§ 764.020.Validity Or Interpretation of Gift, Devise, Bequest Or Trust Under Will
Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 4. Quiet Title · Article 5. Judgment · Enacted 1980 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 764.020 lets a quiet title action finally decide the validity or interpretation of a gift, devise, bequest, or trust under a will, admits the will itself into evidence, treats a probate court's final decree interpreting it as conclusive, and preserves any existing right to a jury trial.
(a)If in an action under this chapter the validity or interpretation of a gift, devise, bequest, or trust, under a will or instrument purporting to be a will, whether admitted to probate or not, is involved:
(1)The will or instrument purporting to be a will is admissible in evidence.
(2)All questions concerning the validity of the gift, devise, bequest, or trust shall be finally determined in the action.
(3)If the will has been admitted to probate and the gift, devise, bequest, or trust has been interpreted by a final decree of the probate court, the interpretation is conclusive as to the proper construction thereof.
(b)Nothing in this section deprives a party of the right to a jury trial in any case where, by law, the right is now given.
Plain-English Summary
Title disputes sometimes turn on how a will created or limited an interest. This section lets a quiet title action resolve that question directly when the validity or interpretation of a gift, devise, bequest, or trust under a will — or an instrument purporting to be a will, whether or not it was ever admitted to probate — is involved.
Three consequences follow. The will or purported will itself is admissible in evidence in the quiet title action. All questions about the validity of the gift, devise, bequest, or trust get finally determined in that action. And if the will was admitted to probate and the probate court already interpreted the gift by a final decree, that interpretation controls — the quiet title court doesn't reinterpret it.
Subdivision (b) preserves whatever jury trial right already exists by law; nothing in this section takes that right away.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a quiet title action decide whether a gift under a will is valid?
Yes. Section 764.020(a) lets the action finally determine the validity or interpretation of a gift, devise, bequest, or trust under a will, including an unprobated will.
Is a probate court's earlier interpretation of a will binding in the quiet title case?
Yes, if the will was admitted to probate and the gift already interpreted by a final probate decree, that interpretation is conclusive.
Does resolving a will-based title issue this way eliminate a right to a jury trial?
No. Section 764.020(b) preserves any jury trial right already given by law.
Amendment History
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:quiet title action involving a will californiavalidity of gift under will quiet title