SECTIONS 11420-11429 - California Statutes

PROBATE CODE

SECTION 11420-11429

11420. (a) Debts shall be paid in the following order of priority
among classes of debts, except that debts owed to the United States
or to this state that have preference under the laws of the United
States or of this state shall be given the preference required by
such laws:
(1) Expenses of administration. With respect to obligations
secured by mortgage, deed of trust, or other lien, including, but not
limited to, a judgment lien, only those expenses of administration
incurred that are reasonably related to the administration of that
property by which obligations are secured shall be given priority
over these obligations.
(2) Obligations secured by a mortgage, deed of trust, or other
lien, including, but not limited to, a judgment lien, in the order of
their priority, so far as they may be paid out of the proceeds of
the property subject to the lien. If the proceeds are insufficient,
the part of the obligation remaining unsatisfied shall be classed
with general debts.
(3) Funeral expenses.
(4) Expenses of last illness.
(5) Family allowance.
(6) Wage claims.
(7) General debts, including judgments not secured by a lien and
all other debts not included in a prior class.
(b) Except as otherwise provided by statute, the debts of each
class are without preference or priority one over another. No debt of
any class may be paid until all those of prior classes are paid in
full. If property in the estate is insufficient to pay all debts of
any class in full, each debt in that class shall be paid a
proportionate share.

11421. Subject to Section 11420, as soon as the personal
representative has sufficient funds, after retaining sufficient funds
to pay expenses of administration, the personal representative shall
pay the following:
(a) Funeral expenses.
(b) Expenses of last illness.
(c) Family allowance.
(d) Wage claims.

11422. (a) Except as provided in Section 11421, the personal
representative is not required to pay a debt until payment has been
ordered by the court.
(b) On the settlement of any account of the personal
representative after the expiration of four months after the date
letters are first issued to a general personal representative, the
court shall order payment of debts, as the circumstances of the
estate permit. If property in the estate is insufficient to pay all
of the debts, the order shall specify the amount to be paid to each
creditor.
(c) If the estate will be exhausted by the payment ordered, the
account of the personal representative constitutes a final account,
and notice of hearing shall be the notice given for the hearing of a
final account. The personal representative is entitled to a discharge
when the personal representative has complied with the terms of the
order.
(d) Nothing in this section precludes settlement of an account of
a personal representative for payment of a debt made without prior
court authorization.

11423. (a) Interest accrues on a debt from the date the court
orders payment of the debt until the date the debt is paid. Interest
accrues at the legal rate on judgments.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), in the case of a debt based
on a written contract, interest accrues at the rate and in accordance
with the terms of the contract. The personal representative may, by
order of the court, pay all or part of the interest accumulated and
unpaid at any time when there are sufficient funds, whether the debt
is then due or not.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), in the case of a debt for
unpaid taxes or any other debt for which interest is expressly
provided by statute, interest accrues at the rate and in accordance
with the terms of the statute.

11424. The personal representative shall pay a debt to the extent
of the order for payment of the debt, and is liable personally and on
the bond, if any, for failure to make the payment.

11428. (a) If an estate is in all other respects ready to be
closed, and it appears to the satisfaction of the court, on affidavit
or evidence taken in open court, that a debt has not been and cannot
be paid because the creditor cannot be found, the court or judge
shall make an order fixing the amount of the payment and directing
the personal representative to deposit the payment with the county
treasurer of the county in which the proceeding is pending.
(b) The county treasurer shall give a receipt for the deposit, for
which the county treasurer is liable on the official bond. The
receipt shall be treated by the court or judge in favor of the
personal representative with the same force and effect as if executed
by the creditor.
(c) A deposit with the county treasurer under the provisions of
this section shall be received, accounted for, and disposed of as
provided by Section 1444 of the Code of Civil Procedure. A deposit in
the State Treasury under the provisions of this section shall be
deemed to be made under the provisions of Article 1 (commencing with
Section 1440) of Chapter 6 of Title 10 of Part 3 of the Code of Civil
Procedure.

11429. (a) Where the accounts of the personal representative have
been settled and an order made for the payment of debts and
distribution of the estate, a creditor who is not paid, whether or
not included in the order for payment, has no right to require
contribution from creditors who are paid or from distributees, except
to the extent provided in Section 9392.
(b) Nothing in this section precludes recovery against the
personal representative personally or on the bond, if any, by a
creditor who is not paid, subject to Section 9053.