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Division IV (Probate Department), Chapter 1 (Rules 4.1 to 4.7): general provisions - the Probate Department hears all matters arising under the Probate Code (Rule 4.1); hearings (Rule 4.2); the informal discovery conference (Rule 4.2.1); probate trials and contested matters (Rule 4.3); the length of hearing (Rule 4.4); non-appearance (Rule 4.5); appearance (Rule 4.6); and ex parte matters (Rule 4.7).
California > First Appellate District > San Mateo County > Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo
DIVISION IV PROBATE DEPARTMENT ALL REFERENCES TO CODE SECTIONS REFER TO THE PROBATE CODE UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED CHAPTER 1. ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION Rule 4.1 General Provisions A. The Probate Department shall handle hear and determine all matters arising under the Probate Code, including but not limited to all matters relating to Estates, Trusts, Conservatorships, Guardianships, and the protection of Elders under the Welfare and Institutions Code; and the Probate Department is authorized to and granted subject matter jurisdiction to adjudicate all general civil matters relating to Estates, Trusts, Conservatorships, Guardianships, and the protection of Elders, including but not limited to claims relating to the ownership, management or rights to property owned or claimed by Estates, Trusts, Conservatorships, Guardianships, or Elders. All Unlawful Detainer matters will continue to be heard as civil matters, regardless of the nature of the parties involved. The claims alleged in the pleadings filed by the parties in a given matter -- not the case number assigned to the matter by the Court -- determines the type of jurisdiction being invoked. Absent pleadings indicating otherwise, the Probate Department will exercise the full extent of general subject matter jurisdiction over civil matters assigned to the Probate Department. Any party or attorney who is found to have failed to follow any lawful court order, including but not limited to failure to file status reports, failure to fileorders after hearing, and failure to appear at a hearing, is subject to monetary sanctions. B. Tentative Rulings: Tentative rulings on probate matters may be obtained after 3:00 p.m. by telephone at (650) 261-5019 or by the Court’s website, www.sanmateo.courts.ca.gov one court day prior to the hearing. Matters that are pre-approved are still subject to objection. If an appearance becomes necessary due to an objection received after the tentative ruling was posted or for some other reason, the matter will be continued. The continued hearing date will be displayed on the Odyssey Portal on the court’s website. C. Continuances in Conservatorship and Guardianship Matters: A request for continuance should be made at the earliest possible time prior to the hearing and must be to a date approved by the Probate Court Investigator. Continuances requested by the attorney of record, or petitioner in pro per, may be granted upon a showing of good cause. Continuances by stipulation are subject to the approval of the Probate Judge. An appearance will be required by the attorney or the self-represented conservator or guardian, before the Court will consider granting a continuance more than once for a General Plan and/or Inventory and Appraisement hearing, or more than twice for any other conservatorship or guardianship matter. Nothing herein shall prevent the Probate Court Investigator from continuing a matter as necessary to complete their investigation or review. D. Continuances in Probate Matters Other Than Conservatorship and Guardianships. A continuance may be requested by email to probate@sanmateocourt.org. Such requests should be made at the earliest possible time prior to the hearing (but no later than 5 court days prior to the hearing) and must include the following: 1) The case number; 2) The date of the hearing; 3) a statement that all parties agree to the continuance (and are cc’d on the email) or that the requesting party is the Petitioner in the matter and no hearing has yet taken place; and 4) preferred dates for the continued hearing and/or any unavailability with six months of the hearing date. E. Sanctions: Failure to comply with local rules may result in sanctions under the Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo Local Court Rule 0.2. F. Venue for Probate Cases All proceedings under the Probate Code are to be filed with the Probate Division’s Clerk’s Office at the Hall of Justice, 400 County Center, first floor, Redwood City, California. All Probate Court proceedings will also be heard at the Southern Division in Redwood City, California, unless otherwise ordered by the Presiding Judge or a designated Supervising Judge pursuant to Local Rule 6.9. Only Probate matters properly venued in San Mateo County under the Probate Code will be heard; consents to venue will not be accepted. (See Probate Code 7051, 17005.) (Adopted, effective July 1, 1996; Amended, effective January 1, 2003; effective July 1, 2004; Amended, effective January 1, 2013; Amended, effective July 1, 2013, Amended, effective January 1, 2014; Amended, effective January 1, 2018; Amended, effective January 1, 2019; Amended, effective July 1, 2021; Amended, effective July 1, 2024; Amended, effective July 1, 2025; Amended, effective July 1, 2026) Rule 4.2 Hearing A Hearing Schedule. Probate matters generally will be heard on Monday through Friday in the designated Probate Department at 9:00 a.m. Please check with the Court Clerk’s Office, Probate Division or the Court’s website at www.sanmateo.courts.ca.gov for the schedule. LPS conservatorship matters are heard by the Court on Tuesdays in the designated Probate Department at 11:00 a.m. B Probate Calendar. The regular probate calendar sets only a limited number of cases each day. Counsel may request/set the date of the hearing on the moving papers. If the requested date is unavailable, the clerk shall calendar the hearing date to the next earliest available hearing date. The clerk’s office shall notify the attorney of record of any such resetting. C. Advancing Hearing Dates/ Orders Shortening Time. If a probate matter cannot be heard on the date requested due solely to the fact that the court’s calendar is full, counsel/self-represented parties may make ex parte application to the court to advance the hearing upon a demonstration of good cause. Probate matters may be heard on less than the statutory required notice only upon the issue of an Order Shortening Time (OST) by the court. OST’s may be obtained ex parte upon notice and a demonstration of good cause. D. Video Appearances (1) Judicial Approval. Video appearances through the use of an independent vendor, currently Zoom, are permitted at certain probate hearings, as indicated in the Tentative Rulings. Video appearances are not permitted for initial conservatorship and guardianship appointments (Probate Code, §1514, §1825), Petitions for Temporary Restraining Orders (e.g., elder abuse cases) or any other matters within the court’s discretion, unless indicated in the Tentative Rulings. See Rule 4.6. In all guardianship matters where Special Immigrant Juvenile Findings relief is sought, the parties and their counsel must appear in person. However, whenever the Court is going to continue a matter because of some deficiency, or deny a petition, even in the types of cases mentioned herein, parties are not required to appear. (2) Procedure. On the day of the hearing, counsel and parties appearing by video must check-in fifteen minutes prior to the hearing. Video check-in can be accomplished by using the credentials/passwords shown at the top of the Probate Tentative Rulings page. Once the hearing begins, all parties appearing remotely must mute their microphones until their line number is called. Any attorney or party joining the Zoom meeting after the check-in period shall be considered late for the hearing and shall be treated in the same manner as if the person had personally appeared late for the hearing. (Adopted, effective July 1, 1996; Amended, effective January 1, 2003; Amended, effective July 1, 2004, Amended, effective July 1, 2006; Amended, effective January 1, 2007; Amended, effective July 1, 2021; Amended, effective January 1, 2023; Amended, effective July 1, 2024; Amended, effective July 1, 2026) Rule 4.2.1 Informal Discovery Conference (a) Informal Discovery Conference. In all probate cases, parties and non-parties are encouraged to hold an Informal Discovery Conference with the Court prior to filing a motion to compel or any other discovery motion. Counsel must have exhausted all meet and confer obligations before the Informed Discovery Conference. (b) Assigned Judicial Officer. Informal Discovery Conferences will be scheduled with and conducted by the duly assigned Informal Discovery Conference Judicial Officer. Informal Discovery Conferences will be scheduled with and conducted by the Case Management Judicial Officer. As an Informal Discovery Conference does not involve the adjudication of any issue of disputed law or fact by the duly assigned Informal Discovery Conference Judicial Officer, Code of Civil Procedure Section 170.6 does not apply. The outcome of an Informal Discovery Conference does not bar a party from subsequently filing a discovery motion or prejudice the disposition of a discovery motion. (c) Remote Only. Informal Discovery Conferences in probate cases are conducted remote only by Zoom, and are not recorded by any party and are not reported by any court reporter. (d) Request for Informal Discovery Conference. (i) To request an Informal Discovery Conference, counsel must contact the Court by email at IDC@sanmateocourt.org, which email must be contemporaneously copied to counsel for all parties to the action and any self-represented parties. Any party requesting an Informal Discovery Conference shall identify the case name and number, the name of the party requesting the Informal Discovery Conference, and the estimated length of the IDC session. (ii) To reserve a date and time for the Informal Discovery Conference, the requesting party shall consult the Informal Discovery Conference Calendar Availability section of the Court’s website at www.sanmateo.courts.ca.gov, and request in the email (under subsection (e)(i) above) an available IDC session for a date that is, at least, ten (10) calendar days, but no later than twenty-nine (29) calendar days, from the date of the request for Informal Discovery Conference. (e) Tolling of Deadline to File Motion. By agreeing to engage in an Informal Discovery Conference, parties agree that the time for bringing any motion to compel or other discovery motion is tolled, starting on the date a party makes the email request for an Informal Discovery Conference to the Court. All requests for Informal Discovery Conference must be made prior to the expiration of the statutory time to bring a motion to compel or other discovery motions. Tolling shall be automatically lifted upon completion of the Informal Discovery Conference and placed in the Court’s Minutes including an affirmative waiver of the statutory requirement that it be in writing. Prior to making a request with the Court, counsel shall obtain the consent of the opposing counsel(s) in writing to engage in an informal discovery conference. (f) Email Correspondence Detailing Discovery Dispute (i) Within five (5) calendar days of the initial email request to the Court for an Informal Discovery Request, the disputing parties shall, jointly or separately, email correspondence to the Court at IDC@sanmateocourt.org and contemporaneously to all parties, an electronic letter of no more than five (5) pages, without attachments, summarizing the discovery dispute(s). It shall include on the first line (i) the case name and number, (ii) the date and time reserved by the parties for the Informal Discovery Conference, and (iii) the estimated length of the IDC session. (ii) Failure to timely provide the Court with email correspondence summarizing the discovery dispute(s) may, and likely will, result in the Informal Discovery Conference being vacated/cancelled, or advanced and concluded, and tolling of the time to file and serve any discovery motion will cease. (g) Statutory Declaration Waived. The Court waives any requirement for the parties involved in the discovery dispute to file “meet and confer” declarations pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2016.040 prior to the Informal Discovery Conference. The dispute will be addressed by the e-correspondence method/procedure set forth above; and the parties are requested not to file any such declarations unless and until the Informal Discovery Conference is unsuccessful and a formal discovery motion is subsequently filed. (h) Email Requirements. (i) All communications to the IDC@sanmateocourt.org email address must include in the header “subject line” the Case Number and Name of Case (e.g., 19CIV06543 Smith v. Jones). (ii) All correspondence regarding any Informal Discovery Conference, such as IDC letter briefs, requests to take matters off calendar, and requests for rescheduling, shall be submitted electronically, rather than paper, by e-mail addressed to IDC@sanmateocourt.org. All electronic correspondence must be sent in at least 12-point type. All electronic correspondence with the IDC Department must also be contemporaneously sent to opposing counsel or opposing self-represented parties. The IDC Department’s email address is for the sending and receiving of correspondence, and is not a venue for back-and-forth communications with the Case Management Judicial Officer. (iii) Communications to the IDC email address are not part of the official court files; and will be retained for at least ninety (90) days and then be subject to deletion (destruction) thereafter. (i) Authorization of Case Management Judicial Officer. (i) Good cause appearing, the Case Management Judicial Officer may, and is authorized to, continue the Informal Discovery Conference, or schedule further proceedings on the same discovery disputes via Informal Discovery Conference. The Case Management Judicial Officer shall enter minutes in the civil case docket indicating that an Informal Discovery Conference was held, the date held, the counsel and parties attending, and whether or not all discovery disputes were resolved. (ii) If a party to a discovery dispute is notified of the Informal Discovery Conference and fails to appear, the Case Management Judicial Officer may, and is authorized to, reschedule or cancel or conclude the Informal Discovery Conference, or issue an Order to Show Cause Re: Sanctions for failure to appear. (j) Motion if Unresolved Discovery Disputes. If any discovery dispute is not resolved following the Informal Discovery Conference, any party may proceed to file and calendar hearing on a motion to compel or other discovery motion in the department of the Judge assigned to that probate case. (Adopted, effective July 1, 2025; Amended, effective July 1, 2026) Rule 4.3 Probate Trials and Contested Matters All trials and contested hearings in any proceedings under the Probate Code, which trial or contested hearing is estimated to take less than three court days (i.e., five half days or less), will be heard and set on the calendar of the designated Probate Department. (Prior Rule 4.3 adopted July 1, 1996 was repealed July 1, 2004; new Rule 4.3 Adopted, effective January 1, 2023; Amended, effective July 1, 2026.) Rule 4.4 Length of Hearing The estimated length of the hearing shall determine on which calendar the matter is to be set. (a) All matters estimated by counsel/self-represented party to last no longer than fifteen (15) minutes in duration shall be set on the daily Probate Calendar. (b) All matters estimated by counsel/self-represented party to require a hearing of longer than fifteen (15) minutes shall be set on the Probate long-cause calendar. Long cause matters will be specially set in the designated Probate Department depending upon the Probate Calendar and availability. Counsel/self-represented parties shall contact the clerk of the court in the Probate Department to obtain a special set hearing date and time prior to filing the initial application or motion to be set for hearing. (i) When a matter is put on the long cause calendar, all papers in support or opposition of the matter must be filed and served five (5) court days in advance of the hearing date. (ii) All long cause matters shall comply with the Law and Motion rules. (Adopted, effective July 1, 1996; Amended, effective January 1, 2000; Amended, effective July 1, 2004; Amended, effective July 1, 2009; Amended, effective January 1, 2014; Amended, effective January 1, 2023.) Rule 4.5 Non-Appearance Those matters which may be determined upon a verified petition and without testimony shall be submitted for appropriate action by the Court without appearance by counsel/self-represented parties or witnesses provided that all required documents are submitted timely, as follows: A. All declarations, affidavits, consents, waivers, proofs of service, proofs of publications, proposed orders and other necessary papers shall be delivered to the Superior Court Clerk’s Office, Probate Division, no later than five (5) court days prior to the hearing. Supporting papers filed after the moving papers must show the scheduled hearing date on the face sheet. B. The verified petition or an accompanying affidavit signed by the petitioner or by the personal representative or by counsel of record for either of said persons shall set forth the information necessary to establish the amount of bond, if one is required. C. Failure to submit all necessary papers 5 court days prior to the hearing may result in a continuance of the matter at the court's discretion and convenience. D. All matters will be non-appearance except as stated in Rule 4.6 or where required by the court. (Adopted, effective July 1, 1996; Amended, effective July 1, 2004; Amended, effective July 1, 2026) Rule 4.6 Appearance A. Generally. An appearance may be required on the hearing of all matters that are not pre-granted or continued on the Court’s Tentative Rulings that are posted on the Court’s website at www.sanmateo.courts.ca.gov. See Local Rule 4.77.5 (Personal Appearance – Guardianships) and 4.81.1 (Personal Appearance – Conservatorships) below. B. REPEALED. Please see Local Rule 4.2(d). C. Filing of Appearance Initiating Documents. All supporting papers for the party initiating an appearance on the probate calendar shall be filed no later than five (5) court days prior to the hearing. Replies shall be filed no later than two (2) court days prior to the hearing. Filing of papers shall occur in the office of the Clerk of the Court, Probate Division at the location where the matter is to be heard. D. Proposed Order. Except in the case of confirmations of sales and contested matters, a proposed order must be submitted to the office of the Clerk of the Court, Probate Division, at least five (5) court days in advance of the scheduled hearing date, with the scheduled hearing date noted on the face sheet. Failure to submit a timely proposed order five (5) court days in advance of the hearing may result in a continuance of the hearing. E. Personal appearance by counsel may be required in the following cases: (1) Contested matters. (2) Proof of holographic wills, only when specially required by the hearing judge. (3) Hearings on petitions for court confirmation of sales of property. (4) Appointment of guardian or conservator. (5) Any non-routine matter that by law requires the personal appearance of any person. (Adopted, effective July 1, 1996; Amended, effective January 1, 2000; effective July 1, 2004; Amended, effective January 1, 2011; Amended, effective July 1, 2012; Amended, effective January 1, 2018; Amended, effective January 1, 2023; Amended, effective July 1, 2024) Rule 4.7 Ex Parte Matters A. Ex parte petitions shall only be brought when specifically authorized by the Probate Code, in exigent circumstances or in emergencies. B. Notice of the ex parte petition shall be given to all parties entitled by provision of the Probate Code to receive notice of the matter which is the subject of the ex parte petition by the time as required by California Rules of Court, Rule 3.1203-3.1204. C. All ex parte applications must allege whether special notice has been requested. If special notice has been requested, the application must identify each person who has requested such notice and must allege that special notice has been given to that person or has been waived by that person. A proof of service of special notice or a written waiver of special notice must be presented with each application. D. All Probate ex parte applications must comply with California Rules of Court, Rules 3.1201-3.1204. E. Each petition for an ex parte order must be verified and must contain sufficient evidentiary facts to justify issuing an order. F. Probate ex partes shall be heard each day between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. by the Probate Department and be filed no later than 10:30 a.m. Applicants must be checked into the Clerk’s office by10:30 a.m. No prior appointment need be made for any ex parte hearing. (Adopted, effective July 1, 1996; Amended effective January 1, 2000; Amended effective July 1, 2004; Amended effective January 1, 2007; Amended effective July 1, 2022; Amended, effective July 1, 2024; Amended effective January 1, 2025.)
DIVISION IV PROBATE DEPARTMENT ALL REFERENCES TO CODE SECTIONS REFER TO THE PROBATE CODE UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED CHAPTER 1. ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION Rule 4.1 General Provisions A. The Probate Department shall handle hear and determine all matters arising under the Probate Code, including but not limited to all matters relating to Estates, Trusts, Conservatorships, Guardianships, and the
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-08 (California T4 San Mateo build 2026-10-08) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-san-mateo/docs/local-rules/localrules.pdf (the court's rule book, “Local Court Rules As Amended Effective July 1, 2026”, as fetched 2026-10-08; 2288146 bytes, sha256 339b824c762c382bbe9451825137a370ed61c341ed5b7f53b448b46bb3dcca2b; 234 pages) with the shared verbatim composer (v2 reflow) over the Introduction and Divisions I to XI (PDF pages 33 to 210, each division's contents pages left out): each page's running header (“Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo”), its running label (the division's label, the page number and the page's revision date) and each division's “Return to Table of Contents” link box removed as chrome; lines reflowed into the rules' paragraphs; seven rule citations the reflow broke at a line end rejoined, the Court Schedule of Attorney Fees (Rule 6.1.1; a table printed without rules) set one printed row a line, and sixteen paragraph and heading breaks the reflow ran together set back - among them Division III's headings 3.8, 3.9 and 3.13, printed without the word “Rule” (24 whitespace-only fixes); Divisions II, IV and VI cut at their chapter headings, which reassemble them (Division II's Chapter 3 is “[RESERVED]”: its heading alone, no card); no struck character (the strike report); proof 1 (whitespace-only) and proof 2 (same character multiset as the text layer minus chrome) pass. The cover, the table of contents, the filing instructions, the List of Currently Effective Rules, the divisions' contents pages, Attachment I (the local court forms list) and the index belong to no chapter.
Division XI: information forms for data processing (Rule 11.2); required action - action taken on all calendared cases and a future date always set (Rule 11.19); and pro tem judges - an attorney named as a plaintiff in a civil or small claims case may not sit as a judge pro-tem during the case or within six months following its resolution, nor one named as a defendant in two or more such cases (Rule 11.22). Rules 11.1, 11.3 to 11.5, 11.7 to 11.18, 11.20 and 11.21 are repealed, and Rule 11.6 (voluntary arbitration; see Local Rule 10.2) was repealed and renumbered.
Duval County's indigent-defense and magistration rules under the Texas Fair Defense Act (S.B. 7): who may be booked into the county jail and on what paper; arrest-case numbering; presentment to a magistrate within 48 hours (art. 15.16); the magistrate's warnings, counsel inquiry, interpreter duty, indigence determination and appointment of counsel within 24 hours of a request; the alternative appointment plan under art. 26.04(g)-(h) with annual applications, seven attorney categories (capital, first and second degree, third degree/state jail/misdemeanor, competency, appeals, post-conviction, extradition), CLE and experience standards, random rotation within each category, written acceptance within 48 hours, first contact by the end of the next working day, replacement and suspension of counsel, fee applications within five days of completing services and the compensation attachment ($500 pleas; $175/$150 hourly; $1,400 per jury-trial day; appellate caps); bail schedules by offense class with a personal bond office (fee $20 or 3%), pre-trial supervision and revocation hearings within two working days; arraignment settings and notice; repeal of conflicting rules.