appointment as personal representative of a person or persons other than the petitioner, a written consent to serve as personal representative must be filed for each such proposed personal representative. 2. Each personal representative must execute and file an Acknowledgement of Receipt of Judicial Council Form “Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative” (Form DE – 147) before the Court issues letters. (Eff. 7/1/04; Renum. 7/1/18) G. Notices 1. In a petition for probate of a will, all persons and organizations named in the will or codicils shall be listed. 2. If a named devisee predeceased the decedent, that information must be provided in the notice. In cases where the devisee dies after the decedent, the date of death must be stated and notice must be mailed in care of their personal representative if one has been appointed, or alternatively, to another appropriate representative. 3. A declaration specifying good faith efforts to identify and locate heirs or beneficiaries is required where the petitioner cannot determine the name or address of an heir or beneficiary to whom notice is required. 4. If there are no known heirs of the decedent and no heirs of a predeceased spouse, a declaration to that effect shall be filed setting forth the basis for the declaration and the efforts made to locate all such heirs. 5. The trustee of a living trust who is a beneficiary of a will shall be listed as a devisee and noticed. 6. The Clerk does not handle the preparation, mailing or publication of notices. Notices must be prepared and submitted at the time of filing the applicable petition, and the moving party is responsible for all required mailings and newspaper publications. (Eff. 7/1/04; Renum. 7/1/18; Rev. 1/1/12, 7/1/21) H. Spousal Property Petitions A copy of the last vesting deed to real property must accompany the spousal property petitions. (Eff. 7/1/24) I. Defective Notice If the publication is correct but the mailing is defective, the hearing normally will be continued to allow enough time for the mailing of the required amended notice, and republication is not required. If the mailing is correct but the publication is defective, the matter must be taken off calendar and a new notice must be given by publication and mailing. (Eff. 7/1/04; Renum. 7/1/18) J. Bond 1. Pursuant to section 10453 of the Probate Code, if a bond is otherwise required, if full authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act (IAEA) is sought, and if the personal representative at the time of the initial petition for probate intends to sell real property through a notice of proposed action (without Court confirmation), the latter fact shall be stated in the petition to enable the Court to determine whether the initial qualifying bond should be fixed to include anticipated proceeds from the sale of real property. 2. Every person appointed as personal representative shall give a bond approved by the Court before letters are issued unless otherwise waived in the will or in writing. If two (2) or more persons are appointed the Court may require a separate bond from each or a joint and several bond. If a joint bond is furnished, the liability on the bond is joint and several. 3. If written waivers are attached to the petition, bond will be waived by the Court pursuant to section 8481 of the Probate Code, provided all heirs or beneficiaries are competent to act. If any such person is incompetent (e.g. minors) an appropriate representative is required to waive bond on behalf of such person. This section does not apply if the will requires a bond. 4. A personal representative who is a non-resident of California and who is nominated to serve without bond still may be required to post such bond as the Court may require, where good cause of such a requirement is shown. 5. If the will names two or more persons to serve as executors but not all serve and the will does not expressly waive bond if fewer than all serve, the Court shall require each executor to give a bond unless the Court waives this requirement under section 8481(a)(2) of the Probate Code. 6. It is the duty of the fiduciary or fiduciary’s attorney, upon becoming aware a bond is insufficient to immediately apply for an order increasing the bond. Such application accompanied by a proposed order, may be made ex parte. See CEB publications for forms. (Eff. 7/1/04; Rev. 1/1/18; Renum. 7/1/18) K. Creditor’s Claims 1. Creditors shall file their claims with the Clerk’s office and mail a copy to the personal representative. The disposition of all such claims must be reported to the Court on the Judicial Council “Allowance or Rejection of Creditor’s Claim” form, prior to any distribution. This requirement also applies to fiduciaries acting under the IAEA. 2. If the personal representative is acting under the IAEA, the Court will not review the personal representative’s allowance or rejection of a creditor’s claim unless good cause is shown, except as to claims of the personal representative or the attorney. All claims of the personal representative or the attorney must be submitted to the Court for approval. (Eff. 7/1/04; Rev. & Renum. 7/1/18) L. Probate Examiner’s Notes Probate calendar notes for future cases specific to Probate Estates, Conservatorship Estates and Guardianship Estates cases on the 8:15 am calendar are available from the time they are created until the morning of the scheduled hearing on the courts website at www.merced.courts.ca.gov. Updates to the Probate Examiner’s Notes typically will be posted 2 days prior to the hearing by 3:00 pm. If you are filing documents to cure a technical defect, documents should be filed a minimum of 3 court days prior to the hearing. Documents filed late will not be reviewed except on the date of the hearing at the Judge’s discretion and could result in a continuance of your case. When a case is recommended for approval, the petitioning party or counsel may elect to not appear at the hearing. A non-appearance at the hearing by the petitioning party may be deemed to be a submission on the recommendation in the Probate Notes. A non-appearance that is not excused by the Court or by the Probate Notes may result in dismissal of the Petition, an Order to Show Cause or other appropriate action the Court deems appropriate. Parties intending to appear in Court regarding their hearing must notify all other parties and call (209) 725-4240 to notify the Court of such intent by 4:00 pm on the court day before the hearing. (Eff. 7/1/19) M. Medical Records Medical records are to be submitted in a manner that maintains the confidentiality of the sensitive information contained. This can be accomplished by: 1. Submitting a redacted copy of the records to be filed as a public record, together with a copy of the unredacted copy to be filed confidentially pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 2.550(c). 2. Submitting the medical records together with an application to seal in compliance with California Rules of Court, rule 2.551. Access to sealed and confidential medical records shall be sought by application to the court. Each application will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the applicant’s lawful ability to access such information, as well as the matters addressed in California rules of Court, rule 2.550(c)-(e). (Eff. 7/1/23) RULE 101: PETITION FOR APPROVAL OF MINOR’S COMPROMISE A. Contents of Petition A petition for Court approval of a compromise or covenant not to sue under the Probate Code or CCP 372 must be verified by Petitioner and contain a full disclosure of all relevant information bearing upon the reasonableness of the compromise, including: 1. Name, birthdate, age and sex of minor; 2. An account of the facts and circumstances which gave rise to the claim or injury; 3. A description of the nature and extent of the injury and whether it is permanent or temporary; 4. All doctors’ reports containing a diagnosis, prognosis and present condition of the claimant; 5. Where payment for medical treatment is sought all medical expenses, insurance payments and net amounts owed to each provider; 6. The amount of attorney fees, their basis and an itemization of costs; 7. The gross and net amount of the proposed settlement; 8. How the proceeds of the settlement will be distributed; 9. Amounts paid to other claimants; 10. Whether or not the petitioner is a plaintiff in the same action as the minor or a claimant against the recovery, and if so whether the pendency or disposition of petitioner’s claim has affected the minor’s compromise; 11. If settlement money is to be deposited in an account subject to withdrawal only upon order of the Court, the name and address of the depository; 12. Whether notice pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Section 14124.73 has been given; 13. If an order for payment to special needs trust is requested, a statement of the method by which all statutory liens will be satisfied under Probate Code 3604. Confidential records in a petition for approval of Minor’s Compromise including but not limited to medical and financial records must be filed as a confidential document as directed in Rule 100. (Eff. 7/1/04; Renum. 7/1/18, Rev. 7/1/24) B. Attorney Disclosure If the petitioner has been represented or assisted by an attorney the petition must disclose the name, state bar number, law firm and business address of the attorney. It must also disclose whether the attorney became involved at the instance of any party against whom the claim is asserted, or an insurance carrier employed by any other party. If any fees or other compensation has been paid the petition must disclose who paid those fees or other compensation; if no fees have been paid, then whether the attorney expects any fees and if so the amount and who will pay them. The terms of the agreement between the petitioner and the attorney must also be set forth in the petition. (Eff. 7/1/04; Renum. 7/1/18) C. Personal Appearance The person compromising the claim and the minor must attend the hearing unless the Court, for good cause, dispenses with the requirement of personal appearance. (Eff. 7/1/04; Renum. 7/1/18) D. Attendance of Witnesses The Court may require witnesses, including the treating physician, to attend the hearing. (Eff. 7/1/04; Renum. 7/1/18) E. Withdrawal of Funds A petition for withdrawal of funds from the account may be considered ex parte or set for hearing at the discretion of the Court. Parents are advised that monies in blocked accounts are not available for payment of services ordinarily provided by parents. (Eff. 7/1/04; Renum. 7/1/18) RULE 102-199: [RESERVED]