Probate Division
NEW: Effective 11/30/2026, the procedures set forth below must be followed for obtaining hearings in all Probate matters.
Contact the Probate Court
Telephone: Court Telephone Numbers
Email: ssprobinfo@scscourt.org
Procedures for Filing a Motion
Pursuant to Local Probate Rule section 1D, parties are required to reserve a hearing date in the manner set forth on the Court’s website for all matters set on Probate calendars. Moving party must reserve a court hearing date, online or by phone, prior to filing a motion. Motions filed without a court date will be rejected with instructions to obtain a court date first.
- Click here to reserve a hearing date in a Probate matter. This tool will be available on 11/30/26:
CourtSchedule - Reserving motion hearing dates by phone:
- Phone number: 408-882-2654
- Hours of operation: Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.; Friday 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Mandatory requirement: Effective 11/30/26, moving papers must be filed within 5 business days of reserving a court date or the date will be released for use in other cases. This will help us avoid long backlogs for hearing dates in these departments.
Probate Overview
The Probate Division of Superior Court (located at the Downtown Superior Courthouse) handles a wide range of issues involving adults and children. The following is a list of matters heard in the Probate area of our Court. Clicking on the links below will take you to other pages of this website, the California Court's website, or outside agency.
- Transfer of property of people who have died
- Disputes about trusts
- Conservatorship - Appointment of a person to oversee the finances and/or the care of an older adult or a developmentally disabled adult who cannot take care of him-/herself
- LPS (Lanterman-Petris-Short) Mental Health Conservatorship - Appointment of a person to make certain mental health decisions for someone who is gravely disabled and is unable to care for his/her personal needs
- Requesting a hearing to challenge your quarantine order
- Guardianship - Appointment of a person to oversee the finances and/or the care of a child whose parents are unable to care of the child
- Adoptions for children and adults. For self-help information see the Santa Clara County Adoption Services information and the Judicial Council's Guide to Adoption in California.
- Name Change or Name/Gender Change for adults and children
- Minor’s Compromise - Approval by the court of the terms of an agreement to settle a claim by a child, usually involving an injury
- Emancipation - Freeing a child from the control of a parent and giving the child some rights as an adult
- Establishing a fact of a birth, death or a marriage that has not been recorded or cannot be obtained
- CARE(Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment) Act Information and Resources
For information on restraining orders for older adults who have been abused either financially or physically, see the Elder/Dependent Adult Abuse Self-Help guide on the California Courts website or the Elder/Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Order Forms page on this website.