Last verified 2026-07-14; facts checked against the primary sources below

Contra Costa probate notes: lookup and corrections

Last verified: July 14, 2026

Find your notes: Open the court's official public portal for Contra Costa probate calendar notes. The court says notes are ordinarily available 6–8 days before the hearing. Answer each NEEDED item with the appropriate filed amendment or supplement; its instructions require pleadings five days before the hearing to be considered. Court instructions

Check the ruling separately: Probate tentative rulings generally appear 3–5 court days before the hearing. They are a separate check, including whether you must appear. Do not use the civil tentative-ruling deadline on that page for a probate matter.

Notes, correction deadlines and appearance rules checked October 20, 2026. Other filing information retains the verification date above.

Clear the notes before the hearing

1. Use your case number and assigned hearing date. Confirm you are reading the notes for your matter in the official portal.
2. List every NEEDED item. Identify the missing facts, document or procedural correction the examiner requests.
3. File the appropriate amendment or supplement. A private checklist or an unfiled explanation does not replace the court's required pleading. Follow any service requirements that apply to the correction.
4. Meet the applicable deadline. The notes page says five days before the hearing for pleadings. Local Rule 7.55 separately requires responses to tentative rulings by close of business two court days before the hearing, with endorsed filed copies delivered to the Probate Examiner. The later response deadline does not replace the earlier notes instruction.
5. Recheck the tentative ruling and appearance instructions. If an item remains unresolved or the deadline has passed, contact the probate clerk at (925) 608-2613 for procedural guidance. Do not assume the hearing has been continued.

For the general correction process, see California probate examiner notes. Before starting a new petition, check the simplified probate alternatives below.

Contra Costa County probate at a glance

Where do you file probate in Contra Costa County?

"All Probate, Guardianship and Conservatorship documents are filed and heard in the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse in Martinez" (where to file):

General probate matters sit in Departments 30 and 38 (probate departments). Ex parte probate matters go to Room 210 by submission — sign in between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m.

How much does it cost to file probate in Contra Costa County?

Card payments at the counter add a 2.99% convenience fee (minimum $1). If you e-file, the provider's fee comes on top.

How do you file the petition?

Probate is a designated e-filing case type: represented parties must e-file under Local Rule 2.87 and the court's standing e-filing order. Self-represented litigants are exempt "but are permitted and encouraged to electronically file."

Paper still required, even for attorneys: wills and codicils, bonds, letters, small-estate real-property affidavits, and ex parte motions cannot be e-filed — the original will goes to the clerk in hard copy. E-filing runs through the court's e-filing portal and approved vendors.

Two petition-drafting rules examiners actually check (Local Rule 7.151): a holographic (handwritten) will needs a typewritten line-by-line copy attached, and the dates of death of any deceased beneficiaries go in Attachment 8. Serve a copy of the petition with the Notice of Petition to Administer Estate — but do not publish the petition with the newspaper notice.

How long until the first hearing?

State law says the hearing on the petition "shall be set for a day not less than 15 nor more than 30 days after the petition is filed," or 30 to 45 days out if you request it (Prob. Code § 8003). Contra Costa hears decedent-estate matters on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:00 a.m., and "parties may request, but are not guaranteed, any particular date" (Local Rule 7.50). Use the date the clerk assigns rather than an unofficial lead-time estimate.

Use the gap well. You must publish notice of the hearing in a newspaper and mail notice to heirs before the hearing, and you should watch your calendar notes as the date approaches.

What are probate calendar notes and how do you clear them?

"The Probate Examiners review all petitions and orders for content and legal requirements before they are acted upon by the court" (about probate calendar notes). Anything marked NEEDED in your notes must be answered before the hearing.

What local quirks should an executor know?

• One courthouse for the whole county. Martinez, whatever city the person lived in.
• Local Rule 7.52 says first hearings in uncontested matters normally do not require appearances, but a citation, court order, an “Appearances required” tentative ruling or a later case-management hearing can require attendance. Read your case-specific instructions before deciding whether to appear.
• Under Local Rule 7.56, the first hearing may be continued to correct defects, including by telephone request to the clerk. Confirm the new date; a request is not proof of a granted continuance. Later hearings may be dismissed unless good cause is shown.
• Remote appearances are Zoom video only — audio-only is not permitted — and for non-evidentiary probate hearings you do not need to file a notice of remote appearance (Local Rule 2.180).
• Once a probate hearing is noticed, it cannot be moved earlier (Local Rule 7.109).
• The court has a probate facilitator for procedural questions: (925) 608-2066, [email protected].

Can you skip probate entirely?

Formal probate is the expensive road. Two shortcuts cover many Contra Costa families, using the thresholds on Judicial Council form DE-300 (rev. April 2025) for deaths on or after April 1, 2025:

For what counts toward those numbers and what skips probate automatically, see our California executor checklist.

The Estate Desk handles this for California families. theestatedesk.com