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Probate

To make an appointment with the Clerk’s Office, please visit the homepage and click the “Schedule an Appointment” button. Be sure that you schedule your appointment for the correct department. Appointments scheduled in the incorrect department are subject to cancellation. In accordance with the 2nd Amended Administrative Order 22.04, walk-in services are currently unavailable. An appointment is required. Customers are limited to one 30-minute appointment per day.

Filings are accepted in the drop box located at the main entrance of the courthouse, via eDelivery, or by US Mail.

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Check back often for updates.


The Clerk’s Office hours at the Juvenile Courthouse are:
Monday through Friday, except holidays, 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 - 4:00 p.m.

Appointment Hours are:
Monday - Friday, except holidays, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 - 3:00 p.m.


General Information

Probate is the court-supervised process for identifying and gathering a decedent’s assets, paying taxes, debts, and expenses and distributing the balance to beneficiaries.

A conservatorship is a court proceeding where a judge appoints a responsible person or organization to care for another adult who cannot care for him/herself or his/her finances. Visit our Conservatorship page for more information.

Guardianships are protective proceedings where the court gives a responsible person the custody of a minor or power to manage the minor’s property, or both.

The forms to initiate a guardianship case are available in our guardianship form packet.

Wills - The clerk's office will accept wills after the person who wrote it is deceased. There is a $50 fee for lodging a will with the court.

The following applies to wills, trusts, conservatorships and guardianships:

The filing fee for a petition for probate is listed on the court’s fee schedule.

All probate matters are filed and heard at the Juvenile and Probate Courthouse in Oxnard. Hearings are typically set in Courtroom J6 based on the schedule below. There are calendar limits for most calendars.

Conservatorship cases and Guardianship cases (with an estate):

Tuesdays at 9:00 a.m. for motions and miscellaneous petitions; Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. for Care Plans, Inventory and Appraisals or Annual/Biennial Status Reports. Petitions for Appointment of Conservator or Guardian (with an estate) are only set on Fridays at 9:00 a.m.

Wills, Estates and Trusts:

Motions and miscellaneous petitions on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9:00 a.m. New Probate Estate petitions are set Thursdays at 10:30 a.m.


Remote Appearances

Please see “Remote Appearances” on the homepage which identifies the proceedings where remote appearance is available. Participants intending to appear remotely must comply with the requirements of California Rules of Court, rule 3.672.


Probate Appeals

In an appeal, a higher court reviews the order or judgment of a lower court. Any party may appeal from an unfavorable decision based upon whether there was enough evidence to support the judgment or whether errors of law were committed during or before trial which harmed the appealing party.

The fee for filing an appeal on a Superior Court decision is $775.00. The clerks do not have forms for filing an appeal.

On a decision of the Superior Court, the notice of appeal must be filed within 60 days after the mailing or personal service of the entry of judgment. If a Notice has not been mailed or personally served, the appeal period is 180 days from the entry of judgment by the court. Permission to file late is rarely given. Filing of a notice of appeal does not stop enforcement of the judgment. You must still comply with all court orders.


For frequently asked questions about Probate, please visit our FAQs page.

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