California editionIn your inbox within a minuteMoney-back promise
Standard Index GroupThe End of Life PlannerUnited States by Valoren

General information · not a substitute for the advice of an attorney · Valoren is a publisher, not a law firm.

Free · general informationCalifornia

Letters testamentary in California

What California’s own law and courts say about letters testamentary, from who may receive them to what has to happen before they issue. Nothing on this page decides whether a particular person may serve, or what a particular estate needs. That belongs to the court, or to an attorney in California.

  • Every fact dated, in the official words
  • Each state’s own law

Every quotation checked October 17, 2026

Every quotation on this page is the official body’s own words, as they stood on the day we read them. The date is beside each one.

Executor, administrator and personal representative: the court’s own definitions

A person named in a will and appointed by the court to carry out the dead person’s wishes. The executor is also called the personal representative of the estate.

The person (usually the spouse, domestic partner, or a close relative) that the court appoints to manage the estate of a person who dies without a will. The administrator is also called the personal representative of the estate.

California · general information · checked October 17, 2026 · selfhelp.courts.ca.gov

The court’s statement of duties: being an officer of the court, the estate’s own bank account, the inventory, and the acknowledgment of receiving it

When the court appoints you as personal representative of an estate, you become an officer of the court and assume certain duties and obligations.

When you open a bank account for the estate, the account name must indicate that it is an estate account and not your personal account.

Within four months after Letters are first issued to you as personal representative, you must file with the court an inventory and appraisal of all the assets in the estate.

I acknowledge that I have received a copy of this statement of the duties and liabilities of the office of personal representative.

California · general information · checked October 17, 2026 · Judicial Council form DE-147; Prob. Code §8404

The court’s Letters form: what the clerk certifies on a copy

I certify that this document is a correct copy of the original on file in my office and the letters issued the personal representative appointed above have not been revoked, … annulled, or set aside, and are still in full force and effect.

California · general information · checked October 17, 2026 · Judicial Council form DE-150

FAQ

Common questions

A person named in a will and appointed by the court to carry out the dead person’s wishes. The executor is also called the personal representative of the estate.

The person (usually the spouse, domestic partner, or a close relative) that the court appoints to manage the estate of a person who dies without a will. The administrator is also called the personal representative of the estate.

California · general information · checked October 17, 2026 · selfhelp.courts.ca.gov

When the court appoints you as personal representative of an estate, you become an officer of the court and assume certain duties and obligations.

When you open a bank account for the estate, the account name must indicate that it is an estate account and not your personal account.

Within four months after Letters are first issued to you as personal representative, you must file with the court an inventory and appraisal of all the assets in the estate.

I acknowledge that I have received a copy of this statement of the duties and liabilities of the office of personal representative.

California · general information · checked October 17, 2026 · Judicial Council form DE-147; Prob. Code §8404

When the court appoints you as personal representative of an estate, you become an officer of the court and assume certain duties and obligations.

When you open a bank account for the estate, the account name must indicate that it is an estate account and not your personal account.

Within four months after Letters are first issued to you as personal representative, you must file with the court an inventory and appraisal of all the assets in the estate.

I acknowledge that I have received a copy of this statement of the duties and liabilities of the office of personal representative.

California · general information · checked October 17, 2026 · Judicial Council form DE-147; Prob. Code §8404

I certify that this document is a correct copy of the original on file in my office and the letters issued the personal representative appointed above have not been revoked, … annulled, or set aside, and are still in full force and effect.

California · general information · checked October 17, 2026 · Judicial Council form DE-150