Cal. PROB § 12404
This is the official text of Cal. PROB § 12404, part of California’s Probate Code — governs wills, trusts, estates, and conservatorships.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
(a) A petition may be filed in the court having jurisdiction under Section 12403 for the administration of the estate of a missing person.
(b) The petition may be filed by any person who may be appointed as a personal representative, other than a person described in subdivision (r) of Section 8461.
(c) In addition to the matters otherwise required in a petition for administration of the estate, the petition shall state all of the following:
(1) The last known place of residence and the last known address of the missing person.
(2) The time and circumstances when the missing person was last seen or heard from.
(3) That the missing person has not been seen or heard from for a continuous period of five years by the persons likely to have seen or heard from the missing person (naming them and their relationship to the missing person) and that the whereabouts of the missing person is unknown to those persons and to the petitioner.
(4) A description of the search or the inquiry made concerning the whereabouts of the missing person.
(b) The petition may be filed by any person who may be appointed as a personal representative, other than a person described in subdivision (r) of Section 8461.
(c) In addition to the matters otherwise required in a petition for administration of the estate, the petition shall state all of the following:
(1) The last known place of residence and the last known address of the missing person.
(2) The time and circumstances when the missing person was last seen or heard from.
(3) That the missing person has not been seen or heard from for a continuous period of five years by the persons likely to have seen or heard from the missing person (naming them and their relationship to the missing person) and that the whereabouts of the missing person is unknown to those persons and to the petitioner.
(4) A description of the search or the inquiry made concerning the whereabouts of the missing person.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Dealing with a probate matter in California?
See all California Probate lawyers
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.