Within 120 days following the date of initial posting by the clerk of the superior court, the Attorney General shall commence a proceeding by filing a petition to determine the state's right to custody of all property mentioned in such report and unclaimed within the time and in the manner provided by Section 1607. The proceeding shall be commenced and heard in the superior court in the County of Sacramento and venue shall not be affected by the provisions of Section 401, Code of Civil Procedure. The petition shall name as respondents all persons known to have been interested and "all persons unknown claiming any title or interest in or to the property described or referred to in the petition." If the records of the United States fail to disclose with reasonable certainty the identity or number of owners or claimants of specific funds or other personal property, or the extent of their interests therein, such persons may be designated and described as a class, to wit, as "all unknown owners or claimants to the funds or property mentioned in or affected by ____," and, as the case may be, the petition shall identify and set forth the court actions or proceedings to the credit of which such funds or other property are held, or the accounts or other identifying references under which they are carried upon the records of the United States. The petition shall describe or refer to the property, and may include one or more items, as the Attorney General may be advised, without prejudice to his right to commence subsequent proceedings relating to other items not included. The petition shall also state the name of the owner and his last address as known or as presumed under this chapter, and shall set forth the facts and circumstances by virtue of which it is claimed that such funds or property are subject to custody by the state. Any number of respondents may be joined whether they reside in the same or different counties, and any number of causes of action may be joined and need not be separately stated.
§ 1609.Proceeding Commenced By Attorney General to Determine State's Right to Custody of Property
Title 10. Unclaimed Property · Chapter 8. Property in Custody of Federal Officers, Agencies, and Departments · Last amended 2003 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1609 requires the Attorney General, within 120 days after the courthouse posting, to file a petition in Sacramento County Superior Court naming known and unknown claimants and describing the federal-custody property California seeks, setting venue and pleading rules specific to this chapter's proceeding.
Full Text of § 1609
Plain-English Summary
This section starts the lawsuit that decides whether California, rather than an individual owner, gets custody of the federal-held property listed in the report. Within 120 days after the county clerk's initial posting under Section 1607, the Attorney General must file a petition asking the court to determine the state's right to custody of everything in that report that remains unclaimed under the timeline Section 1607 sets out.
The proceeding always runs in the Sacramento County Superior Court, and the general venue rules elsewhere in this code don't move it anywhere else. The petition has to name every person known to have an interest, plus, as a catch-all, all unknown persons claiming any title or interest in the property. Where federal records don't clearly identify the owners or claimants or how many there are, the petition can describe them as a class instead of by name. It also has to describe the property, the accounts or references the United States carries it under, the owner's name and last known or presumed address, and the facts supporting the state's claim to custody. The Attorney General can bundle any number of respondents and causes of action into one petition, without pleading them separately, and can leave items out of one petition to pursue in a later one without losing the right to do so.
Frequently Asked Questions
How soon after the courthouse posting must the Attorney General file this petition?
Within 120 days following the date of initial posting by the clerk of the superior court.
Where is this proceeding filed and heard?
In the superior court in the County of Sacramento, with venue not affected by the code's general venue provisions.
Who must the petition name as respondents?
All persons known to have an interest in the property, plus all unknown persons claiming any title or interest, who may be described as a class if federal records don't clearly identify them.
Can the Attorney General combine multiple claims or properties into one petition?
Yes. Any number of respondents and causes of action may be joined without being separately stated, and items can be left out for a later, separate petition.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2002 ch 784 (SB 1316),s 85, eff. 1/1/2003.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: attorney general petition federal unclaimed propertysacramento county superior court escheat federal custody