In Nevada City, this mortuary has served Nevada County families since 1940 and runs the only on-site crematory at a local mortuary. It is certified by the Green Burial Council, owns and maintains five cemetery properties, and has a pre-planning counselor.
What to Do When Someone Dies in Nevada County, California
How probate works in Nevada County: the Superior Court - Civil Division record, what the process costs, and how to file there.
Probate Court Record
Nevada County Superior Court - Civil Division
Nevada County
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:00 PM
Office
201 Church Street, Nevada City, CA 95959
Website
E-filing
Filing in person
Walk-ins accepted
Self-represented filing
Allowed
Self-help forms
E-filing
Required for attorneysLocal Rule 1.06 makes electronic filing through an approved electronic filing service provider mandatory from July 1, 2022, and the court lists probate among the civil-side case types e-filed around the clock; self-represented parties are exempt but encouraged to e-file. Documents are not accepted by email or fax. E-filed documents are text-searchable PDFs, bookmarked when over ten pages with multiple exhibits, and a printed courtesy copy is required the same day for any submission over 50 pages. On paper: Documents required to be filed as originals (affidavits re real property of small value, bonds, undertakings, letters issued by another court, wills and codicils for filing or safekeeping, certified judgments, abstracts of judgment, writs), each with an electronic courtesy copy; Subpoenaed documents; Financial documents submitted by a private professional conservator; Orders to deposit money and receipts of depository under Probate Code 2620; Evidentiary documents typically submitted in court during a hearing.
Filing in person
Walk-ins acceptedSelf-represented filers may e-file, mail, or drop off documents at the Clerk's Office from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM; after hours a drop box sits just outside the courthouse lobby. The clerk endorses the original and one copy and returns them when a self-addressed stamped envelope is provided.
Self-represented filing
AllowedThe Forms and Packets page links the statewide decedent estate forms (Petition for Probate, notice, Duties and Liabilities, order and letters). The Self-Help Center helps with most non-criminal legal problems and carries free pamphlets on wills and estate planning; its services are free except copying, printing and postage.
Hearing schedule
- Probate is heard Fridays at 9:00 AM in Department 6 of the Nevada City Courthouse, where all probate, trust and estate cases filed in Nevada City are assigned.
Self-help center
- Nevada City Courthouse, 201 Church Street, 1st Floor, Suite 91-530-362-5328 · selfhelpcenter@nccourt.net · Monday-Thursday 8:30 AM-noon and 1:30 PM-4:00 PM; Friday 8:30 AM-noonWalk-in patrons get priority, and questions can also be submitted online. The Nevada City office may close on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, when walk-in help runs at the Truckee courthouse from 9:00 AM to noon with afternoon appointments. The Law Library is beside the center, and the librarian does not answer self-help questions.
Departments
- Probate tentative rulings (oral argument)1-530-362-4309 · oa@nccourt.netProbate tentative rulings are posted by 2:00 PM the court day before the hearing; a party who wants to argue notifies the other parties and then the clerk by 4:00 PM that day.
- Truckee Courthouse - Joseph Government Center10075 Levon Avenue, Truckee, CA 96161
About the court
- Probate cases filed in Nevada City are assigned to Department 6 at the Nevada City Courthouse. The court also sits at the Truckee courthouse, which arranges its own ex parte hearing times.
Verified October 15, 2026 · Source
How Probate Works in Nevada County
Probate is the court-supervised process of settling someone's estate after they die — validating the will, paying debts and taxes, and transferring what's left to the heirs. In Nevada County, probate runs through the Superior Court - Civil Division at 201 Church Street, Nevada City. Nevada County runs probate e-filing through nevada.courts.ca.gov, the only California county on that system.
The personal representative opens the case, gives notice to heirs and creditors, files an inventory of the estate's assets, settles outstanding debts and taxes, and then distributes the remainder under the will — or under California intestacy law when there is no will.
Most California estates take 12 months to 18 months to move through this process. Creditors have 4 monthsCal. Prob. Code §§ 9050-9054, 9100-9104, 9150, 9153, 9256, 9353, 11420; CCP § 366.2Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present a claim, counted from the opening of the estate.
What Probate Costs in Nevada County
What probate costs in Nevada County, California comes down to a handful of line items — the court filing fee, attorney and executor compensation, publication, and sometimes a bond — scaled by the estate's size and whether the will is contested. The case itself runs through the Superior Court - Civil Division at 201 Church Street, Nevada City.
Procedures at this court that affect cost: Every probate, guardianship, conservatorship and trust account carries the court's summary of account form, with charges and credits balancing and detailed schedules behind them; A petition for final distribution lists the assets with parcel numbers and legal descriptions, each heir's entitlement, the fee and commission computation, a schedule of claims and the tax statements the rule names; Extraordinary fees and commissions and trustee fees are supported by itemized billing statements, and the court does not approve trustee fees based solely on a percentage of the trust estate.
California charges $435Cal. Gov. Code §§ 70650(a), 70602.5, 70602.6Verified Oct 17, 2026View source to open probate, the same in every county. Additional filings during administration — inventory, accounting, the final petition — add to the total.
Estimate the costs for this estate:
California sets attorney fees by statute — a percentage of the estate's gross value. Every attorney charges the same schedule, so the decision to hire one comes down to complexity, not price.
California sets executor compensation by statute — about $13,000 on a $500,000 estate, roughly 2.6%Cal. Prob. Code § 10800Verified Sep 8, 2026View source. Family members who are also beneficiaries often waive the fee — executor pay is taxable income while inheritances are not.
California requires publishing notice to creditors in a local newspaper, and the estate pays for it.
A surety bond may be required unless the will waives it or all beneficiaries consent. Premiums run roughly 0.5%Industry surety premium estimate; the bond itself under Cal. Prob. Code §§ 8480 (bond required before letters issued), 8481 (waiver: will provision or all-beneficiary written waiver; court may still require bond for good cause)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source of estate value annually.
Probate in California typically runs 12 months to 18 months, and costs accrue throughout that period.
How to File Probate at the Superior Court - Civil Division
Probate cases in Nevada County, California are filed at the Superior Court - Civil Division.
Beside the filing office, the court lists separate lines for Probate tentative rulings (oral argument) and Truckee Courthouse - Joseph Government Center.
Walk-in patrons get priority, and questions can also be submitted online. The Nevada City office may close on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, when walk-in help runs at the Truckee courthouse from 9:00 AM to noon with afternoon appointments. The Law Library is beside the center, and the librarian does not answer self-help questions.
Can You File Without an Attorney?
In California, informal probate is not availableCal. Prob. Code §§ 8005 (hearing on the petition), 8006 (court admits the will and appoints the personal representative); no registrar or clerk informal probate trackVerified Sep 8, 2026View source, so self-filing means a formal court petition rather than a registrar filing.
For a full cost comparison and filing checklist, see the Nevada County Self-Filing Assessment.
Nevada County Filing Requirements
These are specific requirements for filing probate in this county. Following these guidelines will help avoid delays or rejected filings.
Before You File
All papers for a probate hearing, including the proposed order and any proof of publication, are filed or lodged at least three court days before the hearing, and written objections are due by the same deadline unless a statute sets another.
SourceA petition for special letters of administration is considered only after a separate petition for probate is on file with a hearing date, and the petitioner and attorney appear at the ex parte hearing.
The petition shows the urgency, a declaration of notice accompanies it, and the court may require bond even where the will or the beneficiaries waive it.
SourceDocument Requirements
The original will is lodged with the petition for probate, with a typed copy of a holographic will and an English translation of a will in another language.
A will whose attestation clause does not state the testator was not acting under duress, menace, fraud or undue influence is proved by a proof of subscribing witness.
SourceA nominated executor who declines to act files a signed written declination; an allegation in the petition alone is not enough.
SourceCourt Appearances
The court indicates in its probate tentative rulings whether a party must appear; without a tentative ruling, a party appears on the hearing date.
A proposed order for a matter submitted without an appearance is submitted at least three court days before the hearing.
SourceRemote appearances are booked through the CourtCall Remote Court Scheduler, which closes 15 minutes before the hearing; a probate court trial needs a Notice of Remote Appearance (RA-010) filed and served 10 court days ahead.
Probate law and motion and status conferences need no remote-appearance form, only notice to the other parties.
SourceService Requirements
When a will distributes to a trust, notice of the petition goes to every trustee, successor trustee, beneficiary and contingent beneficiary of the trust, and a copy of the trust or a declaration naming them is filed with the petition.
SourceOther Requirements
The court does not provide a court reporter for probate hearings; a party who wants a record arranges and pays for one.
SourceWhat to Bring
Filed with the opening petition at the Superior Court - Civil Division: Certified copy of the death certificate (required by some counties with the petition; not a statewide DE-111 attachment); Original will and any codicils (lodged with the court) (Cal. Prob. Code § 8200); Notice of Petition to Administer Estate (DE-121) with proof of publication and mailed notice (§§ 8100, 8120); Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative (DE-147); Confidential Supplement to Duties and Liabilities of Personal Representative (DE-147S), where the court requires it by local rule; Proposed Order for Probate (DE-140)Cal. Prob. Code §§ 8000-8577 (appointment & letters); §§ 8002, 10450 (petition contents)Verified Aug 24, 2026View source.
Death Certificates and the Coroner in Nevada County
In California a death is registered locally, and in Nevada County certified copies of the death certificate are issued by Public Health Vital Records Office, Nevada County as well as by California Department of Public Health - Vital Records.
Vital Records Office Record
Local Health Department
Nevada County · Public Health Vital Records Office
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM-noon and 1:00 PM-4:30 PM
Office
500 Crown Point Circle, Suite 110, Grass Valley, CA 95945
Website
Certified copies
By appointment
Order online
Also issued by
The county recorder
Fax
1-530-271-0829
Local rule
- The office provides records for this year and last year only, in person by appointment. Earlier deaths are held by the Clerk-Recorder.
Burial and cremation permits
- Issued byPublic Health Vital Records Office, Nevada County
Certified copy fees
| First certified copy | $26 |
Verified November 2, 2026 · Source
Coroner or Medical Examiner Record
Sheriff-Coroner
Nevada County · Coroner's Office
Phone
Office
950 Maidu Avenue, Suite 280, Nevada City, CA 95959
Website
Mail and offices
Fax
1-530-470-0439
Verified November 2, 2026 · Source
Funeral Homes in Nevada County
2 funeral homes and crematories in Nevada County, each listed with the services it offers, the faiths it serves, the languages its staff speak, its address and its phone.
In Nevada City, this is the on-site crematory of a mortuary that has served Nevada County families since 1940. The crematory is licensed by the state of California, and the mortuary's funeral directors walk families through the cremation process.
Funeral homes by city: Nevada City
Cremation Services in Nevada County
2 listings
Pre-Need Funeral Plans in Nevada County
1 listing
Burial Services in Nevada County
1 listing
Green Burial in Nevada County
1 listing
Listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any funeral home or crematory.
Transferring Property in Nevada County
Clearing title to real estate after a death, whether by a personal representative’s deed, an affidavit of survivorship, or a court order, happens at the County Clerk-Recorder.
Deeds and other real property documents for Nevada County are recorded with the County Clerk-Recorder at 950 Maidu Avenue, Suite 210, Nevada City, CA 95959. Phone: 1-530-265-1221. Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:00 PM.
The County Clerk-Recorder charges $15 for the first page plus $3 for each additional page.
Recording Office Record
County Clerk-Recorder
Nevada County
Phone
Hours
Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-4:00 PM
Office
950 Maidu Avenue, Suite 210, Nevada City, CA 95959
Website
Fax
1-530-265-9842
Recording fees
| Base fee (first page) | $15 |
| Each additional page | $3 |
| GC 27388.1 Building Homes and Jobs Act Fee (SB 2)Applies to a TOD deed | $75 |
| GC 27388.2 Restrictive Covenant Modification Fee (AB 1466)Applies to a TOD deed | $2 |
| Transfer tax on a TOD deed | TOD deeds are exempt from transfer tax |
Cal. Gov. Code 27361; Cal. Gov. Code 27388; Cal. Gov. Code 27388.1; Cal. Gov. Code 27388.2; Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code 11911; Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code 11930
Verified October 16, 2026 · Source
Forms that put a death on the title
- Free forms: Affidavit of Death Form
Probate Attorneys Serving Nevada County
California allows independent administrationCal. Prob. Code §§ 10400 (Independent Administration of Estates Act), 10500(a) (administer without court supervision), 10501 (actions still requiring court supervision)Verified Sep 8, 2026View source, so the personal representative manages, pays and distributes the estate without returning to the court for approval at each step. A probate attorney earns the fee when the estate is contested, includes a business or out-of-state real estate, has unclear or insolvent debts, or when beneficiaries disagree.
Probate attorney fees in California are set by statute as a percentage of the estate's value, so every Nevada County attorney charges the same schedule. Price isn't the variable — experience with the Superior Court - Civil Division and responsiveness are.
A probate attorney files the petition with the Superior Court - Civil Division, publishes the required creditor notices, prepares the inventory and accounting, handles creditor claims and tax filings, and guides the final distribution. They represent the personal representative — not the beneficiaries — a distinction that matters if a dispute develops.
Serves Nevada County from Grass Valley, with clients in Nevada City, Penn Valley, Auburn, Colfax, Marysville, and Yuba City. Handles probate and trust administration after a death, estate and trust litigation, and elder law and Medi-Cal planning alongside estate planning. Erik and Tiffani Aanestad practice as a husband-and-wife attorney team, and the initial estate planning consultation is free.
Cedar Ridge attorney near Grass Valley serving Nevada and Placer Counties with trust administration, trustee accountings, and probate estate administration. Jennifer Wilkerson has been a California attorney since 1983, and the office concentrates on administering estates and trusts of $1,000,000 or more.
Sacramento and Roseville firm serving Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado, Yolo, Nevada, and Yuba-Sutter Counties with trust administration, probate, Medi-Cal planning, and long-term care planning since 1987. Founder Timothy Murphy is accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist veterans with benefits claims. Offers a free initial telephone call.
Serves San Francisco and the greater Bay Area from downtown San Francisco, and handles probate proceedings in every California county. Guides executors, administrators, and trustees through probate and trust administration alongside estate planning, billing probate work at California Probate Code statutory rates. Founded in 2018.
Serves Marin County from San Rafael, with offices across Northern and Southern California and statewide service by phone and video. Handles probate, trust administration, and Medi-Cal and elder law matters alongside estate and tax planning. Founder Jim Cunningham heads the San Rafael office and is a State Bar certified specialist in Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Law.
Serves San Diego County and Southern California from Newport Avenue in San Diego, centered on probate and trust disputes. Handles probate and trust administration, contested wills and accountings, trustee removal, and breach-of-fiduciary-duty claims, plus elder law and Medi-Cal planning. Vincent M. Casiano is a State Bar certified specialist; the first 30-minute consultation is free.
Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to verify their current practice areas and availability.
Legal Sources
(10)·
- Cal. Gov. Code §§ 70650(a), 70602.5, 70602.6
- Cal. Prob. Code § 10800
- Cal. Prob. Code §§ 10400 (Independent Administration of Estates Act), 10500(a) (administer without court supervision), 10501 (actions still requiring court supervision)
- Cal. Prob. Code §§ 8000-8577 (appointment & letters); §§ 8002, 10450 (petition contents)
- Cal. Prob. Code §§ 8005 (hearing on the petition), 8006 (court admits the will and appoints the personal representative); no registrar or clerk informal probate track
- Cal. Prob. Code §§ 9050-9054, 9100-9104, 9150, 9153, 9256, 9353, 11420; CCP § 366.2
- Cal. Gov. Code 27361; Cal. Gov. Code 27388; Cal. Gov. Code 27388.1; Cal. Gov. Code 27388.2; Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code 11911; Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code 11930
- Nevada County Superior Court - Civil Division, official page
- Nevada County Clerk-Recorder, official page
- Nevada County vital records and death investigation offices, official page
Data sourced from California statutes and official state code. Fee percentages are modeled estimates; each figure's note says how. How we research.
Tools for Settling an Estate in California
Free tools for settling an estate in California: whether probate is needed, executor and trustee pay, creditor deadlines and taxes. Run each tool.
How Do I Settle an Estate?
Settling an estate in California: the personal representative files the estate inventory within 120 daysCal. Prob. Code §§ 8800-8804, 8900-8903Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of appointment; creditors have 4 monthsCal. Prob. Code §§ 9050-9054, 9100-9104, 9150, 9153, 9256, 9353, 11420; CCP § 366.2Verified Oct 18, 2026View source to present claims; a simple estate closes in 9 months to 12 months.
See the Steps
How Do I Settle a Trust?
Settling a trust in California happens outside court: the trustee acts under the state's trust statuteCal. Prob. Code § 15000 et seq.Verified Oct 17, 2026View source, notifies the beneficiaries within 60 daysCal. Prob. Code §§ 16061.7, 16061.8, 16064, 16460Verified Sep 15, 2026View source, then pays the debts and distributes under the trust's terms.
See the Steps
Can I Self-File Probate?
In California, informal probate is not availableCal. Prob. Code §§ 8005 (hearing on the petition), 8006 (court admits the will and appoints the personal representative); no registrar or clerk informal probate trackVerified Sep 8, 2026View source, so self-filing means a formal court petition rather than a registrar filing.
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