Novato Trust and Estate Disputes

In brief: When a Novato parent’s house is deeded away during a decline, the deed can be challenged for lack of capacity, undue influence, or fraud, and the property recovered by petition under Probate Code § 850. Hackard Law handles these cases in Marin County Superior Court on contingency: no fee and no costs if there is no recovery, unless your written agreement provides otherwise.

By Michael Hackard, California trust and estate litigation attorney. Last reviewed October 26, 2026. Published November 2, 2026.

Novato has more residents 65 and older than any other town in Marin, roughly 12,500 people. Two in three Novato homes are owner-occupied. In many of these families the house is the estate. When it changes hands at the wrong moment, everything else follows.

From Rancho Novato to Hamilton Field

Novato was part of Rancho Novato under Mexican rule and stayed largely agricultural until after World War II. It incorporated in 1960. The former Hamilton Air Force Base is now the Hamilton neighborhood. The Buck Institute for Research on Aging, a research center focused on aging, is in Novato.

When the house is the estate

Proposition 19, which took effect on February 16, 2021, narrowed the property tax break that once let parents pass a home to their children without reassessment. Now the home keeps its tax value only if the child makes it a principal residence within one year, and only up to a value limit. Since then, families have had more reasons to move a house before a parent dies. Some of those transfers are planned. Some are taken.

A deed signed by a parent in decline can be set aside if the parent lacked the capacity to understand it, or if it was procured by undue influence or fraud. A diagnosis alone does not decide the question. The court looks at the parent’s mental function when the deed was signed (Probate Code §§ 810–812). A person who is substantially unable to manage their own finances or resist undue influence is presumed to be of unsound mind, and a deed they sign can be rescinded (Civil Code § 39). Property wrongfully taken can be recovered by petition under Probate Code § 850, and a person who took it in bad faith is liable for twice its value (Probate Code § 859).

Warning signs

• A grant deed or quitclaim recorded during a hospital stay or a period of decline.
• A sibling or caregiver who suddenly holds title, or is “helping with the paperwork.”
• Property tax bills redirected to a new address.
• A refinance or line of credit the parent did not need.

A recorded deed is public. Marin County Recorder records will show when it was signed, notarized, and recorded, and by whom.

Novato at a glance

• Population: 53,225 (2020 Census); 51,947 (2025 estimate)
• Residents 65 and older: 24.0%, about 12,500 people
• Median home value: $1,032,500
• Owner-occupied homes: 66.1%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, including the 2020 Census, 2025 population estimates, and American Community Survey 2020–2024.

Where your case is heard

Trust and probate cases for Novato are heard in the probate department of Marin County Superior Court, Hall of Justice, Marin County Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, California 94903, about 9 miles by road from Novato City Hall, depending on the route. Hackard Law’s office is in Sacramento County. The firm handles matters in Marin County Superior Court and throughout California.

How fees work

Hackard Law represents families on a contingency basis. The fee is a percentage of the recovery, stated in a written agreement before work begins. The firm advances the costs of the case, which are repaid from the recovery. If there is no recovery, you owe no fee and no costs, unless your written agreement provides otherwise.