As used in this chapter, “minor child” means a child of the decedent who was under the age of 18 at the time of the decedent’s death and who survived the decedent.

A petition may be filed under this chapter requesting an order setting aside the decedent’s estate to the decedent’s surviving spouse and minor children, or one or more of them, as provided in this chapter, if the net value of the decedent’s estate, over and above all liens and encumbrances at the date of death and over and above the value of any probate homestead interest set apart out of the decedent’s estate under Section 6520, does not exceed eighty-five thousand nine hundred dollars ($85,900), as adjusted periodically in accordance with Section 890.

The petition shall be filed in the superior court of a county in which the estate of the decedent may be administered.

If a petition is filed under this chapter, the personal representative, or the petitioner if no personal representative has been appointed, shall file with the clerk of the court, prior to the hearing of the petition, an inventory and appraisal made as provided in Part 3 (commencing with Section 8800) of Division 7. The personal representative or the petitioner, as the case may be, may appraise the assets which a personal representative could appraise under Section 8901.

whether to make an order under this section, the court shall consider the needs of the surviving spouse and minor children, the liens and encumbrances on the property of the decedent’s estate, the claims of creditors, the needs of the heirs or devisees of the decedent, the intent of the decedent with respect to the property in the estate and the estate plan of the decedent as expressed in inter vivos and testamentary transfers or by other means, and any other relevant considerations. If the surviving spouse has remarried at the time the petition is heard, it shall be presumed that the needs of the surviving spouse do not justify the setting aside of the small estate, or any portion thereof, to the surviving spouse. This presumption is a presumption affecting the burden of proof.

under this section, the court shall assign the whole of the decedent’s estate, subject to all liens and encumbrances on property in the estate at the date of the decedent’s death, to the surviving spouse and the minor children of the decedent, or any one or more of them.

decedent’s death, and there shall be no further proceedings in the administration of the decedent’s estate unless additional property in the decedent’s estate is discovered.

Upon becoming final, an order under Section 6609 shall be conclusive on all persons, whether or not they are then in being.

If a petition filed under this chapter is filed with a petition for the probate of the decedent’s will or for administration of the estate of the decedent and the court determines not to make an order under Section 6609, the court shall act on the petition for probate of the decedent’s will or for administration of the estate of the decedent in the same manner as if no petition had been filed under this chapter, and the estate shall then be administered in the same manner as if no petition had been filed under this chapter.

The attorney’s fees for services performed in connection with the filing of a petition and the obtaining of a court order under this chapter shall be determined by private agreement between the attorney and the client and are not subject to approval by the court. If there is no agreement between the attorney and the client concerning the attorney’s fees for services performed in connection with the filing of a petition and obtaining of a court order under this chapter and there is a dispute concerning the reasonableness of the attorney’s fees for those services, a petition may be filed with the court in the same proceeding requesting that the court determine the reasonableness of the attorney’s fees for those services. If there is an agreement between the attorney and the client concerning the attorney’s fees for services performed in connection with the filing of a petition and obtaining a court order under this chapter and there is a dispute concerning the meaning of the agreement, a petition may be filed with the court in the same proceeding requesting that the court determine the dispute.

Sections 6600 to 6613, inclusive, do not apply if the decedent died before July 1, 1987. If the decedent died before July 1, 1987, the case continues to be governed by the law applicable to the case prior to July 1, 1987.

A reference in any statute of this state or in a written instrument, including a will or trust, to a provision of former Sections 640 to 647.5, inclusive, repealed by Chapter 783 of the Statutes of 1986, shall be deemed to be a reference to the comparable provisions of this chapter.