California Probate Code 8400 – (a) A person has no power to administer the estate until the …
(a) A person has no power to administer the estate until the person is appointed personal representative and the appointment becomes effective. Appointment of a personal representative becomes effective when the person appointed is issued letters.
(b) Subdivision (a) applies whether or not the person is named executor in the decedent‘s will, except that a person named executor in the decedent’s will may, before the appointment is made or becomes effective, pay funeral expenses and take necessary measures for the maintenance and preservation of the estate.
Terms Used In California Probate Code 8400
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
- Person: means an individual, corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, or other entity. See California Probate Code 56
- Personal representative: means executor, administrator, administrator with the will annexed, special administrator, successor personal representative, public administrator acting pursuant to Section 7660, or a person who performs substantially the same function under the law of another jurisdiction governing the person's status. See California Probate Code 58
- State: includes any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or possession subject to the legislative authority of the United States. See California Probate Code 74
- Will: includes codicil and any testamentary instrument which merely appoints an executor or revokes or revises another will. See California Probate Code 88
(c) The order appointing a personal representative shall state in capital letters on the first page of the order, in at least 12-point type, the following: “WARNING: THIS APPOINTMENT IS NOT EFFECTIVE UNTIL LETTERS HAVE ISSUED.”
(Amended by Stats. 1996, Ch. 862, Sec. 16. Effective January 1, 1997.)