The insurer may deny or otherwise contest its liability in an action under this chapter or by an independent action. Unless the personal representative is joined as a party, a judgment in the action under this chapter or in the independent action does not adjudicate rights by or against the estate.
Cal. Prob. Code § 553
Liability of Decedent Covered byInsurance
Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case California Department of Toxic Substances Control v. Interstate Non-Ferrous Corp. (2003)
Most recently applied in Meleski v. Estate (November 2018)
Enacted by Stats. 1990, Ch. 79.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: California Legislative Information. Reproduced from public-domain California statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.