How to win a Heggstad Petition in Orange County
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A Heggstad Petition allows a successor trustee to claim property inadvertently left out of a trust.
Most commonly, Heggstad Petitions are used by successor trustees to claim homes or other real property that were listed in a decedent’s trust but were not properly deeded to the trust in a recorded document. But Heggstad Petitions can also be used to claim other property, such as bank accounts, investment accounts, and personal property, that should have been included among the trust property.
Consider the following if you need to file a Heggstad petition in Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine, Huntington Beach, Garden Grove, Fullerton, or anywhere in Orange County.
Is Orange County the right Venue?
Generally, a Heggstad petition should only be filed in Orange county if the trustee lives in Orange County.
California has 58 county superior courts, one for each county. A Heggstad petition must be filed in the county where the "principal administration" of the trust occurs. Generally, that will be the county where the trustee (or any of them) lives. If the trustee lives out of state, the venue rules may be based on the location of property. The county where the original settlor died is not generally relevant. If you file in the county where the settlor died, but the place of principal administration is elsewhere, the court may deny the petition without consideration.
How long does a Heggstad petition take in Orange County?
A Heggstad petition in Orange county will typically take 5-7 months to complete. In addition, after a petition is granted at a hearing, the court generally requires an additional 3 weeks to receive and process proposed orders.
Orange county offers a streamlined ex parte process that occurs without hearing, for the processing of urgent requests. Ex parte petitions are filed electronically, and are heard and decided without hearing. Most petitions will be decided promptly, within a few days. It is common for the court to grant ex parte petitions to advance hearings to avoid a foreclosure, but an expedited hearing otherwise requires some kind of serious, exigent circumstance.
Where should a Heggstad petition in Orange County be filed?
All probate matters in Orange county are scheduled at the Costa Mesa Justice Center, 3390 Harbor Blvd, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Most probate filings are required to be made electronically, through an approved vendor. Hearings may be attended in person but the court prefers remote attendance through the court's Zoom portal.
What is the hearing process for a Heggstad petition in Orange County?
The Orange County probate calendar starts at 9:00 am. The clerk begins each hearing by checking-in all parties. The clerk then announces all “pre-approved” matters and gives an opportunity for parties to make an objection. Pre-approved matters that have no objection are granted by the court without further hearing. Contested matters and matters with outstanding probates notes are heard with the regular calendar.
What else is there to know about filing a Heggstad petition in Orange County?
Probate notes will be posted for your Heggstad petition several weeks in advance of the hearing. Probate notes must be reviewed and cleared with appropriate filings, no later than five court days before your hearing. That deadline will generally be a calendar week before the hearing, but be careful if there are any holidays in between!
Proposed orders should only be submitted after hearing. The clerk will process and post the signed order about 3 weeks after filing, so be sure to file your proposed order quickly.
