What Is a Probate Code Section 850 Petition?

A Probate Code section 850 petition is the probate court's mechanism for resolving ownership disputes over property claimed by or against an estate, trust, or conservatorship. It lets an executor, trustee, beneficiary, or claimant ask the court to order property transferred to where it rightfully belongs: into the trust or estate when someone else is holding its assets, or out to a third party when the estate holds property that belongs to someone else.

The petition covers a remarkable range of fights: title to real property the decedent deeded away under suspicious circumstances, assets a caregiver or relative transferred to themselves before death, unfunded trust assets in the Heggstad scenario, disputed beneficial interests, and contract claims to convey property. When property was taken in bad faith through undue influence or elder financial abuse, Probate Code section 859 adds teeth: the court can assess double damages against the wrongdoer, plus attorney's fees in elder abuse cases.

Because 850 petitions are tried in probate court, they move faster than many civil actions and land in front of judges who see these family patterns daily. They are the workhorse of pre-death transfer disputes and asset recovery in trust and estate litigation.