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Subject: [CASantaClara] Re: question about wills
Date: 23 Mar 2004 15:17:44 -0700

This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.

Classification: Query

Message Board URL:

http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/CY.2ADE/3568.1

Message Board Post:

Although I do not live in California, I believe that it is similar to the state I live in.

If I remember correctly, Gilroy is in Santa Clara County. The probate of an estate would probably be filed in the superior court for that county. I would suggest that you contact the Santa Clara Superior Court Clerk's Office. They may have a specific "probate clerk", I do not recall. Explain to the receptionist that you are from out of state and that you need to speak with someone in the Clerk's office regarding the probate of an estate. To make it easier for the Clerk to assist you, provide as much information regarding the estate as possible. The name of the decedent, date and place of death and, if you know who was appointed Personal Representative of the Estate, or the named heirs, that information may assist the Clerk in her records search. If, by chance, you have copies of any legal documents filed in the probate action, they should have the case number in the upper portion of the first page, by the case heading. If you could provide this to the Clerk, it will make her!
search much simpler.

Nowadays with budget cuts, etc. court clerks are very busy. Many times staffing has been reduced to a bear minimum. You may find that what was once a 5 minute telephone call is now a 60 minute call, patience is the word for the day on this one. Another option you have is to contact a legal messenger service in San Jose and request a court file search. I am sure there will be a fee for this, but they are in courthouses daily and know how to search court files for records. Please note, your request must be as specific as possible. If you want copies of any documents in the court file provided to you, you must request them. These companies are used to working with attorneys or their support staff, and, like most other occupation, they know exactly what they need the messenger to find. Usually, a copy of the Will is sufficient to find heirs, and disbursement of the estate assets, but you may want more specific information. As each state requires different documents and what in!
formation they contain, you may want to let the messenger service know what specific information you are looking for and request a copy of any document held in the court file that will provide you with that specific information. Just a heads-up, probate files contain many different documents, such as petitions, orders, declaration of mailings (lots of them), etc. Requesting a copy of the "court file" may provide you with many necessary documents and a very large bill.

Hope this helps!

Good luck

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