2007 California Health and Safety Code Chapter 12. Court Proceedings To Establish Record Of Birth, Death Or Marriage

CA Codes (hsc:103450-103490)

103450.  (a) A verified petition may be filed by any beneficially
interested person with the clerk of the superior court in and for (1)
the county in which the birth, death, or marriage is alleged to have
occurred, (2) the county of residence of the person whose birth or
marriage it is sought to establish, or (3) the county in which the
person was domiciled at the date of death for an order to judicially
establish the fact of, and the time and place of, a birth, death, or
marriage that is not registered or for which a certified copy is not
obtainable.
   (b) In the event of a mass fatalities incident, a verified
petition may be filed by a coroner, medical examiner, or any
beneficially interested person with the clerk of the superior court
in and for (1) the county in which the death is alleged to have
occurred, or (2) the county in which the person was domiciled at the
date of death for an order to judicially establish the fact of, and
the time and place of, a death that is not registered or for which a
certified copy of the death certificate is not obtainable.
   (c) In the event of a mass fatalities incident, a single verified
petition with respect to all persons who died may be filed by a
coroner or medical examiner with the clerk of the superior court in
and for the county in which the mass fatalities incident occurred for
an order to judicially establish the fact of, and the time and place
of, each person's death that is not registered or for which a
certified copy of the death certificate is not obtainable.



103451.  (a) For purposes of this chapter, "mass fatalities incident"
means a situation in which any of the following conditions exist:
   (1) There are more dead bodies than can be handled using local
resources.
   (2) Numerous persons are known to have died, but no bodies were
recovered from the site of the incident.
   (3) Numerous persons are known to have died, but the recovery and
identification of the bodies of those persons is impracticable or
impossible.
   (b) The county coroner or medical examiner may make the
determination that a condition described in subdivision (a) exists.



103455.  The petition shall be verified and shall contain all the
facts necessary to enable the court to determine the fact of and the
time and place of the birth, death, or marriage upon the proofs
adduced in behalf of the petitioner at the hearing.




103460.  If the time and place of birth are not known, the petition
shall contain all of the facts known to the petitioner or otherwise
available and a statement of the probable time and place of birth as
accurately as the circumstances permit.  The petition shall be
verified as to the known facts only.



103465.  Upon the filing of the petition a hearing shall be fixed by
the clerk and at the convenience of the court set at a time not less
than five nor more than 10 days after the filing of the petition.
The hearing may be held in chambers.  The court, for good cause, may
continue the hearing beyond the 10-day period.




103466.  Notwithstanding Section 103465, upon the filing of a
petition for a determination of the fact of death in the event of a
mass fatalities incident, the clerk shall set a hearing no later than
15 days from the date the petition was filed.  The petitioner shall
make a reasonable effort to provide notice of the hearing to the
known heirs of the deceased up to the second degree of relationship.
Failure to provide the notice specified in this section shall not
invalidate the judicial proceedings regarding the determination of
the fact of death.


103470.  The fee for filing the petition is one hundred eighty
dollars (0). This fee shall be distributed as provided in Section
68085.4 of the Government Code. The petition may be heard by any
judge hearing probate matters, or if a probate department has been
designated for hearing probate matters, the matter shall be assigned
to the probate department for hearing.



103475.  If, upon the hearing, the allegations of the petition are
established to the satisfaction of the court, the court may make an
order determining that the birth, death, or marriage did in fact
occur at the time and place shown by the proofs adduced at the
hearing.



103480.  If the time and place of birth are not known, the court
shall receive and consider evidence and testimony as may be available
and from the facts adduced may, by order, fix the time and place
that the court finds to be a probable time and place of birth of the
person in relation to whom the petition has been filed, as the time
and place of birth.  The time and place so fixed shall thereafter for
all purposes be the time and place of birth of the person.



103485.  The order shall be made in the form and upon the blank
prescribed and furnished by the State Registrar and shall become
effective upon a filing of a certified copy with the State Registrar.

   Every order determining the date of birth made pursuant to this
chapter shall establish a presumption that the matter contained
therein is a true and accurate statement of the time of birth.  The
presumption established by this section is a presumption affecting
the burden of proof.



103490.  (a) The State Registrar shall send certified copies of the
court order delayed certificate to the local registrar and the county
recorder within the area in which the event occurred and in whose
offices copies of records of the year of occurrence of the event are
on file.  However, if the event occurred outside the state, a
certified copy shall be sent only to the county recorder of the
county in which the petitioner resides.
   (b) In the event of a mass fatalities incident, the State
Registrar, without delay, shall send certified copies of the court
order delayed death certificate to the local registrar and the county
recorder of the county in which the incident occurred and in whose
offices copies of records of the year of occurrence of the incident
are on file.  The State Registrar, without delay, also shall send a
certified copy of the court order delayed death certificate to the
spouse or next of kin of the decedent, if there is no spouse,
provided the spouse or next of kin's name and address information are
included in the court order or on the application form submitted by
the spouse, next of kin, coroner, or medical examiner.  However, if
the incident occurred outside the state, a certified copy shall be
sent only to the county recorder of the county in which the decedent
was domiciled at the date of death.