§ 872.530.Defendant Dead Or Believed to Be Dead

Title 10.5. Partition of Real and Personal Property · Chapter 2. Commencement of Action · Article 4. Parties · Enacted 1976 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 872.530 requires the plaintiff to join a known personal representative when a person with an interest has died, and otherwise lets the plaintiff join that person's testate and intestate successors by affidavit when the person is dead or believed to be dead and no personal representative is known.

Full Text of § 872.530

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b)

(a) If a person described in Section 872.510 is dead and the plaintiff knows of a personal representative, the plaintiff shall join such personal representative as a defendant.

(b) If a person described in Section 872.510 is dead, or is believed by the plaintiff to be dead, and the plaintiff knows of no personal representative:

(1) The plaintiff shall state these facts in an affidavit filed with the complaint.

(2) Where it is stated in the affidavit that such person is dead, the plaintiff may join as defendants "the testate and intestate successors of ____ (naming such deceased person), deceased, and all persons claiming by, through, or under said decedent," naming them in that manner.

(3) Where it is stated in the affidavit that such person is believed to be dead, the plaintiff may join such person as a defendant, and he may also join "the testate and intestate successors of ____ (naming such person) believed to be deceased, and all persons claiming by, through, or under such person," naming them in that manner.

End

Plain-English Summary

Death complicates joinder, so this section supplies a specific procedure for it. If a person described in § 872.510 has died and the plaintiff knows of a personal representative -- an executor or administrator -- subdivision (a) requires joining that representative as a defendant.

If the person is dead, or the plaintiff believes them to be dead, and no personal representative is known, subdivision (b) offers an alternative. The plaintiff files an affidavit stating those facts, and then may join defendants by description rather than by name: "the testate and intestate successors of [name], deceased, and all persons claiming by, through, or under said decedent" when death is confirmed, or the parallel language referring to a person "believed to be deceased" when it isn't. That second version also lets the plaintiff join the possibly-deceased person individually, alongside their possible successors, covering the case either way.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if a person with an interest in the property has died and I know who the executor is?

Section 872.530(a) requires joining that personal representative as a defendant.

What if the person has died and I don't know of any personal representative?

File an affidavit stating those facts, then join "the testate and intestate successors" of the named decedent, and all persons claiming through the decedent, by that description.

What if I only believe the person may be dead, without confirmation?

Subdivision (b)(3) lets the plaintiff join that person individually and also join their possible testate and intestate successors, described as "believed to be deceased."

Amendment History

Added by Stats. 1976, Ch. 73.

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the California Legislative Information. Enacted by the California Legislature. Last verified July 28, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: joining deceased owner successors in partition actionunknown deceased defendant partition california