Sonoma County, CA Probate Information

Before filing anything with the Sonoma County Probate Division, know exactly what is in the estate. The right path — small-estate affidavit, Petition to Determine Succession to Real Property, Spousal Property Petition, or full probate — depends entirely on the value and type of the assets. A petition filed on the wrong path, or one filed before the family understands the estate, draws Probate Notes from the examiner, and uncleared notes mean the matter is continued to a later Friday calendar.

Identify every bank account, brokerage, retirement plan, life insurance policy, business interest, and parcel of real property — Sonoma County estates often include vineyard, ranch, or second-home property — and every debt, before choosing the path. Sunset's asset-discovery work, searching more than 2,300 financial institutions, exists for this step.

The Probate Division of the Sonoma County Superior Court hears every probate matter in the county — decedents' estates, succession and spousal property petitions, conservatorships, guardianships, and trust matters — from the Civil and Family Law Courthouse at 3055 Cleveland Avenue in Santa Rosa. Families throughout the county, from Petaluma and Rohnert Park to Sonoma, Healdsburg, Sebastopol, and Cloverdale, file here; there is no separate probate counter at any other Sonoma County court location.

Probate is filed in Sonoma County when the decedent was domiciled in the county at death (Cal. Prob. Code § 7051), or owned Sonoma County real property as a non-resident (ancillary administration). Self-represented filers bring documents to the Probate Window opposite Courtroom 18 at the Civil and Family Law Courthouse; mail is addressed to the Hall of Justice, 600 Administration Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95403.

One weekly estates calendar. Decedent's estates and other probate matters are heard on the Friday 9:30 AM Estates/Other Probate calendar. A petition that must be continued for a defective notice or an uncleared examiner note waits for a later Friday, so aim to clear Probate Notes well before the hearing.

Probate Notes are online and matter. A probate examiner reviews each petition and posts Probate Notes on the court's online case portal about 3 weeks before the hearing (45 days for Probate Code § 850 trust petitions). Read them, cure any deficiency before the hearing, or the matter is continued. Court staff cannot give legal advice.

Filing and hearings are in different buildings. Filing and the Probate Window are at the Civil and Family Law Courthouse, 3055 Cleveland Avenue; mail goes to the Hall of Justice, 600 Administration Drive. The court's probate division page references Courtroom 23 while the current 2026 calendar assigns the probate judge to another department, so confirm the courtroom and building on your hearing notice.

E-filing is split by representation. Attorneys and represented parties must e-file through an Odyssey eFileCA service provider (mandatory since January 1, 2023). Self-represented families may e-file or file on paper at the window, by drop box, or by mail. Original wills, codicils, bonds, and small-value real property affidavits are always lodged on paper.

Tentative rulings and Zoom. Probate tentative rulings post online and by phone at (707) 521-6607 after 2:00 PM the court day before the hearing. To contest a tentative ruling or to appear, notify the probate judicial assistant at (707) 521-6893 and all other parties by 4:00 PM the court day before the hearing; Zoom is available. If you accept the tentative ruling and it requires no appearance, you need not attend.

Morning-only phones. The Probate Division answers (707) 521-6650 only from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM, Monday through Friday. The clerk's office window is open until 3:30 PM.

Sonoma's court-based self-help does not cover decedent's estates — the Family Law Facilitator and Self-Help Center assist only with family law and with guardianships of the person and limited conservatorships, so families settling an estate rely on the statewide forms, the law library, and the court's Probate Notes. Consider counsel when the estate exceeds $1 million, a will contest or heir dispute is likely, the estate holds business or vineyard interests or out-of-state property, ancillary administration is needed for a non-resident who owned Sonoma County real property, or Probate Notes recur and the family cannot clear them. Sunset can connect families to a vetted California probate attorney serving Sonoma County.

Find the accounts and assets. Sunset searches more than 2,300 financial institutions and Sonoma County public records to surface bank accounts, retirement plans, brokerage holdings, life insurance, Sonoma 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 estate settlement path, ready for signature and for e-filing or filing at the Probate Window.

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