Public Administrator

Public Administrator

The Public Administrator should be notified by anyone who has the knowledge of an estate of a decedent under the following circumstances:

1. Where there are no heirs.
2. When no executor or administrator had been appointed and the estate is being wasted, uncared for or lost.
3. When the named executor of a Will fails to act and the court appoints a Public Administrator.
4. When the Will names the Public Administrator as the estate administrator.
5. When an heir, or heirs, wish to have the Public Administrator administer the estate for them.

Estates of Deceased Without Heir

California Government Code section 50050 provides that unclaimed monies, including estates of deceased without known heirs, which remain in the County Treasury for at least three (3) years may be escheated to the County’s general fund after public notice. At the end of the three-year period, unclaimed items over $15 must be published in a newspaper of county-wide circulation as notice that these funds will become property of the County if they remain unclaimed after a specified date, 45 to 60 days after publication. Once the unclaimed item becomes the property of the County, a claim may no longer be submitted.