§ 762.020.Unknown Parties; Unknown, Uncertain Or Contingent Claims

Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 4. Quiet Title · Article 3. Defendants · Last amended 2024 · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 762.020 requires the plaintiff to state in the complaint when a required defendant's name is unknown, or when a required defendant's claim, or its share or quantity, is unknown, uncertain, or contingent, including identifying details for a person who would take if a contingency had already occurred.

Full Text of § 762.020

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b)

(a) If the name of a person required to be named as a defendant is not known to the plaintiff, the plaintiff shall so state in the complaint and shall name as parties all persons unknown in the manner provided in Section 762.060.

(b) If the claim or the share or quantity of the claim of a person required to be named as a defendant is unknown, uncertain, or contingent, the plaintiff shall so state in the complaint. If the lack of knowledge, uncertainty, or contingency is caused by a transfer to an unborn or unascertained beneficiary or class member, or by a transfer in the form of a contingent remainder, vested remainder subject to defeasance, executory interest, or similar disposition, the plaintiff shall also state in the complaint, so far as is known to the plaintiff, the name, age, and legal disability (if any) of the person in being who would be entitled to the claim had the contingency upon which the claim depends occurred prior to the commencement of the action.

Plain-English Summary

Real property titles often carry interests that haven't fully vested yet — a remainder that depends on someone dying without children, a gift to a class of beneficiaries not yet born. Subdivision (a) covers the simplest version of the unknown-defendant problem: if the plaintiff doesn't know who holds a required interest, the complaint has to say so and name that person using the “all persons unknown” mechanism in § 762.060.

Subdivision (b) covers a harder problem — where the claim itself, or its share or size, is unknown, uncertain, or contingent. If that uncertainty comes from a transfer to an unborn or unascertained beneficiary, a class gift, or a contingent remainder, vested remainder subject to defeasance, executory interest, or similar future interest, the plaintiff also has to identify — so far as known — the name, age, and any legal disability of whoever would be entitled to the claim right now, had the triggering contingency already happened before the action began.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I don't know the name of someone with a possible claim to my property?

Section 762.020(a) requires stating that in the complaint and naming that person through the “all persons unknown” procedure in § 762.060.

What if a future interest, like a contingent remainder, affects the property?

Section 762.020(b) requires the complaint to identify, as far as known, the name, age, and any legal disability of the person who would currently hold the claim if the contingency had already occurred.

Does this section apply to gifts to unborn beneficiaries?

Yes. It specifically addresses transfers to unborn or unascertained beneficiaries or class members, along with contingent remainders and similar future interests.

Amendment History

Amended by Stats 2023 ch 260 (SB 345),s 7, eff. 1/1/2024. Added by Stats. 1980, Ch. 44, Sec. 15.

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

Also known as: unknown claimants quiet title californiacontingent remainder quiet title california