Marin County, CA Probate Information

Marin decides most uncontested probate matters on the tentative ruling, before anyone sets foot in the courtroom. That makes a complete, correct petition especially valuable here: the Probate Research Attorney and the judge review the whole file, and any defect surfaces as a tentative ruling that continues the hearing rather than granting it. Filing before you understand the estate is the most common cause of those continuances.

Before filing anything with the Marin County clerk, identify every bank account, brokerage, retirement plan, life insurance policy, business interest, and parcel of real property, and every debt. Only then can you choose the right path — small-estate affidavit, Petition to Determine Succession to Real Property, Spousal Property Petition, or full probate. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.

The Probate Division of the Marin County Superior Court hears every probate matter in the county — decedents' estates, trusts, conservatorships, guardianships, and special needs trusts — from one courthouse, the Hall of Justice at the Marin County Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Drive in San Rafael. Families across the county, from Novato and San Anselmo to Mill Valley, Sausalito, and Point Reyes Station, file in Room 113. Under Local Rule 6.2, one department is designated by the Presiding Judge to hear general probate matters on the Regular Probate Calendar.

Probate is filed in Marin when the decedent was domiciled in the county at death (Cal. Prob. Code § 7051), or owned Marin County real property as a non-resident (ancillary administration). Notice of the petition to administer must be published in a newspaper adjudicated for Marin County — the Marin Independent Journal, the Point Reyes Light, and the Ark among them — and the personal representative or their attorney arranges publication; the clerk does not (Local Rule 6.11).

Tentative rulings decide most matters. Marin posts probate tentative rulings online after 2:00 PM the court day before the calendar. If no party requests oral argument by 4:00 PM that day, the tentative ruling becomes the order of the court and no one appears (Local Rule 6.2.D). This is the single most important thing to understand about Marin probate practice.

A Probate Research Attorney reviews every file. Rather than publishing running examiner notes, Marin has the Probate Research Attorney review each filing for compliance with the Probate Code, Title 7 of the California Rules of Court, and the local rules before the judge acts on it. The attorney will not review a document until it has been filed and gives no legal advice.

Requesting oral argument is a two-step deadline. To be heard on a matter you must both notify all interested parties and advise the clerk at (415) 444-7046, option 5, by 4:00 PM the court day before the hearing. Miss either step and the tentative ruling stands. Non-evidentiary probate hearings are limited to 20 minutes (Local Rule 6.2.D.3).

Counter cutoff at 3:30 PM. The clerk's office is open until 4:00 PM but documents received after 3:30 PM are time-stamped and processed the following court day. The office also closes for lunch from noon to 1:00 PM.

Zoom is the norm for appearances. When an appearance is required, non-evidentiary hearings may be attended by Zoom unless otherwise ordered; per-department Zoom links are on the court's Virtual Courtrooms page. Telephonic appearances go through vCourt and must be scheduled at least 2 court days before the hearing.

Many cooperative-family Marin County probates — spousal petitions, small-estate paths, and uncontested IAEA administration — are completed without an attorney, and the tentative-ruling system makes that practical because uncontested matters are decided without an appearance. Consider counsel when the estate exceeds $1 million, a will contest or heir dispute is likely, the estate holds business interests or out-of-state property, ancillary administration is needed for a non-resident who owned Marin County real property, or a tentative ruling repeatedly continues the matter and the family cannot clear the defect. Sunset can connect families to a vetted California probate attorney serving Marin County.

Find the accounts and assets. For estate settlement, Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and Marin County public records to surface bank accounts, retirement plans, brokerage holdings, life insurance, Marin County real estate (with community-property characterization), business interests, and unclaimed property.

Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the statewide Judicial Council DE-series forms for your path, plus the proposed order Marin asks you to submit at filing, ready for signature and e-filing or filing by mail.

Find a local probate attorney. When the situation calls for counsel, Sunset connects families to a vetted California probate attorney serving Marin County.

Sunset is free for families. Revenue comes from bank partners that pay Sunset while estate funds sit in an FDIC-insured estate account ($3M coverage).