Implementation follow-up. AB 2598 (Chapter 627, Statutes of 2026), signed September 27, takes effect January 1, 2027 under California's regular-session effective-date rule. CDW previously covered its passage; the practical next step is reviewing how notification and transfer information reach the funeral home.
The new duties fall on general acute care hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. Probate Code section 7600.4 requires a reasonable attempt to notify known next of kin of a death, or that a hospital is holding a body transferred there after death. A reasonable attempt means a documented, good-faith effort within 72 hours of death using available contact information, including telephone or voicemail and, when available, text or email.
The statute also addresses notification of a designated resident representative and a person's written, pre-death instruction against notifying known next of kin. If the licensee cannot locate next of kin after the required attempt, or either statutory alternative is satisfied, section 7600.4(b) requires notice within two business days to the county public administrator. Available identifying and next-of-kin contact information must accompany that referral. Operators should read these triggers together; the law does not impose the same blanket notice rule on every case.
Health and Safety Code section 1280.7 provides separate $200-per-day civil penalties, each capped at $50,000. The next-of-kin penalty runs from the time a reasonable attempt would take until next of kin actually knows of the death. The public-administrator penalty runs from the fifth business day after death until notice is given. A licensee may request a hearing within 10 working days after receiving a penalty notice.
Failure to give the required administrator notice can also create liability for interment costs incurred by the estate or county because of that failure, and specified resulting property losses. It is not automatic liability for every burial or cremation charge. Other health facilities and board-and-care facilities remain subject to the separate immediate-notice rule in Probate Code section 7600.5 when there is no known next of kin. The statute excludes specified deaths in state corrections custody.
CDW operating checklist for funeral establishments:
- Record the facility contact, death date and time, who was notified, contact attempts and any public-administrator referral. Obtain information through appropriate, secure channels.
- Verify separately who has authority to arrange disposition. A notification record alone is not an authorization to cremate or enter a contract.
- Track death-certificate certification, removal arrangements and disposition permits separately. AB 2598's notice deadlines do not replace those processes.
- Agree on an escalation contact for unresolved cases and a schedule for family updates. Document responsibility for each next step rather than promising a release or cremation date that has not been confirmed.
These are CDW workflow recommendations, not additional duties imposed on funeral establishments by AB 2598. The law does not establish that historical hospital or county backlogs have been resolved.
Sources: Chaptered AB 2598 text, reproduced by LegiScan | Official bill record | Secretary of State effective-date explanation.
