Except as otherwise provided in Section 17005 of the Probate Code pertaining to trustees, when a defendant is sued in an official or representative capacity as executor, administrator, guardian, conservator, or trustee on a claim for the payment of money or for the recovery of personal property, the county which has jurisdiction of the estate which the defendant represents shall be the proper county for the trial of the action.
§ 395.1.Defendant Sued In Official Or Representative Capacity On Claim For Payment of Money Or Recovery of Personal Property
Title 4. Of the Place of Trial, Reclassification, and Coordination of Civil Actions · Chapter 1. Place of Trial · Last amended 1987 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentence§ 395.1 sends a claim for payment of money or recovery of personal property against someone sued as an estate's executor, administrator, guardian, or conservator to the county that has jurisdiction over that estate, while trustees follow a separate venue rule under the Probate Code.
Full Text of § 395.1
Plain-English Summary
When a defendant is sued not personally but in a representative role -- as an executor, administrator, guardian, or conservator -- and the claim seeks money or the return of personal property, § 395.1 keeps the case in the county already handling the estate the defendant represents. That avoids splitting estate-related disputes across multiple counties.
Trustees are the one exception: claims against a defendant sued as trustee follow the separate venue rule in Probate Code § 17005 instead of this section.
Frequently Asked Questions
I want to sue an estate's executor to collect a debt -- where do I file?
In the county that has jurisdiction over the estate the executor represents.
Does this rule apply to a lawsuit against a trustee?
No -- trustees are carved out of § 395.1 and instead follow the venue rule in Probate Code § 17005.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1986, Ch. 820, Sec. 16. Operative July 1, 1987, by Sec. 43 of Ch. 820.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
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