You must publish the Notice of Petition to Administer Estate in: A publication of general circulation in the city where the decedent resided at the time of death. Notice must be published 3 times before the hearing date. First publication must be at least 15 days before the hearing date.
Open a case You (the person who starts the case) are called the “petitioner." You must file forms with the court to “open probate.” You file a Petition for Probate (form DE-111) along with other court forms. File the case in the county where the person who died (the decedent) lived.
You can appoint anyone you want as executor. It doesn't even have to be a family member. It can be your best friend, a lawyer,anyone that you trust to do the right thing. Inform them what you have done so they want be blindsided. It's your choice if you want to tell anyone else who your executor will be.
Step 1 Petition for Probate (Form DE-111, Judicial Council), and all attachments, Original Will (if there is one) Notice of Petition to Administer Estate (Form DE-121, Judicial Council) Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative (Form DE-147, Judicial Council) Order for Probate (Form DE-140, Judicial Council)
The probate petition typically consists of an application to be officially appointed as the executor, the death certificate, and the original will. A petitioner must ask the probate court to officially be appointed as the executor regardless of whether the decedent's will has named them as an executor.
The Executor is normally nominated in the Will but it is the court who formally appoints the Executor after a noticed hearing. See our article on Probate. 2. If no Executor is nominated in the Will, the court appoints an “Administrator” who performs the same function, usually a relative.
The Cemetery and Funeral Bureau regulates, and investigates complaints against California funeral establishments, funeral directors, embalmers, apprentice embalmers, cemetery brokers, cemetery salespersons, cremated remains disposers, crematories, and the nearly 200 licensed cemeteries in the state.
The terms undertaker and mortician are more antiquated but are pretty much synonymous with funeral director. Most funeral directors do not like being referred to as morticians or undertakers as those names are most associated with death and unpleasantness.
The California Department of Consumer Affairs, Cemetery and Funeral Bureau (Bureau) licenses, regulates, and investigates complaints against 13 different licensing categories in California, totaling approximately 13,500 licensees.
In most cases, it will take about 4-6 weeks to receive a death certificate in California after the request has been submitted. However, if the certificate is ordered through a funeral home, it may take only 2-3 weeks for you to have it mailed to you.