How Ventura Probate Court Works

This page is not intended as legal advice but is simply information shared with the community by Staker|Johnson.

We strongly recommend you hire us or some other law firm to assist you with a Ventura County Probate.  As the commercial says, “Do not try this at home.”

There are certain basic procedure items to a probate in Ventura County Probate Court:

1. File the petition for probate along with the proposed Order of Probate.  You must use e-filing. The hearing is set for a Wednesday or Thursday at least five weeks out.

2. Publish notice of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation. We like the Ventura County Reporter or the Tri County Sentry.

3. Send notice of the hearing to the next of kin and anyone mentioned in a Will.

4. Check the tentative ruling of the Ventura County Probate Court a few days before the hearing to see if the judge has any problems with your petition. If the judge has any problems, try to file a supplement to fix them.

5. Attend your Ventura County Probate Court hearing.  It will be held in Courtroom J-6 in the Juvenile Justice Center on Vineyard in Oxnard.

You can appear via Zoom.  Click HERE
for the PDF file from the Probate Court.  It has the Zoom video link and dialing information if you just want to use the telephone.  The Court warns:  “BE SURE TO FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS CONTAINED IN THE
LINK ABOVE FOR A SUCCESSFUL REMOTE APPEARANCE.”

The direct Zoom video link for the Ventura Probate Court is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86408719100?pwd=U0J2ZU5IcmprMXJEVWRyRTYybDYvZz09.

Or, you can direct your browser to zoom.us, the Join Meeting Number is 864 0871 9100, and the Password is 913323.

You may call the Probate Judge’s judicial secretary (Sandy McCarty at 805-289-8858) with any questions
about remote appearances not addressed in the information contained in
the links above.

6. If the judge approves your petition, the Ventura County Probate Judge (presently Roger Lund) will sign the order.  The advantage of appearing in person is if you are present in the courtroom, the judge will hand you the signed order and trust you to take the order down to the Clerk’s office on the first floor for you to file it (the only court I am aware of that so trusts the public or even attorneys).  You will also hand the Clerk the signed Letters Testamentary (if there is a Will) or Letters of Administration (if there is no Will).  Have the Ventura County Probate Court Clerk make at least two certified copies of the Letters (cost $51). The issuance of the letters is key. The four month time limit for ending the probate only starts when the Ventura County Probate Court clerk issues the Letters.  If you appear via Zoom, the Letters will not be issued by the clerk for several days.

7. Send a notice to any creditors and pay them if appropriate.

8. File the Inventory and Appraisement of the estate assets within three months of issuance of the Letters. Make sure to file a change of ownership on any real estate with the County Assessor.

9. You can file the final petition with the Ventura County Probate Court after four months have passed since the Probate Letters were issued. Get court approval of the final probate petition.

10. Distribute out the estate.

11. File the Final Discharge.

Ventura County Probate Court Basics

Ventura County Probate Court is actually the Probate Division of the Ventura County Superior Court. A bit strangely, the courthouse is located at the Juvenile Justice Center at 4353 E. Vineyard Avenue Vineyard Avenue in Oxnard. The current Probate Judge is the Honorable Roger Lund. You should visit Judge Lund’s website for excellent instructions.

First off, you will need to e-file your Petition for Probate, and be given a court hearing date. This hearing date is usually about 70 days from the day you submit your Petition for Probate. Prior to going to your probate hearing, you will need to publish the probate hearing in the decedent’s local newspaper and give notice of the petition to the heirs.

Also, prior to your probate hearing date, you should check the Ventura County Probate Court tentative ruling online. Using your case number, you can see the Tentative Ruling by the judge in your case. The Tentative Ruling shows if the judge will approve your petition as is or if there are issues you need to fix before the hearing.

Once your petition is approved, you will submit your bond, get your letters of administration, and begin the administration process, including paying the decedent’s debts, getting real estate appraised, and distributing assets according to the will (if one exists.)

In order to distribute all the assets to all the beneficiaries and heirs, you will need to return to probate court and submit your petition for final distribution.  Upon the court approving your petition for final distribution you can distribute the assets. Once you do you can submit the receipts and close your probate case.

Times you may need to go to the Ventura County Probate Court

Probate is a long process, and along the way you will need to visit the Ventura County Probate Courthouse. If you’re working with a probate attorney, they likely will be able to go to court in your stead.

Filing a petition for probate

The Ventura County Probate Court mandates you to e-file your Petition for Probate, which allows you to avoid having to go to probate court.

Attending your probate hearing

Your probate hearing will usually be scheduled about 42 days after you file for probate in Ventura County Probate Court. You may have to attend this hearing, either in-person or via Zoom, by video or telephone as explained above.  After you file your probate petition but prior to the hearing, you must serve the heirs and beneficiaries with the probate petition and publish the notice of administration in the decedent’s local newspaper. (This is required by law to notify anyone who may dispute your petition so they can attend the hearing.)

Clearing probate notes

After reviewing your petition, the court’s probate examiner may ask for additional information, or corrections to answers provided in your petition. These are called “probate notes”. Probate notes will be posted as part of the Judge’s tentative ruling usually 24-72 hours prior to your hearing.  You have the opportunity to address these probate notes by submitting a supplement to your petition prior to your hearing. Doing so increases your chances of having your petition approved at your hearing. If you don’t clear these notes beforehand, you can expect to have the court continue your hearing (e.g., reschedule) in order to give you another opportunity clear those notes.  The court will only continue your hearing so many times before it will deny your petition without prejudice, which means you will have to start all over. Working with a probate attorney will help you avoid unnecessary probate notes, and speed up the probate process–so you get your inheritance faster.

Updating the Ventura County Probate Court judge on the status of your administration

The court will set deadlines by when you will need to complete certain tasks and file certain documents, namely accountings and the petition for final distribution.  The purpose of these hearings is largely administrative in nature. The court schedules these hearings to make sure you are moving the administration forward towards closure.

Petition for Final Distribution, Accounting and Closing your probate case

At the end of the entire probate process, after you have marshaled all of the assets, paid creditors, and determined the heirs and beneficiaries to whom to distribute assets (e.g., inheritances), you will need to file your final petition and petition for final distribution, advising the court that you have completed the administration and are prepared to distribute the estate assets to the heirs and beneficiaries.  After the court grants your petition for final distribution you may distribute the assets, and once you receive receipts for those distributions and file those receipts with the probate court the court will close your case.

What is e-filing?

Great question. You must now e-file your Petition for Probate with the Ventura County Probate Court. This means you don’t have to deliver petition for probate documents to the Ventura County Probate Court House by hand, or via a document delivery service. In most cases, you or your probate attorney will be able to e-file your petition. In some cases, an in-person delivery of paper documents is still required. If so required, your probate attorney will handle this for you.

How to clear probate notes?

Clearing a probate note requires updating or supplementing the information on the petition.  Typically, probate notes are posted online at least 24-72 hours prior to a probate hearing. You may check the Ventura County Probate Court website for these notes, or your probate attorney will. If the probate notes are cleared prior to the hearing, then your petition may be approved. If not, then you will have to return to court for another hearing and you will need to clear the notes in that intervening period.

“Do I have to go to Ventura County Probate Court?”

Yes. You may be required to attend your probate hearing. However, you may be able to attend the hearing via Zoom. And if you work with a probate attorney he or she will handle the hearing for you. Working with a probate attorney will reduce your trips to probate court significantly.

Have questions about Ventura County Probate Court or working with a probate attorney?

At Staker|Johnson, we offer a free consultation on our assisting you on your Ventura County probate. Please call us anytime: at (805) 482-2282, or email: probate@stakerjohnson.com