How to Complete and File LASC PRO 010: Probate Case Cover Sheet

The LASC PRO 010 is the probate case cover sheet you attach as the first page of any new probate filing in the Los Angeles Superior Court. It doubles as a Certificate of Grounds for Assignment to District, telling the clerk whether your case belongs in the Central District or the North (Antelope Valley) District. Without it on top, the clerk will not process your petition.

When You Need PRO 010 (and When You Don’t)

Local Rule 4.5 requires the form on the first paper filed by the petitioner in any probate action or proceeding.¹ That means decedent’s estates, conservatorships, guardianships, and trust proceedings — anything opened under the California Probate Code in LA County.

Once the case is open, PRO 010 is done. Every document you file afterward — oppositions, motions, supplemental petitions — needs a different cover sheet, PRO 037, on the front instead. One PRO 037 can cover multiple documents submitted together in the same case.¹

What to Have Ready Before You Start

The type of probate action: decedent’s estate, conservatorship, guardianship, trust, or other. You pick one.
Your legal reason for filing in a particular district — for example, where the decedent lived, where the proposed conservatee or ward resides, or where a trust is principally administered.
Full identifying details for the person the case is about: legal name, aliases, home address, mailing address, email, and cell phone. For minors in guardianship cases, gender and date of birth as well.²
Language needs, if either you or the subject of the petition will need a court interpreter.

Have the underlying petition drafted first. The names, addresses, and other details on PRO 010 need to match the petition exactly, and it is easier to copy from a finished petition than to reconcile the two later.

Completing the Five Steps

Step 1: Type of Action

Check one box for the category of case: decedent’s estate, conservatorship, guardianship, trust, or other probate matter.² Only one. If your matter touches more than one category, choose the proceeding you are opening right now.

Step 2: Reason for the District

On the same row as the action type you checked, place an X in the column that states your legal reason for the district. Some cells are shaded because they do not apply to your category. You are not entering an address here. You are identifying the ground — decedent’s residence, proposed conservatee’s or ward’s residence, principal place of trust administration, and so on.²

Step 3: The District, Signed Under Penalty of Perjury

Check Central or North (Antelope Valley). Local Rule 2.3 sends all probate cases to the Central District by default; the North District is available only when the petitioner, proposed conservatee, ward, decedent, or trust’s principal place of administration has the required connection to that area.³ Most LA County probate cases end up in Central.

Below the district box is a declaration under penalty of perjury that the case is properly assigned to the district you chose.² Sign it and date it. A missing date is one of the most common clerk rejections.

Step 4: Interpreter Needs

Two separate questions: whether the filing party needs an interpreter, and whether the subject of the petition does. If either answer is yes, write in the language.² Flagging this on the cover sheet helps the court schedule an interpreter for your first hearing.

Step 5: Subject Information

Check the box for who the case is about — conservatee, ward, trustor, decedent, or other — and fill in first, middle, last name and suffix. Add any aliases or “also known as” names. Enter home address, mailing address, email, and cell phone. For a minor in a guardianship, add gender and date of birth.²

The form also asks whether you consent to service and notices by email or text. Opting in speeds up communication throughout the case.

Filing the Completed Form

PRO 010 goes on top. The petition (for a decedent’s estate, that is Judicial Council form DE-111) and any supporting documents sit behind it.

Electronic Filing

Attorneys must e-file. Submissions go through an approved electronic filing service provider listed on the court’s website, or the Odyssey eFileCA portal. Each provider sets its own transaction fees on top of the court fee, so compare before you commit. Self-represented filers may e-file but are not required to.⁴

Paper Filing

You can file at the Probate Division Clerk’s Office between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., or by mail.⁴ Bring an extra full copy so the clerk can conform and return it for your records.

Fees

The statewide filing fee for a first-filed petition for letters of administration or letters testamentary is $435.⁵ Conservatorship, guardianship, and trust petitions have their own amounts on the same schedule. If you cannot pay, submit a fee waiver request on Judicial Council form FW-001 with your petition. You qualify if you receive certain public benefits, have a low income, or lack enough income to cover basic needs plus court costs.⁶

Mistakes That Get PRO 010 Rejected

A rejected package is treated as never filed. You have no authority to act for the estate, ward, or conservatee until you fix it and refile, so it pays to check the cover sheet against the petition before you submit. The recurring problems:

Signature or date missing from the Step 3 declaration.
Wrong district checked given the facts in the petition — for example, Central selected when the decedent lived in the Antelope Valley area.
Names spelled inconsistently between PRO 010 and the petition, or a middle name on one and not the other.
Blank address, alias, or (in guardianship cases) minor identifying fields in Step 5.
No PRO 010 at all on the front of the package, leaving the clerk with no basis for district assignment.

Once the case is open, remember to switch cover sheets: every subsequent filing needs PRO 037 on top, and forgetting it is one of the easiest ways to have a routine document bounced back.¹

1
Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. Los Angeles Superior Court – Chapter Four Probate Division Rules
2
Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. LASC PRO 010 – Probate Case Cover Sheet – Certificate of Grounds for Assignment to District
3
Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles. Los Angeles Superior Court – Chapter Two General Rules
4
Los Angeles Superior Court. Probate Efiling FAQs
5
Judicial Branch of California. Superior Court of California Statewide Civil Fee Schedule
6
California Courts | Self Help Guide. Request to Waive Court Fees (FW-001)