Title 15 — Estates and Probate

Authorization; Security; Procedure on Estate Less Than Entire Ownership. (a) Whenever it shall appear to be to the advantage of the estate to borrow money upon a note or notes, either unsecured, or to be secured by a chattel mortgage upon the personal property of the decedent, or…

Filing; Contents; Notice and Hearing. The personal representative, or any person interested in the estate, shall file in the Superior Court a verified petition showing the particular purpose for which the order referred to in Section 2363 of this Title is sought, the necessity of…

Hearing; Order; Recordation. At the time appointed pursuant to the provisions of Section 2365 of this Title, the Superior Court, upon proof that due notice of the hearing COL120106 has been given, shall proceed to hear the petition referred to in Section 2365 of this Title and an…

Execution of Notes and Instruments of Security. The personal representative shall execute, acknowledge and deliver the mortgage, pledge or other lien as directed by the order referred to in Section 2367 of this Title, setting forth therein that it is made by authority of such ord…

Effectiveness of Encumbrance; Jurisdiction; Effect of Error or Irregularities; Deficiencies. Every mortgage, pledge or other lien made pursuant to the provisions of Sections 2363 through 2369, inclusive, of this Title shall be effectual to mortgage, pledge or subject to such othe…

Whenever it shall appear to be to the advantage of the estate to lease any real property of the decedent, and as often as occasion therefor shall arise in the administration of the estate, the Superior Court may authorize and direct the personal representative to execute such lea…

and Notice. To obtain the order referred to in Section 2373 of this Title, the personal representative, or any person interested in the estate, shall file in the Superior Court a verified petition showing the advantage to accrue COL120106 from giving the lease, a general descript…

Duration; Partial Interests; Recording. At the time appointed pursuant to the provisions of Section 2375 of this Title, the Superior Court, upon proof that due notice of the hearing has been given, shall hear the petition referred to in Section 2375 of this Title and any objectio…

The Superior Court may authorize the giving of a lease for longer than ten (10) years when the verified petition referred to in Section 2375 of this Title alleges facts showing the need for such longer lease and its advantage to the estate and the persons interested therein. In s…

Effect; Jurisdiction; Effect of Errors or Irregularities. The personal representative shall execute, acknowledge and deliver the lease as directed by the order referred to in Section 2377 or Section 2379 of this Title, setting forth therein that it is made by authority of such or…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the personal representative may lease real property of the estate without an order of the Superior Court when the rental does not exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) per month and the term does not exceed one (1) year, or, regard…

If a person who is bound by a contract in writing to convey any real property or to transfer any personal property dies before making conveyance or transfer, and the decedent, if living, might have been compelled to make such conveyance or transfer, or if a person binds himself o…

Notice. The personal representative or any person claiming to be entitled to the conveyance or transfer referred to in Section 2385 of this Title may file with the Clerk of the Superior Court of Guam a verified petition, setting forth the facts upon which the claim is predicated.…

At the time appointed pursuant to the provisions of Section 2387 of this Title, the Superior Court, upon proof that due notice of the hearing has been given, shall proceed to hear the petition referred to in Section 2387 of this Title and any objections thereto that may have been…

Possession; Execution of Conveyance. The order referred to in Section 2389 of this Title shall be prima facie evidence of the correctness of the proceedings and of the authority of the personal representative to make the conveyance or transfer; and after its entry the person enti…

Notice; Hearing. Whenever it shall appear to be to the advantage or best interests of the estate to exchange any property of the decedent for other property, the Superior Court may authorize such exchange, upon such terms and conditions as it may prescribe, which may include the …

Property Exempt From Execution; Mandatory Setting Apart of Homestead Property Previously Selected by Spouses. The decedent's surviving spouse and minor children are entitled to remain in possession of the homestead, the wearing apparel of the family, the household furniture, and …

When the petition referred to in Section 2401 or the petition referred to in Section 2409(a) of this Title is filed, the Clerk of the Superior Court of Guam shall set it for hearing, and notice thereof shall be given in the manner provided in Section 3401 of this Title. SOURCE: P…

(a) If the homestead selected by the husband and wife, or either of them, during their coverture, and recorded while both were living, was selected from the community property, or from property to which Section 1101 of this Title is applicable, or from the separate property of th…

Over Homestead Exemption; Appraiser's Report; Appointment of New Appraiser; Notice and Hearing. (a) If the homestead selected, designated and recorded prior to the decedent's death is returned in the inventory appraised not over the amount of the homestead exemption as provided i…

From Which Selected; Duration; Subjection to Administration. (a) If no homestead has been selected, designated and recorded, or in case the homestead was selected by the surviving spouse out of the separate property of the decedent, the decedent not having joined therein, the Sup…

When property other than a homestead selected and recorded during the lifetime of the decedent, is set apart to the use of the decedent's COL120106 EXEMPT PROPERTY, FAMILY ALLOWANCE family, in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, such property, if the decedent left a s…

A person succeeding, by purchase or otherwise, to the interest of a surviving spouse in a homestead which has been declared in the lifetime of the decedent, shall have the same right to apply to the Superior Court for an order setting aside the homestead to him as is conferred by…

Payment; Time of Commencement. The decedent's surviving spouse, minor children, and adult children who are physically or mentally incapacitated from earning a living and were actually dependent in whole or in part upon the decedent for support, are entitled to such reasonable all…

Modification; No Stay on Appeal. (a) The allowance provided in Section 2415 of this Title may be granted by the Superior Court before the inventory is filed, in which case it shall continue until modified by the Superior Court. After the inventory is filed the Superior Court may …

Support. If any person otherwise eligible for the allowance provided in Section 2415 of this Title has a reasonable maintenance derived from other sources, and there are other persons entitled to such allowance, the allowance shall be granted only to those who have not such maint…

The costs of all proceedings provided for in this Chapter must be paid by the estate as expenses of administration. SOURCE: Probate Code of Guam (1970), § 683. ---------- COL120106

The term personal representative, as used in this Chapter, shall mean the executor, the administrator with the will annexed, or the adminis- trator, but shall not mean a special administrator unless the special administrator's powers are made general pursuant to the provisions of…

Decedent's Creditors and Mail Notice; Written Notices of Debt, if Timely, Treated as Claims if Subsequently Perfected. (a) The personal representative, promptly after letters are issued, shall cause to be published in a daily newspaper of general circulation in the territory of G…

Give Notice Promptly; Time to Present Claims; Effect of Death, Resignation or Removal of Personal Representative. The notice to the creditors of the decedent required by Section 2503 of this Title shall be published in not fewer than three (3) consecutive issues of a daily newspa…

COL120106 An affidavit showing due publication of the notice to creditors required by Section 2503 of this Title must be filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court not more than thirty (30) calendar days after the completion of the publication. The affidavit shall contain a copy …

Judge; Action on Claim if Rejected. If the personal representative is a creditor of the decedent, he shall file his claim with the Clerk of the Superior Court, who must present it for allowance or rejection to a judge of the Superior Court. Its allowance by the judge is sufficien…

If a judge of the Superior Court files or presents a claim against the estate of a decedent, the administration of which is pending before him, and the personal representative allows the claim, such judge must designate, in writing, another judge of the Superior Court who, upon t…

Representative, Guardian, etc.; Time; Contents. A claim may be filed by the surviving spouse, or by the personal representative or guardian of the estate of the surviving spouse, for the payment of the debts of the deceased spouse described in Section 1009 of this Title. Such cla…

Property; Claims; Contents. If any community property is administered in the estate, the surviving spouse or the personal representative or guardian of the estate of the surviving spouse may file a claim against the estate for the payment of the debts of the surviving spouse for …

Vouchers. Every claim which is due, when filed or presented, must be supported by the affidavit of the claimant or some one on the claimant's behalf, that the amount is justly due, that no payments have been made thereon which are not credited, and that there are no offsets to th…

Copy; Secured Claims. If the claim is founded on a written instrument, the original need not be filed or presented, but a copy thereof with all endorsements must be attached to the claim. The original instrument must be exhibited to the personal representative or to the Superior …

Agencies or Instrumentalities thereof. (a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this Section, the following claims must be filed or presented within the time limited in the notice required by Section 2503 of this Title or as extended by the provi- sions of Sections 25…

Liability Insurance. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the presentation or filing of a claim shall not be required and a civil action may be maintained by a claimant to establish, to the limits of the insurance protection only, a liability of the dece- dent for …

No claim which is barred by the statute of limitations shall be allowed or approved by the personal representative, or by the Superior Court. When a claim is presented to the Superior Court for allowance or COL120106 approval, the Superior Court of Guam may, in its discretion, ex…

Effect of Insurance Coverage In Actions for Damages; Continuance of Pending Action. (a) (1) If an action is pending against the decedent at the time of his death, the plaintiff must in like manner file his claim with the Clerk of the Superior Court or present it to the personal r…

COL120106 When a claim is filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court of Guam before being presented to the personal representative, it shall be filed in duplicate. The Clerk of the Superior Court of Guam shall immediately deliver personally or send, by registered mail, to the per…

When a claim is presented to the personal representative before filing, the personal representative must endorse thereon his allowance or rejection, with the date thereof. If the personal representative allows the claim, it must be presented to a judge of the Superior Court for a…

Notaries; Action On Timely Claim After Time. If, when a claim has been filed without presentation, the personal representative refuses or neglects to file his allowance or rejection for ten (10) calendar days after the claim has been filed, or if, when a claim has been presented …

Claim of Surviving Spouse; Allowance; Discharge. (a) Every claim allowed by the personal representative and approved by the Superior Court shall be ranked among the acknowledged debts of the estate, to be paid in due course of administration; but the validity thereof may be conte…

Period; Lis Pendens; Service. When a claim is rejected either by the personal representative or by the Superior Court, written notice of such rejection shall be given by the personal representative to the holder of the claim or to the person filing or presenting it, and the holde…

The time during which there is a vacancy in the administration is not included in any limitation prescribed in Section 2537 of this Title for bringing suit upon a rejected claim. SOURCE: California Probate Code, § 715 (as amended).

Mortgage or Lien. COL120106 No holder of a claim against an estate shall maintain an action thereon, unless the claim is first filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court or presented to the personal representative, except in the following case: an action may be brought by the hol…

The personal representative or the judge of the Superior Court of Guam may allow or approve a claim in part, in which case the personal representative or judge must state in his allowance or approval the amount for which it is allowed or approved. If the creditor refuses to accep…

Referee; Powers of Court; Effect. If the personal representative doubts the correctness of any claim filed or presented, or if the claim has been rejected in whole or in part, or if the claim may at the option of the claimant be deemed rejected as provided in Section 2533 of this…