Title 10. Unclaimed Property · Chapter 8. Property in Custody of Federal Officers, Agencies, and Departments · Enacted 1801 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1610 replaces summons with a defined notice procedure for this chapter's petition, requiring weekly newspaper publication for three weeks plus a 45-day courthouse posting, and gives the court full jurisdiction over the property once that notice period is complete.
Full Text of § 1610
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No summons or other process shall issue to direct the appearance and answer of a respondent. Commencing within five days after filing petition, notice of the proceeding shall be published once each week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation published within the County of Sacramento. At the time the notice is first published, a copy of the petition and notice shall be posted at the courthouse in the county where each defendant was last known or presumed to have had an address. Such petition and such notice shall remain posted for 45 days. The notice of proceeding shall advise that the State seeks custody of unclaimed property held by the United States. The names but not the addresses of the respondents shall be contained in the notice with a statement that such persons are believed to live or to have lived within the State and are believed to be or to have been owners of the unclaimed property. The notice shall not contain a description of the unclaimed property but shall advise that such description together with the last known or presumed addresses of owners may be determined by examining the petition filed in the proceeding. The petition and its place of filing shall be sufficiently identified and described. The notice shall advise that persons claiming an interest must answer the petition within the time prescribed by law, which time shall be stated, if they elect to pursue their claims against the United States, otherwise their rights to property shall be preserved subject to delayed delivery as provided by law. The notice shall advise that Section 1611, Code of Civil Procedure, should be consulted for the time, form, and costs of an answer.
The notice shall be deemed completed 45 days after the date of first publication, whereupon the court shall have full and complete jurisdiction over the property described in the petition and not claimed within the time or in the manner provided in Section 1611, and shall have full and complete jurisdiction to determine the right of the State to custody and to render an appropriate judgment therefor.
Plain-English Summary
Because the petition under Section 1609 can name unknown claimants by the hundreds, this section swaps out the ordinary summons-and-service process for a notice scheme built around publication and posting. No summons or other process issues to bring in a respondent's appearance and answer. Instead, starting within five days of filing, notice of the proceeding runs once a week for three consecutive weeks in a Sacramento County newspaper of general circulation, and a copy of the petition and notice goes up at the courthouse in each county where a respondent was last known or presumed to have lived, staying posted there for 45 days.
The notice itself is deliberately spare: it says the state is seeking custody of unclaimed federal-held property, lists respondents by name only, not address, and tells readers where to look, the petition itself, for the property's description and the owners' addresses. It explains that anyone with a claim must answer within the time the law allows if they want to pursue their claim against the United States instead, and it points to Section 1611 for the specifics on timing, form, and cost of that answer. Once 45 days pass from first publication, notice is deemed complete, and the court gains full jurisdiction over whatever property in the petition hasn't been claimed the way Section 1611 describes, along with authority to decide the state's right to custody and enter judgment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a respondent get personally served with a summons in this proceeding?
No. Section 1610 provides that no summons or other process issues; notice instead proceeds by publication and courthouse posting.
How long does the newspaper publication and courthouse posting run?
Publication runs once a week for three consecutive weeks, and the posted copy of the petition and notice stays up at the courthouse for 45 days.
What information does the notice itself contain?
That the state seeks custody of unclaimed federal property, the names, but not addresses, of respondents, and a statement that the petition itself can be examined for the property's description and owners' addresses.
When does the court gain full jurisdiction over the property?
45 days after the date of first publication, when notice is deemed completed.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1959, Ch. 1801.
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:notice by publication escheat federal property45 day courthouse posting unclaimed property