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Section 13 (Rules 13.01 to 13.16): the caption of a petition all-inclusive as to the order sought, the caption to so indicate if any part of the estate is to be distributed to a trust (13.01); pleadings signed by the attorney and each representative, trustee, guardian, or conservator and verified by the representative, trustee, guardian, or conservator personally, not by the attorney unless CCP §446(a) authorizes it (13.02); a copy of the petition served with each notice of hearing on a person requesting special notice or where the petition is the accounting of a testamentary trustee, and on all interested parties where the fiduciary or attorney is requesting fees or commissions other than those computed by Probate Code §10800 and §10810 (13.03); the moving party shall submit a proposed order for every petition, worded so that its general effect may be determined without reference to the petition (13.04); orders and affidavits of publication filed or lodged at least three court days before the date of hearing (13.05); an order for family allowance limited to six months if no inventory and appraisement has been filed, and to one year if one has (13.06); petitions for statutory fees or commissions before final distribution must contain the information required by CRC Rule 7.701, ordinarily no more than 75% of the statutory compensation allowed before approval of final distribution (13.07(A)); the court may deduct from the personal representative’s statutory commission sums paid for the performance of the representative’s ordinary duties (13.07(B)); statutory compensation calculated on both halves of the community property only when both halves are included in the probate proceeding (13.07(C)); compensation for extraordinary services ordinarily not allowed or paid before the final accounting has been approved, petitions to include the information of CRC Rule 7.702 (13.07(D)); in cases where there is a confirmation of sale hearing, the court will consider $750.00 to be reasonable compensation (13.07(E)); the court will assume $750.00 is a reasonable amount for the preparation of the Federal Estate Tax Return if neither the personal representative nor an attorney provides such information (13.07(F)); costs separately stated and described (13.07(G)); a petition for final distribution shall contain the following matters - all assets on hand, the entitlement of each heir, a computation of the attorney fees and representative commissions, a statement regarding payment of all taxes under Probate Code §9650, an agreement for distribution in kind other than pursuant to the will or intestate succession, a schedule of claims, the terms of any testamentary trust in full, an itemization of costs (ordinary overhead items not proper cost items), the proration of taxes, fees, and costs, separate and community property, any assignment of interest, the trustee’s statement accepting the property or a petition for a substitute trustee, and distribution to a minor or an incompetent under Probate Code §3300, et seq. (13.08); the original Summary of Account and Detailed Schedules filed in any proceeding in which an accounting must be filed pursuant to Probate Code §1060 (13.09(A)); in a guardianship or conservatorship proceeding the documents in support, including every account statement, lodged rather than filed, with a copy of the Summary of Account attached to the top (13.09(B)); the Summary of Account and Detailed Schedules filed and supporting documents lodged within 90 days of the close of the accounting period (13.09(C)); a petition to establish the fact of death verified and with a copy of any instrument relating to any interest in the property and a copy of the death certificate attached as exhibits, no request for fees for services of this character (13.10); a hearing date scheduled for no later than one month after the anniversary date of every order appointing a guardian, the clerk to mail Judicial Council Form GC-251 at least one month before the hearing date, no appearance necessary if the report is filed prior to the date for the hearing (13.11); counsel permitted to appear by telephone on the probate calendar, telephonic appearances not allowed at any proceeding at which witnesses will be called to testify or at settlement conferences (13.12(A)); telephonic appearances through the vendor, Court Call, at (888) 882-6878, unless leave of court is obtained to contact the court directly (13.12(B)); the court may at any time require the personal appearance of any party (13.12(C)); attorney fees in guardianships, conservatorships, and trusts under Section 6148 of the Business and Professions Code - a written contract where it is reasonably foreseeable that the total expenses will exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), where there is no such written contract hourly rates that are customary in Trinity County, fees that may be denied or reduced, only legal fees for counsel appointed by the court in the Order Appointing Conservator, and an attorney fiduciary’s declaration agreeing not to share in the firm’s fees (13.13(A)); petitions for compensation to a guardian, conservator, or attorney shall include the information required by CRC Rules 7.751 and 7.702, the court to evaluate the services as a whole and consider the factors of CRC Rule 7.756 (13.13(B)); in determining compensation of a trustee the court will consider the factors of CRC Rule 7.776, compensation ordinarily allowed as provided in the governing instrument unless the Court fixes a greater or lesser amount (Probate Code §15680(b)), compensation for an attorney for the trustee ordinarily allowed as provided in the governing instrument, or reasonable compensation the court will establish, the time governed by Probate Code §§15680- 15688, petitions for periodic payments to comply with Probate Code §2643 (13.13(C)); every party petitioning to appoint a conservator or a guardian shall provide an extra copy of the petition and all supporting documents to the civil division clerk’s office, forwarded to the Court Investigator, additional documents subject to the same process (13.14(A)); the fee for court investigations specified in the court’s fee schedule, collected at the time of filing of a petition to establish a guardianship in which the proposed guardian is a relative unless a fee waiver has been granted (Probate Code § 1513.1), and in conservatorship proceedings the court to determine whether to collect, waive or defer the fee after the investigator’s report (Probate Code § 1851.5) (13.14(B)); this court does not accept direct fax filings and will accept filings through a fax filing agency in accordance with CRC Rule 2.303 (13.15(A)); electronic mail filing is accepted through the dedicated email address court_filings@trinitycounty.org (13.15(B)); the conservator shall notify the court within ninety (90) days of the death of the conservatee (13.16(A)); and if the conservatorship is one of the estate, the conservator shall file a final account of the administration pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 7.1052 (13.16(B)).
SECTION 13 PROBATE RULES RULE 13.01 CAPTION OF PETITIONS AND POSTING The caption of a petition shall be all-inclusive as to the order sought so that the matter may be properly calendared and posted, and any filing fees determined. If any part of the estate is to be distributed to a trust, the caption shall so indicate. RULE 13.02 SIGNING AND VERIFICATION OF PLEADINGS Pleadings shall be signed by t
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-12 (California T4 Trinity build 2026-10-12) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-trinity/docs/local_rules.pdf (the court's rule book, its cover “SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF TRINITY LOCAL RULES OF COURT RULES ADOPTED July 1, 2021 EFFECTIVE DATE July 1, 2021”, as fetched 2026-10-12; 861131 bytes, sha256 a8c32af5c48046e94c4ebdeef93b8a8df4810b8f1ba5b77ce3b3654678bea2d3; 49 pages; this section PDF pages 36 to 41, printed pages 36 to 41) with the shared verbatim composer (v2 reflow): the rules (PDF pages 7 to 44, printed with the same numbers) composed as one text and cut at the sixteen section headings “SECTION 1” to “SECTION 16”, each matched once as a whole line followed by the section's title (a section may begin mid-page); the page number at the foot of every page (“7”), named and a whole line in its band, and the four footnotes' own numbers (a bare digit at the left margin, which the composer's pleading line-number test takes out; the superscripts in the rules' text stay) removed as chrome - 42 chrome lines; lines reflowed into the rules' paragraphs, each rule's number and title (“RULE 1.07 TIMELY APPEARANCE OF COUNSEL AND REQUIRED NOTIFICATION”), each lettered or numbered subdivision starting a line and each section heading on a line of its own; each footnote - one note on electronic filing printed four times, at the foot of PDF pages 16, 31, 35 and 41 - composed where the page prints it, after the page's last body line; the strike report (review/strike-report-2026-10-12.txt) finds no struck run on the book's 49 pages; no table on the rule pages; 3 whitespace-only fixes (build/book-fixes.json: Rule 11.03(C)'s reference wrapped at “(A)”, which the reflow took for a label, and Rule 15.01's two-line heading rejoined; the form number “FL-” / “326” rejoined) and 1 same-character fix (build/book-captions.json: the page-31 footnote, which fell inside Rule 12.01(D)(1)'s sentence, set after it); the vertical-gap, short-line, page-break, bold, false-break, fragment and row audits (custody file book_extra_audits.py; review/book-extra-audits-2026-10-12.txt and review/book-audits-after-fixes-2026-10-12.txt) list candidates read one by one (build/book_fixes.py) - the rest kept as printed (the rule numbers with their titles on one row, the lines ending at the court's e-mail address, Rule 4.04(C)'s blank “$ .”, the hyphens printed with a space in the line, “post- sentencing”, “§§15680- 15688”, “self- addressed”); proof 1 (whitespace-only) and proof 2 (same character multiset as the text layer minus chrome) pass. The Court Executive Officer's filing instructions of July 1, 2021 (PDF page 1), the cover (2), the table of contents (3 to 6), a blank page (45), the index (46 to 48) and Appendix A, the list of local forms (49), belong to no card.
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.
California > Third Appellate District > Trinity County > Superior Court of California, County of Trinity
SECTION 13 PROBATE RULES RULE 13.01 CAPTION OF PETITIONS AND POSTING The caption of a petition shall be all-inclusive as to the order sought so that the matter may be properly calendared and posted, and any filing fees determined. If any part of the estate is to be distributed to a trust, the caption shall so indicate. RULE 13.02 SIGNING AND VERIFICATION OF PLEADINGS Pleadings shall be signed by the attorney and each representative, trustee, guardian, or conservator. The pleadings shall be verified by a representative, trustee, guardian, or conservator personally and not by the attorney unless one of the circumstances set forth in CCP §446(a) specifically authorizes verification by an attorney and compliance with the affidavit content requirements is met. RULE 13.03 ADDITIONAL NOTICE REQUIREMENTS A copy of the petition shall be served with each notice of hearing when served on a person requesting special notice or where the petition is the accounting of a testamentary trustee. Where the fiduciary or attorney is requesting fees or commissions other than those computed by Probate Code §10800 and §10810, the notice of hearing and a copy of the petition shall be served on all interested parties. The proof of service shall show service of the copy of the petition as well as the notice of hearing. RULE 13.04 WORDING OF PROBATE ORDER The moving party shall submit a proposed order for every petition. Probate orders shall be worded so that their general effect may be determined without reference to the petition on which they are based. RULE 13.05 TIME FOR SUBMITTING ORDERS AND AFFIDAVITS OF PUBLICATION All orders prepared by the moving party and affidavits of publication shall be filed or lodged with the clerk at least three court days before the date of hearing. RULE 13.06 ORDER FOR FAMILY ALLOWANCE The duration of an order for family allowance is limited to six months if no inventory and appraisement has been filed, and is limited to one year if an inventory and appraisement has been filed. Comment: The court discourages requests for retroactive (nunc pro tunc) payment of family allowance. Requests for family allowance should be made in a timely fashion. RULE 13.07 COMMISSIONS AND FEES IN PROBATE ESTATES (A) All petitions for allowance of statutory fees or commissions on account before final distribution must contain the information required by CRC Rule 7.701. Ordinarily, no more than 75% of the statutory compensation will be allowed before approval of final distribution. In the court’s discretion, the full amount may be allowed where the estate or heirs will benefit (e.g., to reduce income taxes) or where ordinary services have been completed and final distribution is delayed only in order to perform extraordinary services. (B) The court may deduct from the personal representative’s statutory commission any sums paid from estate funds for the performance of the representative’s ordinary duties. (C) Community Property Election: (1) If both halves of the community property are properly included in the probate proceeding, statutory compensation calculated on both halves of the community property will be allowed. (2) In cases in which only one half of the community property is subject to probate, compensation for ordinary services may only be based upon the value of that part of the community property which is subject to probate. (D) Extraordinary Services: (1) Ordinarily, compensation for extraordinary services will not be allowed or paid before the final accounting has been approved by the court. (2) Except as stated below for routine real property sales and federal estate tax work, petitions for fees or commissions for extraordinary services shall include the information specified in CRC Rule 7.702. (E) Sales of Real Property: In determining the compensation of any attorney for extraordinary services rendered with respect to real property sales, the court will consider the amount of time involved, whether or not a real estate broker was employed, the involvement of the attorney in negotiations, the nature of other services rendered (e.g., drafting of the sales agreement and its complexity, preparation of deeds and other documents) and other similar information. In cases where there is a confirmation of sale hearing, the court will consider $750.00 to be reasonable compensation. If that amount is requested, detailed information as to services rendered will not be required. This guideline only applies to attorneys’ compensation, however, a personal representative may also request compensation for extraordinary services in regard to sales of real property. (F) Preparation of Federal Estate Tax Return: In determining the compensation of a personal representative or an attorney for the preparation of a federal estate tax return, the court will ordinarily consider the hours spent, the intricacy or peculiar nature of any of the issues or computations involved, the extent of any audit, the value of the gross estate, the amount of tax and other similar information. If neither the personal representative nor an attorney provides the court with such information, the court will assume that the sum of $750.00 is a reasonable amount for the preparation of the Federal Estate Tax Return. (G) Costs: Where reimbursement for costs incurred is requested by the personal representative or attorney, the cost of items advanced by such party must be separately stated and described. RULE 13.08 REQUIRED MATTERS IN A PETITION FOR FINAL DISTRIBUTION In addition to items otherwise required by law, a petition for final distribution shall contain the following matters, unless set forth in the account and report: (A) A full and complete description of all assets on hand. (B) Facts specifically showing the entitlement of each heir to the portion of the estate to be distributed to that heir, including any information concerning predeceased children. (C) A computation of the attorney fees and representative commissions requested. (D) A statement regarding payment of all taxes pursuant to Probate Code §9650. (E) If the decree of distribution is to distribute assets in kind in a manner that all persons will not share equally in each asset and the distribution is other than pursuant to the will or the laws of intestate succession, then an agreement must be signed by each heir and devisee with the signatures acknowledged accepting the plan of distribution. (F) A schedule of claims showing the name of the claimant, amount claimed, date presented, date allowed, and, if paid, the date of payment. As to any claims rejected, the date of rejection must be set forth, and the original of the notice or rejection with affidavit of mailing to the creditor must be filed. (G) The terms of any testamentary trust must be set out in full in the petition and order and not merely incorporated by reference. (H) An itemization of costs for which counsel has been paid or is seeking reimbursement. Ordinary overhead items, including, but not limited to, costs of duplication of documents, telephone calls, and automobile mileage are not proper cost items. (I) A schedule showing the proration of taxes, fees, and costs. (J) A statement of what property is separate and what property is community. (K) If distribution is to be made pursuant to an assignment of interest, the assignment shall be filed and acknowledged and the details of the consideration set forth. (L) If distribution is to be made to a trust, either an acknowledged statement by the trustee accepting the property under the terms of the trust, or a petition by the executor or administrator for the designation of a substitute trustee shall be filed. (M) If the distribution is to be made to a minor or an incompetent, either facts showing compliance with Probate Code §3300, et seq., or current certified copies of letters of conservatorship or guardianship of the estate shall be filed. RULE 13.09 ACCOUNTS IN PROBATE PROCEEDINGS (A) In any probate proceeding in which an accounting must be filed pursuant to Probate Code §1060, including guardianship, conservatorship, and trust proceedings, the original Summary of Account as specified in Probate Code §1061 and the original Detailed Schedules as specified in Probate Code §1062 and §1063 shall be filed. (See Judicial Council Forms GC-400-405.) (B) For any accounting in a guardianship or conservatorship proceeding, the documents in support of the Summary of Account and Detailed Schedules shall be lodged rather than filed and shall include every “account statement,” as defined in Probate Code §2620(c)(1) and (2), that shows the balance of the account at the close of the preceding accounting period. As to the first accounting, the documents in support shall show the account balance immediately preceding the date the conservator or guardian was appointed. A copy of the Summary of Account referenced in subsection “A” shall be attached to the top of the supporting documents lodged with the court. The documents lodged pursuant to this rule shall be retained by the clerk and returned following judicial review. (C) Time for Filing and Lodging of Documents: The Summary of Account and Detailed Schedules shall be filed and supporting documents lodged within 90 days of the close of the accounting period to which they relate. RULE 13.10 PETITION TO ESTABLISH FACT OF DEATH A petition to establish the fact of death (terminate a joint tenancy or life estate) shall be verified and shall have attached as exhibits: (A) A copy of any instrument relating to any interest in the property; and (B) A copy of the death certificate. Comment: There is no statutory provision for the determination by a court for attorney fees in proceedings for termination of joint tenancy or a life estate. No request for fees for services of this character should be made. RULE 13.11 GUARDIANSHIPS – ANNUAL REPORTS To ensure compliance with the annual reporting requirement of Probate Code §1513.2 and California Rules of Court, Rule 7.1003, a hearing date will be scheduled for no later than one month after the anniversary date of the date of every order appointing a person as a guardian. The clerk will mail to the guardian Judicial Council Form GC-251, Confidential Guardianship Status Report, at least one month before the hearing date. If the report is filed prior to the date for the hearing, no appearance will be necessary unless the court orders otherwise, and the next annual reporting date will be scheduled. RULE 13.12 TELEPHONIC APPEARANCES (A) Counsel are permitted to appear by telephone on the probate calendar. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, telephonic appearances will not be allowed at any proceeding at which witnesses will be called to testify or at settlement conferences. (B) Unless leave of court is obtained to contact the court directly by telephone, all telephonic appearances shall be through a private vendor with which the court has made arrangements to provide teleconferencing services. Counsel wishing to appear by telephone must contact the vendor, Court Call, at (888) 882-6878 prior to the hearing and comply with the vendor’s procedures. (C) Notwithstanding any other provision of this rule, the court may at any time require the personal appearance of any party. RULE 13.13 FEES AND COMMISSIONS IN GUARDIANSHIPS, CONSERVATORSHIPS AND TRUSTS (A) Attorney Fees in General: In determining the reasonable attorney fees to be granted in guardianships, conservatorships, and trusts within the jurisdiction of the court, the court will require compliance with Section 6148 of the Business and Professions Code as follows: (1) In any matter in which it is reasonably foreseeable that the total expenses to a client, including attorney fees, will exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), there should be a written contract between the attorney and client for services in the matter containing all of the following: (a) The hourly rate and other standard rates, fees, and charges applicable to the matter. (b) The general nature of the legal services. (c) The respective responsibilities of the attorney and the client as to the performance of the contract. (2) In any guardianship, conservatorship, or trust within the jurisdiction of the court where there is no such written contract, reasonable attorney fees will be determined by the court using hourly rates that are customary in Trinity County. (3) In any case, attorney fees may be denied or reduced below customary or contractually agreed upon amounts if the court determines that the services have not been performed in an efficient, timely or competent manner. (4) Only legal fees for counsel appointed by the court to represent the conservatee may be approved and included in the Order Appointing Conservator. (5) Where an attorney is the fiduciary and is a member of a law firm, attorney fees will not be allowed unless a declaration is executed by the fiduciary agreeing that the fiduciary will not share in the attorney fees to be received by the firm. (B) Guardianships and Conservatorships: (1) All petitions for compensation to a guardian, conservator, or attorney for a guardian or conservator shall include the information required by CRC Rules 7.751 and 7.702. The court will evaluate the services as a whole rather than designate part of the services as “ordinary” and part of the services as “extraordinary.” In determining the amount of just and reasonable compensation, the court will consider the factors set forth in CRC Rule 7.756. (2) In the event the attorney has performed bookkeeping and other services for an individual fiduciary, the court may award the fiduciary’s attorney a larger compensation and the individual fiduciary a lesser compensation. (3) The fiduciary may employ tax counsel, accountants or other tax experts for the preparation of tax returns and for other tax related services and pay from the funds of the estate for such services. The court may deduct from the fiduciary’s commission any sums paid from estate funds for performance of the fiduciary’s duties such as ordinary accounting and bookkeeping services. (C) Trusts: (1) Compensation of Trustees: In determining or approving compensation of a trustee, the court will consider the factors set forth in CRC Rule 7.776. Compensation for the trustee will ordinarily be allowed as provided in the governing instrument, unless the Court fixes a greater or lesser amount pursuant to Probate Code §15680(b). If the instrument is not specific, the court will establish reasonable compensation. (2) Attorney Fees: Compensation for an attorney for the trustee will ordinarily be allowed as provided in the governing instrument. If the instrument is not specific, the court will establish reasonable compensation, based on a detailed description of the services rendered, their necessity, benefit to the estate, expertise required, time expended, and hourly rate. (3) The time for allowing compensation is governed by Probate Code §§15680- 15688. Petitions for periodic payments must comply with Probate Code §2643. RULE 13.14 COURT INVESTIGATION OF PETITIONS TO APPOINT GUARDIANS OR CONSERVATORS (A) Every party petitioning to appoint a conservator or a guardian shall provide an extra copy of the petition and all supporting documents to the civil division clerk’s office upon filing, which will then be forwarded to the Court Investigator by the clerk. Any additional documents filed after the initial petition shall be subject to the same process. (B) The fee for court investigations in guardianship and conservatorship proceedings is specified in the court’s fee schedule, which is available at the public counter of the clerk’s office or on the court’s web site at www.trinity.courts.ca.gov. Unless a fee waiver has been granted, the court investigation fee will be collected at the time of filing of any petition to establish a guardianship in which the proposed guardian is a relative, pursuant to Probate Code § 1513.1. In conservatorship proceedings, the court will determine whether to collect, waive or defer the court investigation fee after the investigator’s report has been completed, pursuant to Probate Code § 1851.5. RULE 13.15 FACSIMILE FILING / ELECTRONIC MAIL FILING (A) This court does not accept direct fax filings as provided by CRC Rule 2.304. This court will accept filings through a fax filing agency in accordance with CRC Rule 2.303, with the exception of those documents identified in CRC 2.300(b). “Fax filing agency” means an entity that receives documents by fax for processing and filing with the trial courts. An attorney or law office may be a “fax filing agency” for the attorney, law office, or others so long as all duties and requirements under CRC Rules 2.303 and 2.305 are met. (B) Electronic mail filing4 is accepted through our dedicated email address court_filings@trinitycounty.org RULE 13.16 TERMINATION OF CONSERVATORSHIP – DEATH OF CONSERVATEE (A) The conservator shall notify the court within ninety (90) days of the death of the conservatee. (B) Upon receiving notice of the death of the conservatee, if the conservatorship is one of the estate, the conservator shall file a final account of the administration pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 7.1052. If electronic filing is permissive, Code of Civil Procedure §1010.6(b)(3) and California Rules of Court, Rule 2.253(a) apply. Section 1010.6(b)(3) states: “Any document received electronically by the court between 12:00 a.m. and 11:59:59 p.m. on a court day shall be deemed filed on that court day. Any document that is received electronically on a non-court day shall be deemed filed on the next court day.” Rule 2.253(a) states: “A court may permit parties by local rule to file documents electronically in any types of cases subject to the conditions in Code of Civil Procedure §1010.6 and the rules in this chapter [i.e., rules 2.250–2.261].”
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.