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Jayne’s younger brother, Ted, died 3 years ago. Jayne’s older brother, Ralph, became the Independent Executor of the estate. Ralph was recently sentenced to serve 10 years in prison for embezzling $62,000 from his company. Jayne does not trust her brother to handle the estate administration so she wants to know if he can be removed and how she can get herself appointed as the Independent Executor. You do not normally handle probate matters, so you decide to look in Dorsaneo to help you, and hopefully you can find some forms to make your job easier.
1. The easiest way to find information about a probate matter would be to pull volume 24 which covers Probate Code Litigation; however, there are several chapters in that volume. Each volume does NOT contain its own index so you need to use the index volume to narrow down what sections you should read.
2. Pull out volume 26 which is the Index. The Index is organized alphabetically by topic. Brain storm a few search terms that may be useful. Probate, Independent Executor, Wills, and Estate Administration would all be good search terms.
3. Let’s start with "Probate." Page I-749 (remember the I stands for Index) has listings for “Probate Court” and “Probate of Will”. The second one seems more likely to help but under “Probate of Will” it says “See WILLS”.
4. So let’s flip to "Wills" which begins on page I-976 and ends on page I-987. Like with any Index, some headings will contain a lot of subheadings.
5. There are a lot of subheadings under Wills so let’s start by looking for our search terms. Our client wants to be the executor so look for an executor subheading under Wills. On page I-981 Executors is listed and says “See EXECUTORS AND ADMINISTRATORS”. Flip to that heading.
Jayne’s younger brother, Ted, died 3 years ago. Jayne’s older brother, Ralph, became the Independent Executor of the estate. Ralph was recently sentenced to serve 10 years in prison for embezzling $62,000 from his company. Jayne does not trust her brother to handle the estate administration so she wants to know if he can be removed and how she can get herself appointed as the Independent Executor. You do not normally handle probate matters, so you decide to look in Dorsaneo to help you, and hopefully you can find some forms to make your job easier.
6. Pages I-392-410 covers Executors and Administrators. Skimming through we find on Page I-405 the subheading Removal of – Generally §393.07[2] furthermore we see Successor Representatives under the Removal subheading which says “See subhead: SUCCESSOR REPRESENTATION”.
7. The subheading will be under the main Executors and Administrators heading. Page I-407 has the subheading Successor Representative – Generally §393.07[3][a].
8. We now have a couple of sections to look at. §393.07[2] will tell us how to get Ralph removed as executor and §393.07[3][a] will tell us how to get Jayne appointed as the successor representative.
9. Both of those sections are in volume 24 which covers sections 390-417 so pull that volume out. We will look at removing Ralph first so flip to §393.07[2].
10. Remember that 393 refers to the chapter number. Within each volume of Dorsaneo the chapters are tabbed with that chapters title listed. Chapter 393 is called Personal Representative.
Jayne’s younger brother, Ted, died 3 years ago. Jayne’s older brother, Ralph, became the Independent Executor of the estate. Ralph was recently sentenced to serve 10 years in prison for embezzling $62,000 from his company. Jayne does not trust her brother to handle the estate administration so she wants to know if he can be removed and how she can get herself appointed as the Independent Executor. You do not normally handle probate matters, so you decide to look in Dorsaneo to help you, and hopefully you can find some forms to make your job easier.
11. Skim through the scope to make sure this is the section you need then browse the synopsis to see if any other sections may help you. Then flip to the section that interests you. §393.07[2]begins on page 393-28.
12. On page 393-30 (the 30th page in chapter 393) under §393.07[2][b5?] we learn that Ralph can be removed if he is sentenced to serve time in a penitentiary. An interested person can file an application with the court.
13. But now we need to know if Jayne is an interested person so let’s flip back to the synopsis and see if we can find the answer. On page 393-2 in the synopsis we find that §393.02[1] lists the persons who may file. That may help us determine who qualifies as an interested person so let’s check there.
14. §393.02[1] is on page 393-8 and defines an interested person. An heir is considered an interested person so Jayne, as an heir, is an interested person. Now, let’s see if Dorsaneo has a form to apply for removal of an executor.
15. Flip back to the synopsis, under Part III Forms, beginning on page 393-4, none of the forms deal with applications for removal but if we flip back to §393.07[2](page 393-28], there is a list of the items that must be included in a application in order for a court to grant an order of removal. Dorsaneo also lists the applicable Probate Code sections and important cases that you should read to more fully understand this process.
Jayne’s younger brother, Ted, died 3 years ago. Jayne’s older brother, Ralph, became the Independent Executor of the estate. Ralph was recently sentenced to serve 10 years in prison for embezzling $62,000 from his company. Jayne does not trust her brother to handle the estate administration so she wants to know if he can be removed and how she can get herself appointed as the Independent Executor. You do not normally handle probate matters, so you decide to look in Dorsaneo to help you, and hopefully you can find some forms to make your job easier.
16. Now, we need to figure out how to get Jayne appointed as the executor of the estate. §393.07[3][a], beginning on page 393-31, tells us about successor representatives; to be appointed, a person must be qualified to be an executor.
17. Looking back at the synopsis, §393.02[2][b] will tell us who is qualified. Beginning on page 393-8, §393.02[2] lists those who are qualified. Jayne meets the requirements.
18. Our last step should be to check the synopsis again and see if there are any forms we can use for Jayne to apply to be the executor. Under Part III Forms, on page 393-4, we see §393.102 is an Application for Appointment of Independent Executor.
19. §393.102[1] will tell you when to use the form and §393.102[2] is the actual form.
20. So after all that hard work we now have a form Application for Appointment of Executor for Jayne and we know what needs to be included in our application for removal of Ralph.
21. It is important to look through the synopsis and read through any applicable section especially if you are dealing with a field of law unfamiliar to you. Also, always read applicable primary authority such as statutes and cases.
How to Update Dorsaneo's
Dorsaneo is updated quarterly. As a loose-leaf, additional information with each update is printed on loose pages that are then inserted into the binder. Some pages may be replaced (such as exchanging the old page 120-41.1 with the new 120-41.1), while other pages may be added (such as adding 120-41.2 between the old 120-41.1 and 120-42). There are no pocket parts or supplemental volumes to check, but you should verify when the loose-leaf was most recently updated to ensure the currency of the information.
Note: The page numbers will look different from what you are used to. For example, page 120-41.1 refers to Chapter 120 and page 41.1. This means that a new page was added between page 41 and page 42. (Note: The page number is listed in the top left hand corner while the section number is listed in the top right hand corner. Both numbers start with the chapter number so pay attention when flipping to a particular section). The page numbers for the index look slightly different. Rather than beginning with a Chapter number, the index page numbers begin with an I. For example, page I-55 would be the 55th page in the Index.