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Mariposa County, CA Probate Information
Quick facts
| Category | Current rules |
|---|---|
| Court | Superior Court of California, County of Mariposa (probate handled by the Civil Division) |
| Courthouse | 5088 Bullion Street, Mariposa, CA 95338 |
| Mailing address | P.O. Box 28, Mariposa, CA 95338 |
| Phone | (209) 966-2005 main; (209) 966-6599 Civil Division (probate inquiries) |
| Fax | (209) 742-6860 (civil/family-law division) |
| Clerk's office hours | Mon–Fri 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM (reduced public hours effective October 1, 2021; excluding court holidays) |
| Filing fee (petition for probate) | $435 — statewide fee, no Mariposa County surcharge (Cal. Gov. Code § 70650(a)) |
| Local probate forms | None — statewide Judicial Council DE-series only; Local Rules Section 5 adds procedural requirements but no local forms |
| E-filing | Optional (not required) via Odyssey eFileCA; a $1.00 minimum credit-card processing fee applies to e-file transactions (since July 1, 2024) |
| Online case search | Tyler Technologies Case Information portal (portal-camariposa.tylertech.cloud); limited data on cases filed before 1999; not an official record |
| Remote appearance | By ZoomGov (Civil & Probate courtroom) with the court's prior approval; not all hearings qualify |
| Website | https://www.mariposa.courts.ca.gov/divisions/probate-and-conservatorship |
Before you begin — know the assets and liabilities
Before filing anything with the Mariposa County clerk, know exactly what is in the estate. The right path — small-estate affidavit, Petition to Determine Succession to Real Property, Spousal or Domestic Partner Property Petition, or full probate — depends entirely on the value and type of the assets. Mariposa is a small single-courthouse county with reduced public hours, so a filing made on the wrong path, or a petition that has to be refiled, costs real time and travel here.
Identify every bank account, retirement plan, brokerage holding, life insurance policy, and parcel of real property — including cabins, ranch, and Yosemite-area vacation property common in Mariposa County estates — and every debt, before choosing the path. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.
Which court handles jurisdiction
The Superior Court of California, County of Mariposa serves the entire county from one courthouse in Mariposa, including Coulterville, Greeley Hill, El Portal, Fish Camp, Midpines, and Mariposa itself. Probate matters are handled by the court's Civil Division. Probate is filed here when the decedent was domiciled in Mariposa County at death (Cal. Prob. Code § 7051), or owned Mariposa County real property as a non-resident (ancillary administration).
There is no separate probate department and no branch courthouse; every probate matter — decedents' estates, succession and spousal property petitions, conservatorships, and guardianships — is handled at the Mariposa courthouse, with hearings generally held in the Upper Courtroom. The clerk sets each probate matter on the court's calendar.
The jurisdiction process
- Prepare the statewide Judicial Council DE-series forms for your path. Mariposa County requires no local probate forms or cover sheets, but its Local Rules Section 5 require the proposed order to be complete and self-contained.
- File the petition with the Civil Division: in person at 5088 Bullion Street, Mariposa (8:00 AM – 3:00 PM), by mail to P.O. Box 28, Mariposa, CA 95338, or through the court's optional Odyssey eFileCA electronic filing.
- Pay the $435 filing fee (statewide fee; no Mariposa County surcharge). Fee waivers are available on Judicial Council forms FW-001/FW-003 at no charge from the clerk; e-filing adds a $1.00 minimum credit-card processing fee.
- Prepare and complete notice yourself: under Local Rule 5.2, the clerk does not prepare, mail, or publish notices. Publish in a newspaper of general circulation and mail notice to heirs and beneficiaries at least 15 days before the hearing (DE-121).
- The clerk sets the hearing on the court's calendar and issues notice of the hearing date. Submit the proposed order at least three court days before the hearing (Local Rule 5.1), except for confirmation of sales, contested matters, and orders requiring information from a government agency.
- To appear remotely, request a ZoomGov appearance in the Civil & Probate courtroom with the court's prior approval; not all hearings qualify, so confirm with the court before your hearing date.
- Attend the hearing. The judge admits the will, appoints the personal representative, and issues Letters (DE-150).
- Administer and close the estate under the statewide process: creditor notice, the 4-month claim period, Inventory and Appraisal (DE-160) with the county's probate referee, and the petition for final distribution.
Forms and documents
Probate forms in Mariposa County
Mariposa County has no local probate forms. Every filing uses the statewide Judicial Council DE-series (DE-111 Petition for Probate, DE-121 Notice of Petition to Administer Estate, DE-140 Order for Probate, DE-147 Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative, DE-150 Letters, DE-160 Inventory and Appraisal, and the rest). The court's Local Rules of Court include a probate chapter (Section 5, effective January 1, 2019), but it sets procedural requirements — how orders and notices must be prepared — rather than adding any local form or cover sheet.
Under Local Rule 5.2(f), the clerk does not prepare, mail, or publish probate notices; the petitioner is responsible for all mailings and newspaper publication. Under Local Rule 5.3, if a person named as executor in the will declines to serve, that written, signed declination must be filed with the court. Completed DE-series forms may be filed on paper or through Odyssey eFileCA.
Local nuance
Mariposa County-specific considerations
Short public hours. The clerk's office is open only 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday — reduced public hours in effect since October 1, 2021. Plan in-person filings and phone calls inside that window; there is no separate evening drop box published for probate.
Probate lives in the Civil Division. Mariposa has no dedicated probate department or probate phone line. The Civil Division handles probate (non-guardianship); reach it at (209) 966-6599, or the main court line at (209) 966-2005.
You do the notices, not the clerk. Local Rule 5.2(f) makes the petitioner responsible for preparing, mailing, and publishing all probate notices — the clerk's office does none of it. Submit the notice with the petition and handle the newspaper publication and mailings yourself.
Get the order in early. Local Rule 5.1 requires the proposed order to be complete on its face and lodged at least three court days before the hearing (except confirmation of sales, contested matters, and orders needing information from a government agency).
Remote appearance by ZoomGov, with approval. The court uses ZoomGov for remote appearances in the Civil & Probate courtroom, but not all hearings qualify and prior court approval is required. Remote access is limited to people on the court's calendar and attorneys; confirm before your hearing date.
Self-Help Center is closed for now. Mariposa's Self-Help Center at 5092 Jones Street is closed until further notice, and even when open it covers family-law matters, not probate. The court directs self-represented filers to online resources; there is no probate facilitator.
Recent updates
| Date | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Statewide Civil Fee Schedule in effect; the probate first-paper fee remains $435 and Mariposa adds no county surcharge | Judicial Council Statewide Civil Fee Schedule; mariposa.courts.ca.gov |
| July 1, 2024 | A $1.00 minimum credit-card processing fee applies to Odyssey eFileCA transactions; e-filing remains optional, not required | mariposa.courts.ca.gov eFile page |
| October 1, 2021 | Court public office hours reduced to 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday | mariposa.courts.ca.gov forms-filing and location pages |
| Current | The Self-Help Center at 5092 Jones Street is closed until further notice and, when open, covers family-law matters only; there is no probate facilitator | mariposa.courts.ca.gov self-help page |
Page last reviewed: July 2026.
Scenarios
| Situation | Likely path in Mariposa County | Where Sunset helps |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving spouse, co-owned home | Spousal or Domestic Partner Property Petition filed with the Civil Division at 5088 Bullion Street (or by mail to P.O. Box 28). The court signs DE-226; record it with the Mariposa County Recorder to complete the title transfer. Appear in person or by ZoomGov with prior court approval. | Asset discovery to confirm community vs. separate property. Packet generation for DE-221, DE-226, MC-025. Title-transfer guidance. |
| Out-of-state adult child, small estate | Small Estate Affidavit under Cal. Prob. Code § 13100 (personal property up to $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025 — not the $100,000 figure still shown on the court's page) needs no Mariposa filing at all; it goes directly to the banks. Mariposa real property up to $69,625 can pass by the § 13200 affidavit (DE-305) filed by mail; a primary residence up to $750,000 uses the §§ 13150–13157 succession petition. | Asset discovery to confirm the estate fits the caps. Packet generation. Online notarization so nobody has to travel to Mariposa. |
| Parent settling a predeceased child's estate, home must be sold | Full probate with full authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act, filed by mail or Odyssey eFileCA with the Mariposa Civil Division. The personal representative sells the property under IAEA authority with a Notice of Proposed Action (DE-165). Appear by ZoomGov where an appearance is required and approved. | Asset discovery for the child's assets. Packet generation for DE-111 with IAEA full authority requested and the Notice of Proposed Action. |
Self-help resources
| Resource | What it offers |
|---|---|
| Mariposa Superior Court Self-Help Center — 5092 Jones Street; (209) 742-5322; [email protected] | Free help for self-represented filers — but family-law matters only, not probate, and currently closed until further notice (the court directs filers to online resources) |
| California Courts Self-Help Guide — Probate (selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/probate) | The Judicial Council's official plain-language guide to every California probate path |
| Mariposa County Library | A Westlaw legal-research kiosk is available at the county library for self-represented filers researching probate procedure |
| LawHelpCA (lawhelpca.org) | Statewide directory of free and low-cost legal aid programs serving Mariposa County |
When to hire an attorney
Many cooperative-family Mariposa County probates — spousal petitions, small-estate paths, and uncontested IAEA administration — are completed without an attorney, and filing by mail or Odyssey eFileCA plus a ZoomGov appearance makes that practical even for out-of-area families. Because Mariposa has no probate facilitator and its Self-Help Center does not cover probate, self-represented families here get little hands-on court support. 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, a court-confirmed sale of real property is required, or ancillary administration is needed for a non-resident who owned Mariposa County real property. Sunset can connect families to a vetted California probate attorney serving Mariposa County.
How Sunset helps
Find the accounts and assets. During estate settlement, Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and California public records to surface bank accounts, retirement plans, brokerage holdings, life insurance, Mariposa County real estate, and unclaimed property.
Generate the probate packet. Sunset assembles the statewide Judicial Council DE-series forms for your path, the only forms Mariposa County requires, ready for signature and filing by mail or Odyssey eFileCA.
Find a local probate attorney. When the situation calls for counsel, Sunset connects families to a vetted California probate attorney serving Mariposa 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).
Frequently asked questions
Where do I file a probate case in Mariposa County?
With the Civil Division of the Superior Court of California, County of Mariposa, 5088 Bullion Street, Mariposa, CA 95338 — in person, by mail to P.O. Box 28, Mariposa, CA 95338, or through the court's optional Odyssey eFileCA electronic filing. All Mariposa County probate files at the one Mariposa courthouse.
Can I e-file probate documents in Mariposa County?
Yes, but it is optional, not required. Mariposa participates in Odyssey eFileCA, so you may e-file or file on paper. A $1.00 minimum credit-card processing fee applies to e-file transactions (since July 1, 2024).
Can I appear at a Mariposa County probate hearing remotely?
Yes, by ZoomGov in the court's Civil & Probate courtroom, but you need the court's prior approval and not all hearings qualify. Remote access is limited to people on the court's calendar and attorneys; confirm with the court before your hearing date.
What are the clerk's office hours in Mariposa County?
Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM — reduced public hours in effect since October 1, 2021 (excluding court holidays). Plan in-person filings and phone calls within that window.
Does Mariposa County have local probate forms?
No. Mariposa requires only the statewide Judicial Council DE-series forms. Its Local Rules include a probate chapter (Section 5, effective 2019) that sets procedural requirements for orders and notices, but it adds no local form or cover sheet.
How much does it cost to file for probate in Mariposa County?
$435 for the first petition (Cal. Gov. Code § 70650(a), statewide Civil Fee Schedule). Mariposa adds no county surcharge. Fee waivers are available on Judicial Council forms FW-001/FW-003 at no charge; e-filing adds a $1.00 minimum credit-card processing fee.
Can I look up a Mariposa County probate case online?
Yes. The court runs a Tyler Technologies Case Information portal at portal-camariposa.tylertech.cloud. Limited data is available on cases filed before 1999, and the online information is not an official record; certified copies come from the clerk.
Does the clerk handle probate notices in Mariposa County?
No. Under Local Rule 5.2(f), the clerk does not prepare, mail, or publish probate notices. The petitioner is responsible for all required mailings and newspaper publication; submit the notice with the petition.
Do I have to travel to Mariposa to settle an estate there?
Usually not. Petitions can be filed by mail or Odyssey eFileCA, approved hearings can be attended by ZoomGov, and the small-estate affidavit under Cal. Prob. Code § 13100 never touches the court at all — it is presented directly to banks and asset holders.
Shaped by the families we've helped
Thank you to the thousands of families who have trusted Sunset to help settle their loved ones' estates. This page is shaped by the questions they actually asked and the obstacles they actually hit — and that hard-won experience is what keeps it accurate, current, and genuinely useful to the families who come next.