(a) For the purposes of this section “confined” means to be confined in a prison or facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or its Division of Juvenile Facilities, or confined in any county or city jail, road camp, industrial farm, or other local correctional facility.
(b) The estate attorney, or if there is no estate attorney, the beneficiary, the personal representative, or the person in possession of property of the decedent shall give the Director of the California Victim Compensation Board notice of a decedent’s death not later than 90 days after the date of death in either of the following circumstances:
(1) The deceased person has an heir or beneficiary who is confined.
(2) The estate attorney, or if there is no estate attorney, the beneficiary, the personal representative, or the person in possession of property of the decedent, knows that an heir or beneficiary has previously been confined.
(c) The notice shall be given as provided in Section 1215 and shall include all of the following:
(1) The name, date of birth, and location of incarceration, or current address if no longer incarcerated, of the decedent’s heir or beneficiary.
(2) The heir’s or beneficiary’s CDCR number if incarcerated in a Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation facility or booking number if incarcerated in a county facility.
(3) A copy of the decedent’s death certificate.
(4) The probate case number, and the name of the superior court hearing the case.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as requiring the estate attorney, the beneficiary, the personal representative, or the person in possession of property of the decedent to conduct an additional investigation to determine whether a decedent has an heir or beneficiary who has been confined in a prison or facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or its Division of Juvenile Facilities, or confined in any county or city jail, road camp, industrial farm, or other local correctional facility.
(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 31, Sec. 260. (SB 836) Effective June 27, 2016.)