By Corcoran Smith Law Corp. · Published · Updated
Creditor Claims: Allowance, Rejection and Suit
A California personal representative must allow or reject a filed creditor claim, subject to statutory exceptions, in writing and notify the creditor. For a rejected claim already due, section 9353 generally allows 90 days after notice is given to sue or refer the matter to a referee or arbitration. A claim not yet due has a different trigger, and a vacancy in the representative’s office is excluded from the count.
Two clocks, and they are different
Estate creditor work runs on two separate deadlines that get confused constantly. The first is the window to file a claim at all — under section 9100 that is the later of four months after letters issue or sixty days after notice of administration is mailed or personally delivered to the creditor, and it is covered on the timeline page. The second, dealt with here, concerns a rejected claim: generally ninety days after notice is given if the claim is then due, or after it becomes due if it is not. A creditor who files on time and then waits to negotiate can still lose everything by letting the second clock run out.
What the representative must do
Probate Code section 9250 makes the response mandatory and formal. For a filed claim subject to section 9250, the personal representative shall allow or reject it, in whole or in part, in writing, file that allowance or rejection with the court clerk, and give notice to the creditor together with a copy. The statute prescribes the contents: the creditor’s name, the total amount of the claim, the date letters issued, the date of death, the estimated value of the estate, the amount allowed or rejected, whether the representative is authorised under the Independent Administration of Estates Act, and a statement that the creditor has ninety days in which to act on a rejected claim. Section 9353 supplies the consequence. Regardless of whether the otherwise applicable statute of limitations would expire sooner or later, a rejected claim is barred as to the rejected part unless the creditor commences an action, or the matter is referred to a referee or to arbitration, within the applicable period: ninety days after notice is given if the claim is then due, or ninety days after the claim becomes due if it is not. Any period when the office of personal representative is vacant is excluded.
Sources: Probate Code s.9250 - Allowance or rejection of a creditor claim · Probate Code s.9353 - Ninety days to sue on a rejected claim · Probate Code s.9100 - Time for a creditor to file a claim · Verified 2026-09-22.
The sequence
| Step | Who acts | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| File the claim | Creditor | Later of 4 months from first letters to a general personal representative, or 60 days after notice is mailed or personally delivered — §9100 |
| Allow or reject, in writing | Personal representative | §9250 requires a response but states no numeric response period |
| Notice of rejection served | Personal representative | With a copy, to the creditor |
| Sue, or refer to arbitration | Creditor | 90 days after notice is given for a claim then due; exclude a vacancy in the representative’s office — §9353 |
| Claim not yet due when rejected | Creditor | 90 days from when it becomes due |
How section 9353 changes the deadline
Section 9353 opens with the words that matter: regardless of whether the statute of limitations otherwise applicable will expire before or after. A creditor holding a written contract with four years left on it does not get four years. If the claim is due when notice of rejection is given, the ninety-day period runs from that notice. If it is not yet due, the period runs from when it becomes due. A vacancy in the office of personal representative is excluded from the count. These rules require the notice, service record and debt terms to be checked together.
Reading it from the estate’s side
For a personal representative the rejection is a tool, not a formality. Giving notice that a claim has been rejected starts the section 9353 period if the claim is already due; a claim not yet due follows the separate trigger. Allowing a claim that should have been examined, by contrast, is a decision beneficiaries can later question, and paying it is the kind of act a surcharge analysis reaches. Section 9250 also asks whether the representative acts under the IAEA, which ties back to what can be done without court supervision.
Where these become disputes
Claims filed by the personal representative themselves, or by family members asserting loans nobody documented, are the recurring flashpoints. So are medical and long-term care claims arriving late in administration. When a beneficiary believes debts were paid that should have been challenged, or a creditor believes a valid debt was rejected to protect the family, the argument lands in contested probate.
Related: the four-month filing window, the representative’s duties, and the administration process.
The Probate Code sections behind this page
Each section links to its official text at the California Legislature’s own site. The full index of sections covers the rest of the Code.
- Probate Code section 9250
- Allowance or rejection of a creditor claim. Read section 9250
- Probate Code section 9353
- Ninety days to sue on a rejected claim. Read section 9353
Before you call: What probate costs · How long it takes · Which court hears it
Attorney, fiduciary or financial advisor with a client matter? How to refer a California probate or trust matter