Section 6409 Of Chapter 1. Intestate Succession Generally From California Probate Code >> Division 6. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 1.
6409
. (a) If a person dies intestate as to all or part of his or
her estate, property the decedent gave during lifetime to an heir is
treated as an advancement against that heir's share of the intestate
estate only if one of the following conditions is satisfied:
(1) The decedent declares in a contemporaneous writing that the
gift is an advancement against the heir's share of the estate or that
its value is to be deducted from the value of the heir's share of
the estate.
(2) The heir acknowledges in writing that the gift is to be so
deducted or is an advancement or that its value is to be deducted
from the value of the heir's share of the estate.
(b) Subject to subdivision (c), the property advanced is to be
valued as of the time the heir came into possession or enjoyment of
the property or as of the time of death of the decedent, whichever
occurs first.
(c) If the value of the property advanced is expressed in the
contemporaneous writing of the decedent, or in an acknowledgment of
the heir made contemporaneously with the advancement, that value is
conclusive in the division and distribution of the intestate estate.
(d) If the recipient of the property advanced fails to survive the
decedent, the property is not taken into account in computing the
intestate share to be received by the recipient's issue unless the
declaration or acknowledgment provides otherwise.