BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2080
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Date of Hearing: April 6, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2080 (Gallagher) - As Introduced February 17, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires a court clerk to also release a will placed
with the probate court to a person who pays the required fee and
provides an "informational" certified copy of the death
certificate.
AB 2080
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FISCAL EFFECT:
Any costs to the courts to provide a copies of wills to
additional parties will be covered by the required fee.
COMMENTS:
Background/Purpose. Current law is ambiguous as to whether a
court must release to the public a copy of a will lodged with
that court. A holder of a will is required to submit it to the
probate court after learning of the testator's death, but that
will is only lodged with the court and not part of the public
record. An individual may request a copy of the will by paying
a fee and either (1) obtaining a court order for its release,
which requires an additional court proceeding, as well as an
expensive filing fee; or (2) presenting to the court a certified
copy of a death certificate. However, there are two types of
certified death certificates, which creates ambiguity about
which certified copy of the death certificate is required.
These two classes of death certificates are known as a
"certified copy" (also known as "authorized copy") and an
"informational certified copy." The "authorized copy" is only
available to an "authorized person," defined to include close
family members, attorneys and law enforcement, whereas the
"informational certified copy" is available "in all other
circumstances." That is, anyone who cannot otherwise qualify as
an "authorized person" is automatically eligible to obtain a
copy of an "informational certified copy."
AB 2080, sponsored by the Trusts and Estates Section of the
State Bar, removes the above ambiguity and permits anyone with a
certified copy of the death certificate - whether a regular
certified copy or an "informational" certified copy - to obtain
AB 2080
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a copy of the will. The sponsor notes that making the will
accessible to anyone willing to pay the fee and provide an
informational copy of the death certificate is good policy
because the law should not hinder family members, friends and
other potential beneficiaries from confirming a beneficial
interest.
Analysis Prepared by:Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916)
319-2081