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The Santa Barbara Superior Court has received complaints about individuals trying to scam members of the public by pretending to be court officers or officials. The Jury Services office of the Santa Barbara Superior Court does not call citizens to request payments for failing to appear for jury duty. California law does not permit citizens to pay a fine in lieu of jury duty. If you receive such a call simply hang up and, if the scammer persists, call your local law enforcement agency. Learn more about the recent scam warning.

Notice to Jurors:

Prospective jurors summoned for jury service can expect to receive their jury summons in postcard form. Please check your mail for a postcard with important instructions to fulfil your jury service. Visit the Jury Services page for more information.

Estate of Debert David Wise

Case Number

24PR00113

Case Type

Decedent's Estate

Hearing Date / Time

Mon, 03/17/2025 - 08:30

Nature of Proceedings

Review Hearing: Final Distribution

Tentative Ruling

Probate Notes:

Appearances required.

The following defects must be corrected before the petition can move forward:

Notice to Franchise Tax Board.  Notice MUST have been given to the Franchise Tax Board not later than 90 days after the date letters are first issued. (Prob. Code, § 9202, subd. (c)(1).)

Supplement re: Final Inventory and Appraisal – There are now three different Inventory and Appraisals on file that are marked “Final.” The first was filed on June 5, 2024, and does not comply with Probate Code requirements, because it was not signed by the Probate Referee, and contains several line items that are nonsense or not valued.  The second Inventory and Appraisal was labeled “corrected,” and also was not signed by the Probate Referee, contained erroneous or inappropriate entries, and attempted to account for losses.  The last was filed on February 28, 2025, and does not indicate whether the Inventory and Appraisal is corrected, supplemental, or amended.

Petitioner must file a supplement explaining whether the last-in-time filed Inventory and Appraisal is meant to be the only Inventory and Appraisal considered by the Court to define the contents and value of the estate.

Supplement re: Allegations in the Petition.  The following defects in the allegations in the petition require a supplement to the petition in order to comply with the relevant code section cited, or give the Court the necessary information to adjudicate the ability of the estate to be closed:

  • Clarification of Paragraph 13.  Paragraph 13 alleges that there was only one Inventory and Appraisal filed, that Inventory and Appraisal was final, and the amount appraised for the inventory was $917,219.86.  Contrary to that allegation, there were two Inventory and Appraisals filed, the last in time being labeled “corrected” and valued at $97,219.86.
  • Proposed Distribution. The proposed distribution does not comply with the intestate distribution scheme in the Probate Code.  When a decedent’s estate does not pass by a testamentary instrument (by failure of transfer, or omission, etc.), that property passes to the decedent’s heirs as prescribed in Division 6, part 2 of the Probate Code (§§6401, et seq.). (Prob. Code, § 6400.)
  • The Decedent died in 2020 leaving a surviving spouse and daughter.  Decedent’s surviving spouse died three years later.  Therefore, according to the intestate scheme of the state of California, the distribution of this estate should be distributed completely to the surviving spouse’s estate.   If there is a spouse, 1/2 of community property passes to that person. Thus, a living spouse is held to own all community property, since 1/2 of the community property passes to that spouse, and 1/2 of the community property is owned by that spouse. (Prob. Code, §§ 6401(a), 100.)  The same is true for quasi-community property. (Prob. Code, §§ 6401(b), 101.) 

Supplement re: Escrow Statement.  Real property was sold, but no Escrow Statement is on file.  The escrow statement is a requisite filing to satisfy the final report requirements of the Probate Code (Prob. Code, § 10954(c)(1)), and the California Rules of Court (Rule 7.550):

Allegations of all actions taken under IAEA, including:

  • sales, purchases, or exchanges of assets (CRC, Rule 7.550(b)(2))
  • changes in the form of assets (CRC, Rule 7.550(b)(3))
  • assets on hand (CRC, Rule 7.550(b)(4))
  • a list of costs of administration, IF reimbursement of administration costs is requested  (CRC, Rule 7.550(b)(7))
  • a list of the amount of any fees or commissions paid or to be paid (CRC, Rule 7.550(b)(8)), and the calculation of such fees or commissions as described in CRC, Rule 7.705(b) (CRC, Rule 7.550(b)(9))

The requirements of Rule 7.550(b) mandate an escrow statement for any sale of real property must be submitted in support of the final report.

Proposed Order.  A proposed order must be submitted with relief that matches that requested in the petition. (Local Rule 1724(b), subd.(d).)  Order must list every beneficiary and detail the shares to each, and must expressly state limitations or conditions on distribution.  (Prob. Code, § 11603.)  IF whereabouts of a distributee are unknown, the Proposed Order must provide for alternate distributes, and detail the share to which they are entitled per PC § 11603(c).  It is highly recommended petitioner use Local Form SC-6029.  No such document was filed with the court.

Due to staffing limitations, processing times may be delayed. To assist in processing, attorneys and parties should include the next court date in the “Filing Description” field provided by the electronic service provider. That field is also used for further descriptions of the document being e-filed, so be sure to put the calendar date FIRST in the field – BEFORE any further description of the document being e-filed (e.g.: 06/28/16 For XYZ).

Appearances:

The court is open to the public for court business. The court is also conducting hearings via Zoom videoconference.

Meeting ID: 161 797 5412

Passcode: 8749009

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